Saturday marks the return of the Grade 1 De Francis Memorial Dash to Laurel Park. The race was not carded last year due to purse shortages, and it's return is critical to Maryland racing as it is only the 3rd surviving Grade 1 race on the circuit (the others being the Preakness and the Pimlico Special).
The race received a significant boost with the entry of Godolphin Stables' Vineyard Haven, once widely considered among the best 3-year-olds on the planet. While things didn't go 'Haven's way earlier in the year, his fortunes (along with Godolphins) took a tremendous turn for the best as the year wore on.
The son of Lido Palace coulda/woulda/shoulda won the King's Bishop at Saratoga on August 29th but was ultimately DQ'd and placed 2nd. I think he's the obvious choice here, despite being 8/5. Underneath I'm going to use two runners in top form at the moment, #2 Roaring Lion (winner of the Maryland Million Sprint) and Fleet Valid (winner of 4 straight races).
If you can afford to go deeper, you might want to consider adding #3 Ravallo and #8 Saratoga Russell to the mix as well. Ravallo has won 9 stakes races at this distance, and Saratoga Russell has a tendency to finish in-the-money (having at least placed in 6 of 8 lifetime starts).
Selections:
- #1 Vineyard Haven (8/5*) to win
- Exacta: 1/ 2, 3, 4, 8
- Trifecta: 1/ 2, 3, 4, 8/ 2, 3, 4, 8
Best of luck!
