Top pick: #1 (RON THE GREEK) (5-2) - "Ron" was an impressive winner of the 2012 edition of this venerable stakes and trainer Bill Mott has used the same Florida race to set him up for this repeat attempt. He was an easy winner at Gulfstream of the $400K "Sunshine Millions Classic" going 9 furlongs on a "sloppy" track on Jan. 19 and earned a 115 Byer "figure." His main rival No. 9 "Game on Dude" will enjoy first run on him, but think "Ron" can nail him late.
2nd pick: #9 (Game on Dude) (6-5) - With a win today this gelding will surpass the $3.6M mark in earnings and he's gone 6-for-7 on this surface and is (8-2-3-0) at this demanding 10 furlong trip. Speed/stalker is working bullets for this and last out earned a 116 speed figure when winning the "San Antonio" (G2) here on Feb. 3 going 9 furlongs.
3rd pick: #4 (Called to Serve) (6-1) - No slouch, lightly-raced gelding (8-3-1-3) on conventional dirt and come here from the east coast off a pair of impressive stakes wins. He broke his maiden on this surface last April and trainer Nick Canani has him working very fast on this strip for his first start since Dec. 31 when he won the $105K "Broad Brush" stakes at Laurel.
4th pick: #10 (Guilt Trip) (6-1) - Very lightly-raced colt ran a career best when taking the "Strub" stakes (G2) here going 9 furlongs on Feb. 2. He faces a much tougher field today, but this late developer is still improving and may grab a share at a nice price.