Top pick: #6 (RUFUS RUTH) (3-1) - Home-bred by "Thunder Gulch" enters this off a third-place finish here at this distance facing slightly tougher on Dec. 22. Trainer Tom Bush drops her back down a bit and stretch runner should get a fast and/or contested pace to rally into.
2nd pick: #2 (Left Uppercut) (8-1) - Speedy mare has been freshened up since late Nov. and her connections drop her down and shorten her up in distance. She's been competitive in the past facing tougher on the grass and should be in this from start-to-finish.
3rd pick: #4 (No It's Not Me) (8-5) - Filly missed by a "neck" here at this level on Jan. 10 in what was a career best. Race was her first ever on this surface and speed/stalker is a threat with a repeat of it.
4th pick: #5 (Locks of Gold) (15-1) - Longshot has been freshened up since Dec. 13 when she ran wide and evenly when finishing fourth facing $12.5K "open" maidens. This is her first ever against fellow New York-breds.