Paradise Creek Stakes – Race 7 at Belmont at the A – Post Time 4:09 PM Eastern

Top Win Contender(s): Bronze Bullet, Intricate Spirit

Exactas in second: Track Tiger, Itza Lock

Bronze Bullet tries a turf sprint in his eighth start, whereas all his other races have been turf two-turn races or all-weather races. In his last race, the English Channel Stakes, a turf route, he raced from fourth to the wire and finished fourth. His second race back was a sprint on an all-weather track, where he would have finished better if not for trouble. He tried to go through a narrow hole in the stretch but was checked and finished third. In his other two sprints, he won and finished second. He gets hot jockey Flavien Prat, and with the cut back in distance, Bronze Bullet should rebound to win.

Intricate Spirit won the Futurity Stakes at this distance on turf at Aqueduct last October. He was then sent to the wolves in the Breeders’ Juvenile Turf Sprint, where he finished ninth. He was off for five months until March, when he ran in the Texas Glitter Stakes, which was moved from turf to dirt, and finished third. In the Palisades Stakes last month, he had trouble on the turn and could not recover. The Palisades was a productive race. One horse from the Palisades won its next race, and four others finished second or third in their subsequent races. Intricate Spirit should be second to fourth early, behind a fast pace, with Chasing Freedom and Track Tiger next to other horses at the gate. Intricate Spirit could get a great trip if those two horses go as fast as they should.

Handicapper Picks

Win bets: Bronze Bullet, Intricate Spirit at 5 to 2 or higher.

Exactas: Bronze Bullet, Intricate Spirit over Bronze Bullet, Intricate Spirit, Track Tiger, and Itza Lock.

Doubles:

Race 7: Bronze Bullet, Intricate Spirit

Race 8: Waitlist, Kinetic

Race 8 at Belmont at the A – Post Time 4:40 PM Eastern

Top Win Contender(s): Waitlist, Kinetic

Exactas in second: Dreamlike, Classicist

Waitlist just won at this mile-and-one-eighth distance at Aqueduct. He rallied from fifth, going four paths wide to take the lead at the eighth pole and then widened. He gets a good pace to run, with two horses, Otello and Classicist, who have only won by leading from the start. Jockey Silvera rode Waitlist and will ride him again. From the rail, he should get a trip to win his second straight.

Kinetic also won his last race. He and Waitlist are the only ones coming off wins into the race. His last race was a one-turn race, but he previously won at this distance, including the General MacArthur Stakes. He ran three poor efforts before the win, so his previous trainer (Cox) put him into a claiming race for the first time. He was claimed by Michael Miceli, who has won eight of 35 races this year. Because Kinetic has always won this allowance race, he is at the optimal claiming price; if he should win this race, his connections would make a tidy sum of money. He has won two consecutive races before, and he could do the same today.

Handicapper Picks

Win bets: Waitlist, Kinetic at 7 to 2 or higher.

Exacta: Waitlist, Kinetic and Waitlist, Kinetic, Dreamlike, and Classicist

The Thor’s Echo Stakes – Race 3 at Santa Anita – Post Time 5 PM Eastern

Top Win Contender(s): Uncle Chilly, Big City Lights

Uncle Chilly has won three races in succession, all since being claimed by trainer Jeff Mullins. His first two wins were sprints (like this race), and he recently won a one-mile race. Both of his recent sprint wins showed a nice kick. When moved from three-wide on the turn, he was still third at the eighth pole and then won. In his second back race, he was five-wide on the turn, fourth at the eighth pole, and won easily. The cut in distance helps sharpen his kick, and Uncle Chilly

appears ready to win his fourth consecutive race. Top jockey Joel Rosario recently moved his tack to California and has gotten off to a great start with 5-6-2 in 21 starts at Santa Anita.

Big City Lights is a “win type” who has run in 15 dirt sprints and won eight races. He won twice in similar stakes in November 2024 and January 2025, but then was off for a nine-month layoff. He raced his worst in two races on November 1 and November 30, 2025. The first of his comebacks was in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, so that can be ignored, as his second back race was his first-ever turf race. He then had another layoff until May 2, when he won in a tough effort, battling from the quarter pole and winning by a half-length. That makes him possibly vulnerable coming back after three weeks. Still, Big City Lights is the only horse with a chance to beat Uncle Chilly.

Handicapper Picks

Win bets: Uncle Chilly, Big City Lights at odds of 9 to 5.

Doubles:

Race 3: Uncle Chilly, Big City Lights

Race 4: Sunset Grazen, O K Rose

The Fran’s Valentine Stakes – Race 4 at Santa Anita – Post Time 5:30 PM Eastern

Top Win Contender(s): Sunset Grazen, O K Rose

Exactas in second: Take Another Card, Grand Slam Smile

Sunset Grazen had been off for nearly a year when he returned on May 3 in a turf sprint, breaking slowly and finishing last of seven. He showed no speed until the last eighth pole, then finished strong, missing the win by three-quarters of a length. Sunset Grazen then won his first sprint, followed by the Golden Gate Debutante Stakes. Both wins came in the fall of 2024; he hadn’t won a race before then. He finished second in three races from February through April 2026, including the Evening Jewel Stakes, a turf route sprint where he missed by a half-length. Now he gets an early pace with Grand Slam Smile and other horses stretching out. In this race, his second off a layoff, he also gets top jockey Juan Hernandez, who is riding him for the first time.

O K Rose won in March after a two-month layoff in a turf sprint, but his other two wins were in turf routes. One of those route wins came last July after a similar layoff. Jockey Berrios rode him then and rides him again. If she repeats any of her three previous top efforts, she can win.

Handicapper Picks

Win bets: Sunset Grazen, O K Rose at odds of 5 to 2.

Exacta: Sunset Grazen, O K Rose over Sunset Grazen, O K Rose, Take Another Card, Grand Slam Smile