Black Eyed Susan Day. Orb is perfect. Pink is the color of the day. Joe, Tom and Sean are at Pimlico. Tom, writing and taking photos. Joe, glasses perched atop his nose, pecking away at a feature for Jenn Patterson while his son revels in the infield. Sean, well, typing away at our picks for the day. As we say, we are not handicappers, but like to wade in at times.
Here’s TIHR’s picks for the Friday stakes.
6th Kkipat Stakes. $100,000. 6 furlongs. Fillies and mares. Favorite Dance To Bristol goes for her fourth consecutive win, Orange’s Lil Sis goes for her fifth.
- Joe: Dance To Bristol, Strike The Moon, Winning Image.
- Sean: Strike The Moon, Dance To Bristol, Funnys Approval.
- Tom: Dance to Bristol, Funny’s Approval, Strike the Moon.
8th Race. The Miss Preakness. $100,000. 6 furlongs. 3-year-old fillies. Al Stall ships Tread from Churchill Downs, Blueeyesintherain tries to rebound from a fifth in the Eight Belles.
- Joe: Tread, I’m Mom’s Favorite, Lighthouse Bay.
- Sean: I’m Mom’s Favorite, Tread, Blueeyesintherain.
- Tom: Tread, Jewel Of A Cat, Livin Peace.
9th Race. The Jim McKay Turf Sprint. $100,000. 5 furlongs. Turf. Old friend Bridgetown makes his first start of 2013. Older friend Ben’s Cat goes for win number 21.
- Joe: Ben’s Cat, Bridgetown, Kens Cape.
- Sean: Bridgetown, Ben’s Cat, Night Officer.
- Tom: Ben’s Cat, Bridgetown, Spring to the Sky.
10th Race. The Black-Eyed Susan. Grade II. $500,000. 1 1/8-miles. 3-year-old fillies. Bob Baffert brings Fiftyshadesofhay, who’s been chasing Beholder in California while Bill Mott continues the dirt experiment with Emollient. We saw her this morning, yowza.
- Joe: Emollient, Maracuya, Manuka Hay.
- Sean: Emollient, Fiftyshadesofhay, Maracuya.
- Tom: Emollient, Maracuya, Toasting.
11th Race. The Very One. 5 furlongs. Turf. $100,000. Fillies and mares. Wow, big field, electric tempo, first four from the Giant’s Causeway. Trip race.
- Joe: Spun Cap, Sensible Lady, Colony Club.
- Sean: Spun Cap, Too Clever By Half, Hidden Ball Trick.
- Tom: Sensible Lady, Sweet Cassiopeia, Mosaicist.
12th Race. The Pimlico Special. Grade III. $300,000. 1 3/16-mile. Short field, local legend against out-of-towner. Last Gunfighter goes for his sixth consecutive win.
- Joe: Eighttofasttocatch, Last Gunfighter, Concealed Identity.
- Sean: Last Gunfighter, Eighttofasttocatch, Richard’s Kid.
- Tom: Last Gunfighter, Concealed Identity, Eighttofasttocatch.
13th Race. The Hilltop. $100,000. 1 1/16-mile. Turf. 3-year-old fillies. George Weaver dusted off Summer Of Fun for a return win in March.
- Joe: Summer Of Fun, Kitten’s Point, Premier Steps.
- Sean: Premier Steps, Summer Of Fun, Le Fascinator.
- Tom: Kitten’s Point, Emotional Kitten, Premier Steps.
