Aqueduct | Race 7 | Post Time 3:55 p.m. (ET) | Go to the TimeformUS PPs | Not already a TimeformUS member? Sign up 

Vintage Hollywood (#6) and Truculent (#3) finished first and second in a $10k claiming race last time, and now they’ve moving up to the $16k level. Yet that might have been a tougher race than this one, as winner Dust Devil is a classier horse that any rivals they’re meeting in this spot. I prefer Vintage Hollywood from that race, not just because he finished ahead of his rival. January 22 race was a day where the rail appeared to be a significant advantage, and Vintage Hollywood was stalking in the 2-path, whereas Truculent stayed inside for his entire trip. The former seems to be rounding back into form for Gustavo Rodriguez, and I view him as a strong contender. Yet I want to go in a different direction for my top pick. 

COOL QUARTET (#1) ran a race two back that would make him competitive against this field, drawing away to win a $12,500 claimer by nearly 6 lengths. He was claimed out of that spot by Orlando Noda and wheeled back 6 days later in a much tougher $25k claimer. He obviously didn’t fare well, but the ride he got didn’t do him any favors. The horse caused some problems by stumbling at the start, but he then got steered to the far outside and was ridden to make a premature 5-wide move into contention before fading in the stretch. He’s better than that, and I think he can rebound here second off the claim as he gets a rider upgrade to Manny Franco. 

The wild card in the field is Daddy Knows (#7), who has been claimed back by Ray Handal. The horse had success for these connections earlier in his career, but his recent form has been pretty ugly. He’s also been getting out badly in his races, so the outside draw could work against him.

THE PLAY

WIN: #1 Cool Quartet, at 2-1 or greater

USE: 6