Congrats to Parx regular, PA bred extraordinaire Scott Lake on his 6000th career victory yesterday at the Bensalem oval. Scott is originally from Harrisburg, broke into the game at Penn National and has led the nation in wins as a trainer multiple times. After many years of managing huge, multisite strings of horses, he cut back significantly just over 5 years ago to focus on being closer to home and being able to lay hands on the majority of his charges every day. In this day of top trainers having strings in multiple states and time zones, it is great to see someone that had success at that level refocus on direct contact and horsemanship. Scott . . . to many more trips to the Winner’s Circle.
Picks for April 23, 2019:
Gorgeousness . . . all day long. Mick likes the word gorgeousness. He wants to use it more.
Parx Race 1
2-Powerful Venezuela seems somewhat misnamed based on the current political situation but he is well meant here. Trainer Andy Simoff is rock solid with new horses to his care and this one definitely has the back class to be strong here. Getting jockey Trevor McCarthy to come ride is a positive since he is not making the trip to Parx nearly as often as he once did. 5-Flashonforty deserves consideration first off the claim by astute trainer Danny Velazquez who wins 22% first off. The back story on this one must be interesting since he is often close but was DQed from his most recent winning effort. 6-Rebel Vow is second off the claim and comes back at the same level where he just missed earlier this month. The added distance may not be in his favor as his lines show a proclivity to show speed and fade.
$10 W/P/S 2-Powerful Venezuala
$2 Exacta Box 2,5,6
$1 Trifecta Box 2,5,6
Parx Race 3
3-Rucksack is a very suspect favorite in this race. He seems to have an opportunity to win virtually every race but comes up just short in the lane. It does not appear that he is not capable but 0 for 14 doesn’t build much confidence. He does get to escape from NY again but that was not enough last time under these conditions and distance. Instead, look to the other NY invader, 1-Fleet Tweet, to make a splash on first asking. This one has an excellent work tab and trainer Todd Pletcher has him ready to go based on the April 16 work. Distance should not be a problem based on pedigree but may be based on experience.
$10 W/P/S 1-Fleet Tweet
$2 Exacta box 1,3
Mick’s Quick Picks
Parx Race 4: 4-Slot makes the trip down from NY and takes a drop below a level available in NY. This is not a typical Danny Gargan move but being aggressive is and he should get rewarded in this mediocre field.
Parx Race 5: 4-Sunshine Wild dropped a huge effort last out and comes back to the same level for a barn that is good off the claim. Look for a similar result and it may be good enough to win today.
Parx Race 7: 1-Staynsidethecircle looks to be another opportunity for trainer Mike Pino to prove that he claims well and places them even better. 10-Banker’s Island looks like an excellent price play as he ran very similar races to the 1 at this level before being raised for the last two.
Parx Race 8: 1-Colonel Juan ran a cracker last out and gets a much softer draw today. Mick still thinks this guy will end up on the turf but he has shown lots of class on dirt