Top pick: #2 (SHOOK UP) (8-5) - The day's Best Bet, filly enters off an impressive maiden win here at this distance on a muddy track Jan. 3rd. She was coming off a near miss when debuting in a Churchill sprint Nov. 23rd. In her recent maiden score, she tracked early, took over when asked, and drew off to win by almost 14-lengths while being eased up. The 'figure' earned towers over this group, and this daughter of leading sire 'Tapit' looks like a future stakes performer.
2nd pick: #6 (Lovely Maria) (4-1) - She's been sharp in all four appearances. Speedy filly ships back from Remington Park where she finished fourth as the heavy favorite there in a $100k two turn stakes Dec. 14th. She had a difficult outside post and race was contested on a very muddy surface. Trainer Larry Jones has worked her three times here since then and all have been on the quick side. The main danger.
3rd pick: #3 (Flat Deposit) (6-1) - In a top barn (Mike Maker), daughter of 'Flatter' has been competitive in all three outings. One run type is working fast, and Maker adds blinkers (a 25% winning angle). Filly may complete the exacta at a square price.
4th pick: #5 (Tachiello) (6-1) - Improving filly has some tactical speed. She broke her maiden here at this trip on Dec. 19th and is in the red hot barn of Joe Sharp. This is a pretty tough field for the level and she'll need to step it up quite a bit for anything more than a minor award.