From a betting point of view, the Princess Rooney offers one big favorite, three others rated as serious contenders, and the rest of the field in double-digit odds.
Breaking from the inside gate, Curlin's Approval is the heavy 6-5 favorite in the Gulfstream morning line odds. A five-year-old mare trained by Happy Alter, she's the defending race champ, one of three graded-stakes wins on her resume dating back to 2016. She's also run second or third in three other graded-stakes races over her career, and comes into the Princess Rooney off a win in the ungraded Ana T Stakes in early June at Gulfstream over the same seven furlong distance.
Prior to that she ran fifth in the (G2) Royal Delta, tiring late at one mile, and the shorter distance here is likely to suit her. She likes to run just off the pace, and the key for her will be to get a clean break from the rail position and into a good spot as they move into the turn.
Lining up to take her on and second choice in the ML is Todd Pletcher's My Miss Tapit (4-1) who made her 2018 debut a winning one in an allowance-level event at Gulfstream in mid-April. After going two-for-two to start her racing career, including a minor stakes win at Gulfstream, she moved up to graded-stakes company to close the season and finished out of the money in both tries.
She looked very good rallying from off the pace to get her last win by more than 6 lengths, and with a repeat of that performance she'll give the top one a battle as they make the run for the wire.
Breaking from the middle of the gate, Rich Mommy (6-1) could offer some value on the bottom of exotic bets. She closed out 2017 by moving up to graded-stakes racing and winning the (G3) Sugar Swirl Stakes by two lengths. Coming back this year, she was third in the (G3) Hurricane Bertie Stakes two starts back, and last out ran second in the Ana T. beaten by three by Curlin's Approval.
Rounding out the top half of the field, Ms. Locust Point (5-1) closed the 2017 season and opened 2018 with four straight wins, including taking the (G2) Barbara Fritchie Stakes on a muddy track at Laurel Downs in mid-February. She been a bit off form since then however, finishing well back in the (G1) Madison Stakes at Keeneland two starts back, and then led early but gave way to finish third in the Skipat Stakes ay Pimlico in May. Expect her to go to the front out of the gate and try to take the field as far as she can.
The Princess Rooney Stakes goes Saturday, June 30 from Gulfstream Park in Hallendale, Florida. Race #12 of 14 on the day, expected post time is 5:30 PM Eastern.
Entries w/ ML Odds
Princess Rooney Stakes Picks
As mentioned earlier, the Princess Rooney is one of two Breeders' Cup Qualifiers on the day, with the other being the Highlander Stakes from Woodbine Race Track in Toronto. You can bet all the races right up the the Breeders' Cup World Championships in November with an account at Bovada's online racebook.
Category : Betting Picks
Tag : Bovada , Horse Racing
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