Caleb @CalebWVU

Race 8 – #9 Bat Flip: I went back and forth in this race for quite a while trying to decide on Bat Flip or Ocean Vision before ultimately settling on the former. Bat Flip did not show much ability on dirt last year, but he really took a big step forward when finally put on the turf. I thought he ran a very credible race in his turf debut, finishing second to Nagirroc (3rd in BC Juvenile Turf and multiple stakes winner) despite closing into a slow pace. He further improved on the stretch out, breaking his maiden and beating a quality field that included Kalik, future winner of the G2 Pennine Ridge. He owns good tactical speed and should vie for forward early position in a race that lacks a clear leader. He may appear a cut below on figures, but he hasn’t been seen since November of his two-year-old season, and I’m willing to project improvement here at generous odds of 12/1.

Josh @CherryDrank

Race 8 – #6 Mysterious Night: Charlie Appleby’s 2022 was a year to remember here in North America where he seemed to win almost every single big turf race, but he’s been off to a much more pedestrian start to this year both here in NA and domestically. Mysterious Night’s G1 Summer is a winning race here and I’m going to be calling on that back class to hopefully appear here. Last two races were one’s to forget, but let’s see if a change of scenery helps out Mysterious Night. Carl Spackler disappointed at a short price last time out and More Than Looks might leave himself too much do to with his slow starts.

Mark @Two_Turns

Race 1 – #6 Braggadocious: I love to find spots like this first race on Friday where a bunch of horses will take money and I can lean on a fresh face who still has upside. The #4 horse Moore’s Law will take a ton of money on connections alone, but when these Chad Brown horses don’t break their maidens in the first two starts it often takes them quite a while to do so. The #1 Mount Craig likes to run with his friend and not pass them while the #3 Hero’s Medal has tailed off badly in his last 3 and probably needs shorter/softer to flourish. With those three out of the way we can talk about the #6 who gets a barn switch to Hennig while finding a “softer” spot here after running in tough maiden races at Keeneland and Churchill. As Caleb has previously talked about, Hennig is 21% with new runners to his barn and gets his go to jock in JV who he is 24% with over the last two years with a $4.67 ROI. His maiden try would make him a major player here, he was bothered in his 2nd and probably on the wrong surface in the recent turf attempt. He should be able to stalk the speeds and get first run when they start getting leg weary top of the stretch.