Pick 4 of the Week: Keeneland Saturday, April 4

The Saturday action at Keeneland is loaded with star-studded runners with five graded stakes tilts to be contested on the 11-race card. I’ll try to get off to a quick start on the huge day with the earliest of the three Pick 4 wagers on the slate. 

Race 2 Wager

• 50-cent Pick 4: 4,6,7,8,10 with 3,4,5 with 2,3,4,9,10,15 with 10 ($45)

Race 2 – Maiden Special Weight

Dirt dash for sophomores at 6 1/2 panels on the dirt attracted a field of 10. I feel like I need to use half of the field to safely advance to the next part of the sequence. Juddmonte homebred #4 Deep Flame (2-1), Cherie DeVaux’s #6 Givethedevilhisdue (5-2), top pick #7 Gilded Bandit (4-1), Chad Brown’s #8 Accost (7-2), and second timer #10 Grande Sorpreso (15-1) are the ones.

Race 3 – Allowance Optional Claiming

A total of eight sophomore fillies will speed six furlongs on the dirt in the second piece. #3 Swing Vote (2-1) and #4 Sippin Pretty (3-1) ran one-two in a solid maiden race at Gulfstream Park in January, and both of the fillies will make my ticket. I’ll also add #5 Gena B (8-1), who romped in a maiden race at Aqueduct off the layoff with blinkers added. 

Race 4 – Maiden Special Weight

Three-year-old fillies will travel 1 1/16 miles on the grass in the penultimate leg of the sequence. If #15 Eat Hay Run (4-1) draws into the field, then she will be the top pick. Walsh pupil was second to Tam Tam in a smart debut try at Gulfstream and was flattered when that filly returned with a fine tally last weekend. 

Rusty Arnold is better second time out and is also always live at this meeting, so #4 Call on Me (5-1) makes the ticket. Twirling Candy filly was a solid third in her debut run on the green. If #10 Dyna (4-1) is asked for speed from the gate, which I expect to happen, then the Quality Road filly has a big chance at the top of the lane in her seasonal bow under Jose Ortiz. Rachel Halden’s well-bred #9 Just in Touch (8-1), potential pacesetter #3 Paseo (6-1), and Chad Brown’s #2 Honfleur (3-1) will also be included in this difficult race.  

Race 5 – Allowance Optional Claiming

An overflow field of 14 has been entered in the closing leg, which will be run at about seven-eighths on the dirt. It’s difficult to look past Chad Brown’s #10 Praetor (8-5) with Flavien Prat aboard. The Into Mischief colt earned a huge 103 Brisnet Speed rating last time when a game second behind subsequent graded winner Grande at Gulfstream Park in his first run in 10 months. The four-year-old, who broke his maiden by defeating Sovereignty as a juvenile, will be forwardly placed from the break.