Top pick: #5 (HIERRO ) - He's one of three entered here that have won previously on this surface. Highly thought of son of "Hard Spun" broke his maiden here in impressive style last Nov, but has been a bit of a "handful"in both his starts in 2012. Latest saw him break slowly from a tough inside post at Santa Anita but still manage to finish a close up 4th. He's been training here for the past month and Steve Asmussen put a bullet 5 furlong work into him April 15th. Can take this at a square price.
2nd pick: #7 (Paynter) - Another on the long list of talented 3yos from the barn of Bob Baffert, this colt was an easy winner when debuting at Santa Anita on Feb 18th, then did well to finish 4th in a solid field in the Santa Anita Derby(G1) April 7th. Obviously has alot of ability and Marty Garcia flys in from California for the mount.
3rd pick: #11 (Bourbon Courage) - He's won both his starts with ease and has earned himself triple-digit "figures" in each, a very impressive accomplishment. Draws a nice post at this "flat" mile distance and he meets a much tougher field today as he trie to complete a "hat trick". We'll find out much more about his talent level this evening.
4th pick: #9 (Stealcase) - He's had problems at the start of a pair of recent stakes after a nice maiden win at Gulfstream in jan. Working sharply on this surface and he's a threat at a big price from off the pace.