Last week was outstanding for us here at the US Extra Place Race column. Two outright wins and four places from just 11 horses who ran, all tips went up at 6/1 or longer. I’d take that every week of the year.
For Monday, we’ve put up three horses all priced up outside the top-three according to the odds on the Morning Line, as we look to find value in the market…
US Horse Racing Tips – Monday 2 October, 2023
- Back Agnello’s Dream e/w in the 18:50 at Thistledown @ SP
- Back City Tripper e/w in the 21:21 at Presque Isle Downs @ SP
- Back Unstable Prince e/w in the 22:15 at Presque Isle Downs @ SP
*Betfred will price up US Races closer to Post time.
Our week will start in Ohio, with the third race on the card at Thistledown (18:50), where a 6/1 shot according to the Morning Line tickles our fancy.
I’m going for Agnello’s Dream, who’ll break from the outside post in this six-furlong race. His recent form here has been excellent, winning once and placing on four other occasions from six starts at the track.
The only time he failed to get in the top three was in the Grade III Ohio Derby, which was quite the step-up in class, considering there were Kentucky Derby entries in the field.
This evening it is back to regular Thistledown horses, rather than seeing top-quality three-year-olds ship in from all over the country. When you consider his recent record, you have to like him to place considering he’s hit the board every time at this track, apart from that one high-quality race.
A back-to-back-to-back winner at Presque Isle Downs (21:21) is next for us, who surprisingly has been priced-up as the fourth-choice on the Morning Line despite his performances in recent weeks at this very track.
City Tripper has been relatively heavily-raced so far this year, having stepped foot on to the track nine times since mid-May. On the first six occasions, all this three-year-old could muster up were two top three finishes. In his past three runs, however, it has been win, win, win.
All three victories have recorded Equibase Speed Figures in the 70s, these are the first time we’ve seen that as his previous highest was 67. Clearly he’s taken a step forward in recent weeks and no reason to think he’ll fall away tonight, as he goes six-furlongs, a distance he won at last time out and has placed three-times on the spin.
Later on the card in Pennsylvania, we have a one-mile race on the dirt in the 22:15, where Unstable Prince is a big-price and has a real shot of hitting the board.
This four-year-old spent his 2022 season at Oaklawn Park in some really quality fields and really didn’t do anything noteworthy whatsoever. He failed to finish in the top three in any of his six starts.
In July of this year we saw this William Martin-trained horse take to the track at Prairie Meadows, a significant step down in class and he placed in just his second race at the track, before breaking his maiden last time out with a decent enough looking win.
Look, he’s nothing special but getting him into fields where he’s competitive could really give his career a bit of momentum.
Presque Isle Downs is on a similar level to Prairie Meadows and he hit 80 for an Equibase Speed Figure for the first time in his previous outing. I’m not expecting a win but if we get near the 10/1 the market is expected to open at, I like his each-way chances.
