This time of year, most of the attention is being paid to the three-year old ponies getting ready to take to the mile and a half jaunt at the Belmont Stakes. That said, we've always got our eye all over the Sport of Kings, and Saturday's Shoemaker Mile is a Grade 1 race which could be ripe for the picking for the savvy bettor.
You can find horse racing odds at BookMaker.eu at the online racebook.
ODDS ANALYSIS
1: Heart to Heart 9/5
2: Twentytwentyvision 7/2
3: Tourist 5/2
4: Home Run Kitten 5/1
5: Cape Wolfe 12/1
6: Midnight Storm 4/1
It isn't often you see a six-horse field without a pony who is an odds-on favorite. In fact, it's really remarkable to think that none of these six are even anywhere close to odds-on. The closest is Heart to Heart at a price of 9 to 5, though Twentytwentyvision and Tourist are both right there as well.
Turf racing is all about position, and it'll be interesting to see how these ponies draw for this Grade 1 race. If the three horses who are the favorites end up all drawing inside posts, this could end up being a runaway race with those three for sure.
FAVORITE TO FOLLOW
About the only thing that scares us about Heart to Heart is the fact that he hasn't been on the track now since the middle of April. That's a long time for a horse to be off the track competitively.
The training sessions for Heart to Heart aren't great either at Belmont Park, and the fact that he was just shipped out to California three days before this race has hurt his chances as well.
However, we have no doubt that Heart to Heart has a fantastic chance to make it to the wire first in the Shoemaker Mile. He's a speed ball out of the gats and has tried to go wire-to-wire in his last four races. He almost successfully did it in all four, though he did come up just short in the Makers Mile in his last effort.
UNDERDOG TO WATCH
We're not much for calling Midnight Storm an underdog knowing that he's only listed at +400, but in a field of six, the value is pretty good here. Sure, Midnight Storm hasn't hit the board in either of his two races this year, but he also hasn't had a clean run and has still managed to put up Beyer Speed Ratings in the mid-90s. That's not setting the world on fire, but against a small field, the chances of having problems at the gate are a bit smaller. Then we might find out what's truly possible from this five-year old.
It should be noted that Midnight Storm won the Seabiscuit Handicap in November at Del Mar, and after going back and watching the tape, he probably would've won his next race in March at Santa Anita.
QUICK PICK
Speed kills in these short races, and we just don't know if the rest of the closers in this field really have a chance to run down Heart to Heart. Midnight Storm has had a history of being a fast starter, but he really has to put it all together first in order for us to believe in him.
Home Run Kitten is worth watching too, knowing that he's already got 14 races under his belt at Santa Anita, hitting the board in 10 of the 14, but still, he's no match on a clean track for the top horse in the field.
Tourist hasn't finished better than third in his last four races, while Twentytwentyvision hasn't won a graded stakes race in his career. That's enough concern with the rest of the contenders for us to want to bet on the top-rated horse in this field per Prime Power.
Horse Racing Odds: Heart to Heart 9/5
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