Friday’s Best Bets and Quick Picks: Turfway’s $3,304 Super High 5 carryover

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares best bets and quick picks for Friday, Jan. 9 at Fair Grounds, Santa Anita, and Turfway Park, including tickets for Turfway’s $3,304 Super High 5 carryover.

Today’s special offers from TwinSpires include:

• New Players $200 Sign-Up Bonus: Open your TwinSpires.com account using the offer code BET200 to start earning a $200 bonus.
• Turfway Park $10 Bet Back: Receive a Bonus Bet (up to $10) on your first single-horse win wager if your horses run second or third in selected races at Turfway Park each racing Friday in January.

Today’s TwinSpires tournaments include:

• $120 Aqueduct Feeder to 1/17 Lecomte KDBC Qualifier
• $70 Fair Grounds Challenge
• $400 Fair Grounds Bonus Feeder Friday to 1/10 Fair Grounds/Tampa Bay Downs KDBC/NHC Qualifier
• $70 Turfway Park Challenge
• $200 Turfway Park Feeder to 1/25 Fair Grounds/Aqueduct KDBC/NHC Qualifier

Best Bets and Quick Picks

Fair Grounds: Race 1: $10,000 Maiden Claiming (5 1/2 furlongs on dirt, 1:45 p.m. ET)

None of the entrants in this maiden claimer for Louisiana-breds look especially strong on paper, so we’ll try betting longshot #7 Charlie Gamer (10-1). He’s shown some tactical speed and is adding blinkers, opening the door for improvement.

Charlie Gamer finished seventh in a recent six-furlong sprint over this track and class level, but take note, he finished only one spot behind #6 Custom Spark (7-2), one of Friday’s favorites. Charlie Gamer won’t need a huge step forward to turn the tables.

We’ll bet Charlie Gamer to win, then bet him for second place under Custom Spark and #8 Jayjayjay (5-2) in a small exacta.

Selections

• #7 Charlie Gamer (10-1)
• #6 Custom Spark (7-2)
• #8 Jayjayjay (5-2)

Wagers

• $12 to win on #7 Charlie Gamer
• $4 Exacta: 6,8 with 7 ($8)
  Total: $20

Santa Anita: Race 3: Maiden Special Weight (one mile on dirt, 4:00 p.m. ET)

#1 Cherokee Nation (7-5) ran well in a one-mile maiden special weight at Santa Anita on Oct. 13, finishing second by a nose against Mr. A. P., who flattered the form by returning to run second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1).

Cherokee Nation subsequently faltered with a troubled trip in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) at Churchill Downs, finishing fifth. He’s turned in sharp workouts since then and is eligible to rebound while dropping in class under jockey Juan Hernandez, a 40% winner teaming up with trainer Bob Baffert over the last two months.

#2 Blacksmith (4-5), runner-up in the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2), can complete the exacta.

Selections

• #1 Cherokee Nation (7-5)
• #2 Blacksmith (4-5)
• #4 Easy Company (10-1)

Wagers

• $30 Exacta: 1 with 2

Turfway Park: Race 5: Maiden Special Weight (6 1/2 furlongs on Tapeta, 7:55 p.m. ET)

#1 Menkaure (2-1) has shown talent on both dirt and turf, cracking the trifecta in a couple of one-mile maiden special weights at Kentucky Downs and Churchill Downs. She brings solid Brisnet Speed ratings to Turfway Park and may score a breakthrough win while switching to Tapeta, cutting back to 6 1/2 furlongs, and racing on Lasix for the first time.

Let’s load up with a large win bet on Menkaure, who hails from the hot barn of William Walden, a 43% winner at Turfway this meet.

Selections

• #1 Menkaure (2-1)
• #5 Girl Named Knicki (4-1)
• #12 Stardialed (10-1)

Wagers

• $40 to win on #1 Menkaure

Carryover Watch

Turfway Park: Race 9: $3,304 Super High 5 carryover (9:55 p.m. ET)

Want to win a share of Friday’s $3,304 Super High 5 carryover at Turfway Park? Then you’ll have to select the top five finishers, in order, in Race 9, a $15,000 maiden claimer for fillies and mares sprinting six furlongs on Tapeta.

Our proposed tickets are a bit pricy, coming in at $144. But one mare we’re using for as high as second place, #13 Need a Bit of Luck (7-2), is on the also-eligible list. If she scratches, the ticket cost will plunge to only $54.

Wagers

• $1 Super High 5: 4 with 5 with 1,3,9,13 with 1,3,9,13 with 1,3,8,9,12,13 ($48)
• $1 Super High 5: 4 with 1,3,9,13 with 5 with 1,3,9,13 with 1,3,8,9,12,13 ($48)
• $1 Super High 5: 4 with 1,3,9,13 with 1,3,9,13 with 5 with 1,3,8,9,12,13 ($48)
  Total: $144

Our tickets count on #4 Strife (9-5) to visit the winner’s circle. The five-year-old mare is the morning-line favorite after launching bold late rallies to finish second in back-to-back maiden special weights sprinting five furlongs on turf at Mountaineer.

The Turfway Tapeta track should play to Strife’s late-running style, and take note, she finished fifth in a pair of 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weights at Turfway last year. Dropping into a $15,000 maiden claimer for her return to Turfway should make Strife a formidable win threat.

Underneath, we’ll emphasize #5 A Long Winters Nap (3-1), counting on the four-year-old filly to finish in the top four. A Long Winters Nap has cracked the trifecta in three straight starts: a pair of maiden special weights for Indiana-breds at Horseshoe Indianapolis and a $15,000 maiden claimer at Turfway. In the latter race, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint, she ran third by 1 3/4 lengths.

One longshot we’ll use for as high as second place is #3 Monsoon Dancer (15-1). She hasn’t finished better than sixth in five career starts, but she’s competed exclusively against tougher competition than she’ll face on Friday. Her lone try at Turfway produced a 10th-place finish in a six-furlong maiden special weight. Tackling a $15,000 maiden claimer should be a more manageable assignment.

Good luck!