Three Horses Capable of Upsetting the Remsen
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Flashaway, shown here breaking his maiden, is one of the colts who can upset the Remsen. (Photo by WEG/Michael Burns)
There is no shortage of options in Saturday’s Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct, with a full field of 14 horses scheduled to battle for a purse of $400,000. The Remsen is very intriguing from a handicapping perspective, particularly when you consider that some of the leading contenders are starting from extreme outside post positions. Thus, they are more likely to encounter a wide trip during the race, causing these horses to run a farther distance than some of their rivals who will be saving ground towards the inside).
Both Ostrolenka and Frosted are nice horses with bright futures, and it is likely that they will both attract their fair share of wagering dollars at the betting windows on Saturday. However, their outside post positions are disadvantageous, and with so many other options in the Remsen, I believe it is worthwhile trying to beat both Ostrolenka and Frosted. Below are three horses capable of upsetting the Remsen:
No. 1) Flashaway: This colt started his career over a synthetic surface at Woodbine in Toronto, where he won his debut race and also finished fourth in the Grade 3 Grey Stakes. Most recently, Flashaway made an eye-catching “move” (a move can be considered the advancement in placing or position of a horse during a race) in a race at Churchill Downs, which was his first race over a dirt surface. Although Flashaway did not win that race at Churchill Downs, it is very possible that dirt is his preferred surface, and Flashaway may be ready to take another step forward over dirt in the Remsen.
No. 1A) Moonlight Bandit: John C. Oxley owns both Flashaway and Moonlight Bandit, and both are also trained by Mark Casse, so these two colts will run as a coupled entry in the Remsen. When you encounter a coupled entry, for wagering purposes, you get “two for the price of one” (in this case, a bet on Flashaway also counts as a bet on Moonlight Bandit, and vice versa). Moonlight Bandit most recently won a race at Churchill Downs and appears to be improving as he enters the Remsen on Saturday. Both he and Flashaway also hold entries in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs on the same day so it is possible Casse will scratch one of the colts from the Remsen and run him there.
No. 3) Combat Diver: This colt made the first start of his career on the grass course at Belmont Park in September, and he finished dead last. In October, the colt switched to the dirt, and that made all the difference, as Combat Diver won a hard-fought race over a well-regarded rival that afternoon. Since that victory in October, Combat Diver has taken a little time away from the races, but sports numerous morning workouts on his program page, so it is likely that he has not lost any conditioning. If jockey Jeremy Rose can keep this colt out of traffic trouble in the Remsen, there is a good chance that Combat Diver could run a big race at a big price.
Betting Strategy:
Option 1:
$1 exacta 1 2 / 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Option 2:
$10 win/place 2
$400,000 Remsen Stakes
Saturday, Aqueduct, Race 9, Post Time 3:48 p.m. ET
1 1/8 miles on the dirt for 2-year-olds
PP
Horse
Jockey
Weight
Trainer
1
Flashaway (KY)
Cornelio Velasquez
116
Mark Casse
3
Combat Diver (MD)
Jeremy Rose
116
Gary Contessa
1A
Moonlight Bandit (KY)
Cornelio Velasquez
116
Mark Casse
4
Bodhisattva (CA)
J. D. Acosta
116
Jose Corrales
5
Thirtysevenliveson (KY)
Paco Lopez
116
Dale Romans
6
Royal Burgh (KY)
Jose Lezcano
116
Todd Pletcher
7
Eh Cumpari (KY)
Manuel Franco
116
Michael Dilger
2
Leave the Light On (KY)
Jose Ortiz
120
Chad Brown
8
Keen Ice (KY)
Corey Lanerie
116
Dale Romans
9
The Truth Or Else (KY)
Luis Saez
116
Ken McPeek
10
Classy Class (KY)
Javier Castellano
116
Kiaran McLaughlin
11
Ostrolenka (NY)
John Velazquez
120
Todd Pletcher
2B
Market Conduct (NY)
Joel Rosario
120
Chad Brown
12
Frosted (KY)
Irad Ortiz, Jr.
116
Kiaran McLaughlin