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By John Theodore
1 - Colina Verde
6 - Dynaforce 2 - Belle Allure 3 - Criticism Taking into consideration that the morning line favorite, Criticism, is coming off two straight wire to wire victories in absolutely paceless events and figures to get more pace pressure in this spot, we're going to take a stand against her with Colina Verde, a mare that finished in back of her in her last start.
Two races back Colina Verde made her first start for the McLaughlin barn off of a year layoff and chased the speed around the Keenland turf course in another paceless event, but held on well enough when beaten by a length and a half in a race she clearly needed. Then in her last start, in the Sheepshead Bay over this turf course, she failed to break cleanly and found herself trailing the field early on, but despite being the victim of the soft early pace set by Criticism, she finished up well into splits that went quicker as the race progressed to finish fourth in a better than it looks on paper performance. She draws a better post today and she has shown the ability to handle the non-firm turf that's expected this afternoon. Garcia sticks for this mare's third start back off the layoff and a forward move is likely at what will be a nice price. We'll complete our exotics with Dynaforce who simply loves non-firm turf, Belle Allure who was visually impressive late in her last start and Criticism who's never been off the board at this distance. ----
John Theodore, handicapper for www.tripcapper.com
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