Top pick: #6 (BONNIE'S BEARCAT) (5-2) - He was a bit "short" here racing at this level here Nov. 18. It was his second back from a half-year's absence and moves to a better barn (Stan Hartman) following a claim. He has a fine local record 11-2-5-1 and gets a slight edge.
2nd pick: #2 (Duke Street King) (6-1) - Speed/stalker is racing third back from an 80-day layoff and comes off a wide and even effort here at this level Nov. 18. Four-year-old had a tough outside post that day and draws a much better slot for this attempt.
3rd pick: #3 (Confisio) (7-2) - The main speed, he was an easy gate-to-wire winner here at this tag on Nov. 5 as he cleared the 2l condition. Three-year-old has been competitive in four straight and is a win candidate again this afternoon.
4th pick: #5 (Play Hard to Win) (2-1) - He won here at this tag on Sept. 27 as he cleared the 2l condition. It was his first win since 2012 and came off a two month freshening. Can factor, but believe he needs to do better for anything more than a small slice.