Top pick: #3 (BIRD FU) (6-5) - Lightly raced and well-bred, she was claimed on Nov. 28 by Dave Jacobson for $25K and raced wide and evenly here facing special weights on Jan. 5 in her first off a six week break in her first for the new barn. He brings her back on short notice and drops her under the purchase price, a standard move for the high-percentege outfit.
2nd pick: #2 (Still Shea to Me) (3-1) - Dangerous rival has the best early speed and last out finished second here facing slightly tougher Dec. 31. Solid effort came off a 70 day freshening and grey filly is a threat to go wire-to-wire against this group.
3rd pick: #6 (Phantasticus) (5-1) - She's been competitive in both starts on this surface and last out ran third just under two lengths back of "Shea." In a great barn (Jamie Ness) and this daughter of "Yes It's True" is in the small win mix.
5th pick: #7 (Pegasus Saphire) (12-1) - Finger Lakes invader finished a distant second there when facing cheaper, going a mile on Dec. 7 and will shorten-up in distance for today's attempt. She has a new trainer (Chris Englehart) and filly could grab a small share if one of the top three picks is sub-par.