Taking on an All-Stakes Cross Country Pick Five

With racing in limbo at Santa Anita Park, there is nevertheless an abundance of stakes action across the country and across all divisions Saturday.

The Gotham Stakes (G3) and Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2), a pair of 85-point qualifiers for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), headline multiple-stakes programs at Aqueduct Racetrack and Tampa Bay Downs. The Gotham and Busher, an 85-point prep for the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1), are part of an all-stakes pick four that starts with the Tom Fool Handicap (G3) and the Stymie on New York's first big day of the season. The Tampa Bay Derby caps a five-stakes card that also includes the Hillsborough (G2T) and Florida Oaks (G3T).

The Florida Oaks, Gotham, Tampa Bay Derby and Busher are the first four legs of another "Cross Country Pick 5" that concludes with the Honeybee (G3), another Oaks prep, and part of a stakes doubleheader at Oaklawn Park along with the $150,000 Hot Springs, in which Whitmore will be favored to win for the third straight year.

Fox Sports Saturday at the Races airs the Cross Country Pick 5 on FS2 from 4:30-7:00 pm ET, along with coverage of the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) for 3-year-olds at Turfway Park.

Here's an overview of the Cross Country pick five sequence (all times Eastern).

Florida Oaks (Tam, race 10, 4:50): A well-matched group of 11 kicks things off, with Concrete Rose (5) and Stellar Agent (10) the lukewarm choices as they make their first starts since chasing Newspaperofrecord in the Tito's Handmade Vodka Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T). Both fillies spent at least some part of that race mired down on the deeper inside portion of the course, and Stellar Agent ran exceptionally well to be edged for second.

La Feve (1) was bumped at the start and slow to settle through the early stages of her U.S. debut in the Sweetest Chant (G3T), but did some running late. There isn't a ton of speed in this field, and a cleaner getaway from the rail could lead to better early position second time back from a five-month layoff for Chad Brown.

Mega Fortune (2), Winter Sunset (3), Elsa (4), Blowout (7) and Winning Envelope (9) are in backup mode as we try to survive through a lead-off leg with numerous possibilities.

A - 1, 5, 10

B - 2, 3, 4

C - 7, 9

Gotham (Aqu, race 10, 5:09): Instagrand (6), a $1.2 million colt by Into Mischief , won both starts by lopsided margins last summer, and resurfaces seven months after toying with four rivals in the Best Pal (G2). He's going to be a short price while stretching out past six furlongs for the first time, and will likely face pace pressure from grade 1 winners Knicks Go (2) and Mind Control (3), as well as Not That Brady (7), who has been on the early lead four straight times including a win in the Damon Runyon over fellow New York-breds and a close second in the Withers (G3).

The main closer in the matchup is Haikal (5), a half brother to 2017 Vosburgh (G1) winner Takaful, who was very game rallying through a narrow opening on the rail to win the Jimmy Winkfield. That was the first time Haikal put himself in the race at the pre-stretch call, which is a promising sign.

A - 6

B - 3, 5, 7

Tampa Bay Derby (Tam, race 11, 5:25): Well Defined (5) and Win Win Win (7) come off fast wins over the track in the Sam F. Davis (G3) and the Pasco stakes, and take on several lightly raced rivals who exit improved efforts.

As he showed again four weeks ago, Well Defined is tough when able to control the pace, but he will have to work harder early due to the presence of Zenden (11), who was close-up early in three sprints at Gulfstream Park including a win in the Buffalo Man and a second in the Swale (G3).

Win Win Win overcame a slow start to take the seven-furlong Pasco in track-record time of 1:20.89 Jan.19. He has been given ample time to recover and has posted a pair of bullet works leading to this initial attempt at two turns.

Dream Maker (4) returned from a four-month absence with a big win over optional claiming company, and the Tapit  colt's first work back was a half-mile bullet ranked 1/111.

Tacitus (10), another son of Tapit, and out of champion mare Close Hatches, will try to pick up the slack for Juddmonte Farms and Bill Mott, whose Hidden Scroll was used up through a fast pace when fourth as the favorite in last week's Xpressbet Fountain Of Youth (G2). He will be first-time Lasix in his first race since a promising maiden win in November.

The Todd Pletcher-trained Outshine (6) comes off a sharp score with blinkers added. He breezed a bullet five furlongs for this last Saturday.

A - 4, 7, 10

B - 5, 6

Busher (Aqu, race 11, 5:40): Please Flatter Me (10) swept her three starts last fall by better than 18 combined lengths, and her two stakes wins over Ujjayi (1) took on added significance when the latter shipped to the Big A to capture the Ruthless over some of these.

Always Shopping (11) beat Filly Joel (7) by just over a length in the recent Busanda around two turns, but the latter could benefit from the cutback in distance and getting back to one turn; she beat Always Shopping handily out of the chute at Belmont Park last fall.

Oxy Lady (3) sprang a 36-1 upset in the Tempted (G3) on this track back on Nov. 2. That makes her the only graded stakes winner in this field, but she will have to improve after finishing far back in the Rachel Alexandra (G2) with front bandages added.

Orra Moor (12) is up from Florida for Pletcher after winning two sprints at Gulfstream despite tardy starts.

A - 10

B - 7, 11

C - 3, 12

Honeybee (OP, race 9, 6:04): We're all about Mark Casse as he sends out Chocolate Kisses (5) and Power Gal (6) in a race that should feature a hot pace.

Chocolate Kisses reprises a turf-to-dirt switch that led to a rallying fourth (beating 10) in the Darley Alcibiades (G1). She has put in several solid works on the main track since taking an optional claimer on the grass despite a wide trip.

Power Gal won the Martha Washington more decisively than the margin of victory indicates, a race in which Sunset Wish (3) was fourth as the favorite after being hemmed in on the far turn and into the stretch before altering course belatedly.

Motion Emotion (2) emerges from two front-running wins over the track, but it's likely she will be pressed this time by some combination of Raintree Starlet (7), Ultimate Mo (8) and/or Best Kept Secret (10), who all were forwardly placed in shorter races recently.

A - 5, 6

B - 2, 3