Hawthorne: A single for the $9,465 Pick 6 carryover

Don’t forget to play the Sunday card at Hawthorne, which includes a $9,465 carryover in the $1 Pick 6.

Hawthorne: Race 4: $9,465 Pick 6 carryover (5:25 p.m. ET)

A competitive Pick 6 sequence is on the agenda. The six races have drawn a total of 56 horses before scratches, averaging about 9.3 per race. Every race includes at last eight entries, and there are 580,608 possible outcomes.

The feature event is Race 5, the $50,000 Pat Whitworth Illinois Debutante S. for two-year-old fillies dashing 6 1/2 furlongs. The eight-horse field appears ripe for conquest by #5 Zee (5-2).

Zee ran well in her debut sprinting five furlongs at Hawthorne. Sent off at 5-2 against seven rivals in a maiden special weight, she tracked the pace in third place before advancing to finish second, beaten only three-quarters of a length while pulling three lengths clear of a next-out winner.

Unsurprisingly, Zee graduated in her second start over the same track, distance, and class level. Favored at 9-10 in a nine-horse field, Zee led all the way through quick fractions to dominate by 4 1/2 lengths, earning a 79 Brisnet Speed rating that tops the Debutante field.

Zee is already the horse to beat, and that’s before considering the fact she’s bred to relish stretching out over 6 1/2 furlongs (and farther). She’s a daughter of 2003 Horse of the Year Mineshaft, who won multiple Grade 1 races over 1 1/4 miles. Her dam is Katie the Lady, best known for winning the 1 1/16-mile Illini Princess H. at Hawthorne. Katie the Lady has previously foaled Katie M’lady, winner of seven stakes racing one mile or farther.

Cementing Zee as a formidable win threat are compelling jockey and trainer stats. She’s conditioned by Michele Boyce, a 23% winner at Hawthorne this meet and a 20% winner in ungraded stakes. She’ll be ridden by Julio Felix, a 33% winner teaming up with Boyce over the last two months.

For all these reasons, we recommend singling Zee in the Pick 6. Doing so will reduce the number of outcomes to consider from 580,608 down to 72,576, an excellent start toward assembling a winning ticket.

Good luck!