10 TAM     The Davis Stakes (GIII) [KYD]

        $250.000            3yo           1 1/16m  Dirt           120lbs

The Road to Louisville is the road that all of these have asperations to follow, and boy did we get a interesting group for The Davis Stakes (GIII) to be run at a mile and a sixteenth on the main oval at TAM.  I’m not going to go deep into this field but will say it’s time to bet the farm on Immoral.  He looks the part in every way, coming in with a nice three race win streak and a nice win in the LA Futurity (GII).  Unless one of the fresh-off-a-maiden-win horses is some type of a hidden monster, I just don’t see him getting beat
today.  The minor money looks up-for-grabs… it should be a fun one to watch.

Here’s The Field –

Was an early scratch but I would expect to see the Jerome winner in another stakes soon – he didn’t sell for $500.000 to sit on a shelf.

Nice closing effort to win a NY-bred Alw race at AQU in his most recent, airing by three in a quick final time.  He’s also been very close in a couple of state bred stakes, but his only graded effort was an eleventh place finish in the Best Pal (GII), so this may be asking a bit from him.

Broke maiden last out and they go right after the big boys.  He won that race in wire to wire fashion, but has also come from off of the pace in a few of his races so I’m not sure what the game plan will be for this one.  He will probably be double digit odds so if you like him, it’s a place to look for value.

Bounced back from a sixth place finish on BC Day to take a nice purse vs. NY-bred stakes company, and he closed will to score on that afternoon.  He has two other wins so a 3-for-5 record is certainly something to be proud of, but this is much stiffer competition.

Made up a bit of ground in the late stages of that FG Alw race in his most recent, but he really hasn’t seen the likes of this bunch and I think the barn may have spotted him a bit deep.  He’s in the gate, so he has a chance, but I’ll look at others.

Sixth in the Sham Stakes (GIII) at SA in his last race, and had back to back wins prior to that.  He was closing ground late in that SA race, so maybe the extra distance is to his liking.  He will need his best to be in the thick of this one.

Broke maiden on a wet track at PRX in his second start and they have high hopes for this one.  He’s never been off of the board in his short career and the barn has to hope he can keep that string going.

Nice win on the GP turf last out, taking the Pulpit by a half-length in pretty quick time.  Switches back to the main track and for a $28.000 claim, the barn has to be happy with what they have.  If he can be in the hunt here, they they really nabbed one.

Off the board in both of those NY-bred stakes and it won’t get any easier today.  Broke maiden at CD going a mile, and getting back to a longer distance may help this one a bit.  Something about this one says to keep an eye on him.

Another fresh off of a maiden victory and the barn goes big-game hunting straight away.  Those were NY-bred horses and the race was on the grass, so you have some things there that make it a tough bandwagon to jump on.  Then again, he may flex muscles.

Other than the post position, I can’t see any reason to not go to the window and dump a bunch of money on this one.  Three wins in a row including a nice closing effort in the LA Futurity (GII) at today’s distance.  He just looks heads and tails better than the rest to me.

Took down a turf MSW at GP facing Fla-breds and did it with ease, winning by three in pretty fast time.  He’s never been worse than second in three starts and this barn usually knows when they are good, so you may want to use him on your wagers.

COZMAN Picks     11      Willie’sGreen Card      11 / 8 / 5         Scotty      11 / 12

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES