Top pick: #2 (CONFRONTATIONAL) (7-5) - The probable favorite, filly is dropping into a claimer for the first time. She rallied to miss by a "nose" when debuting at 7-furlongs Nov. 29. Sent in for a brief freshening by trainer Todd Pletcher she tired badly going two-turns here Jan. 18. Barn cuts her back to a one turn mile and Pletcher wins at a 32% clip on this type of class reduction.
2nd pick: #7 (Key d' Oro) (4-1) - Filly rallied to finish a close up third in a large field going 6 furlongs here at this tag on Jan. 7. Barn moved her up in class and switched her to the grass 28 days later. She had a tough outside post and tired after racing near the front. The drop her back down and move her back to the dirt. Dangerous rival.
3rd pick: #5 (Abatare) (6-1) - She's racing second back from a two month freshening and takes the same drop as "Confrontationa." Daughter of "Summer Bird" was making some progress on the dirt before the brief vacation. Her return star here on the grass Jan. 18 was pretty bad but it may have been a conditioning race. The faster the pace, the better her prospects.
4th pick: #4 (Doc John) (10-1) - She raced evenly when debuting on the grass for a $75K tag on Jan. 19. Canadian based barn (Ricky Griffith) has worked her since, drops her a bit, and moves her from turf to dirt.