TDN's Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato will make $50 Win/Place bets on each Kentucky Derby prep and Triple Crown race. The handicapper with the highest bankroll after the Belmont Stakes wins. Scratches will result in the post time favorite.
GII Xpressbet Fountain of Youth S. – Unbeaten Mohaymen took care of business as the 2-5 favorite; certainly better than tearing them up. Total: $337.50.
GIII Gotham S. – While he may be his own worst enemy, Adventist (Any Given Saturday) has every right to get the money at a decent price here. The bay was a jaw-dropping debut winner sprinting over the inner track Dec. 19, turning in an impressive stretch run once switching his leads to score by 11 1/4 lengths while drifting a bit late. The Treadway Racing Stable colorbearer proved he belongs with this caliber with a solid third behind Sunny Ridge (Holy Bull) after a very rough voyage in the GIII Withers S. Making his route debut that day, he was off a bit awkwardly, then blew the first turn. Perched at least three wide down the backstretch once finally settling into stride, Adventist made a nice wide run on the far turn and kept on fighting in the stretch, despite exchanging multiple bumps with heavily favored Flexibility, to finish within 1 3/4 lengths of the top prize. Five-furlong bullet over the deep Belmont training track in 1:01 1/5 (1/34) is a very good sign that he may be ready to put it all together. Selection: #3 Adventist (4-1).
GII Xpressbet Fountain of Youth S.- Not much to say about this one–Mohaymen came through as the heavy chalk to give us a tiny win. It's certainly hard to fault what he's done so far, but I'd still like to see him to run a legitimately fast race before crowning him the next American Pharoah. Total: $602.50.
GIII Gotham S. – There are some legitimate favorites in here in Shagaf (Bernardini) and Sunny Ridge (Holy Bull), but this race has a wide-open feel and I'm going to take a shot with a bigger price (his 4-1 morning line quote seems low to me). Adventist (Any Given Saturday) was super impressive breaking his maiden first out by 11 1/2 lengths sprinting here Dec. 19, and he might have been asked to do too much too soon when stretched out for the GIII Withers S. here Jan. 30. The Leah Gyarmati pupil missed the break, basically blew the first turn due to greenness and shied repeatedly from the whip in the lane, bumping with favored Flexibility before ultimately beating that foe for third. He finished just 1 3/4 lengths behind Sunny Ridge, but covered an additional 29 ft. (approx. 3 1/2 lengths), according to Trakus. With a bullet work since then, if Adventist steps forward and shows more maturity, he can turn the tables and pull off the upset. Selection: #3 Adventist (4-1).
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