Keeneland Select Pick of the Day | June 19, 2021

Race 11 at Gulfstream Park | Saturday June 19 | Post Time 5:35 PM Eastern

Martha Washington Stakes | Purse $75,000 | One Mile on Turf | Fillies, Three Years Old

Karakatsie (3) broke her maiden at first asking back in December, in a turf race at this mile distance. That is no easy feat, and the filly did so with the maturity of a horse that had already raced a few times as she relaxed in fifth of 12 in the early stages before rallying to win by a half-length. She didn’t run as well in her next two starts which were in January and February but when she returned to the races last month she ran the best race of her career even though she finished second. That was the nearly identical Honey Ryder Stakes in which Karakatsie finished behind easy four length winner Con Lima, who returned to win the Grade 3 Wonder Again Stakes at Belmont on June 3. Considering Karakatsie was two clear of the third horse in that race and considering she should improve off the career-best 91 Equibase figure earned in that race in her second start off a layoff, Karakatsie should be tough to beat.

That being said, Charges Dropped (5) is another interesting contender to win this race, likely to go to post at higher odds than Karakatsie. This is because she just broke her maiden on May 7 in her third career start. Her first two efforts resulted in so-so fifth of 12 and sixth of 12 finishes, but when blinkers were added for that last race Charges Dropped ran as well as Karakatsie did in her debut win. Rallying from fifth in the early stages, Charges Dropped made the lead shortly after passing the eighth pole and drew off nicely to win by a couple of lengths with a 92 figure on par with that 91 figure Karakatsie earned in her runner-up stakes effort six days earlier. Having put in a trio of strong workouts since that last race and being a full sister to multiple stakes winner Inspector Lynley ($690K banked), Charges Dropped can’t be ignored as a contender to win this race.

Hana Lima (2) and Tik Tok Famous (7) are both horses who won easily when breaking their maidens on the Gulfstream Park turf in their most recent races. The former earned a competitive 91 figure and the latter 84 while controlling the pace on the front from start to finish. There’s not a lot of early speed in this field so Tik Tok Famous may attempt the same thing here, and Han Lima can improve off the debut win but it must be noted Gonzalez gets off Han Lima to ride Karakatsie and also that trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. (who trains both Han Lima and Tik Tok Famous) does not have a strong record when moving his horses from maiden races to stakes races so I’ll just use them in second on exacta tickets. I’ll also use Vintage Style (8), who is still a maiden, in second on exacta tickets as she has finished in that position in two straight turf races including when behind Tik Tok Famous last month.

Win bets:

Karakatsie (3) and Charges Dropped (5) at odds of 2 to 1 or higher.

Exactas:

Karakatsie (3) and Charges Dropped (5) over Karakatsie (3), Charges Dropped (5), Hana Lima (2), Tik Tok Famous (7) and Vintage Style (8).