Coolmore Lexington Stakes: Picks & Tips

Written by Jake Thompson
Friday, 22 April 2011 18:23

Horse racing picks and tips are ready in the Coolmore Lexington Stakes.

The 1 1/16 mile 2011 Coolmore Lexington Stakes is ready to be ran on dirt at Keeneland on April 23rd, and our horse racing picks and tips will hopefully provide some insight and winning selections.  The Coolmore Lexington Stakes will be the 9th race on the card and post time is set for 5:20 PM ET.  We’ll have a field of just 6 horses after Kentucky Derby contender Jaycito elected not to run after being considered as an entry earlier in the week.  That leaves us with only one horse in the field with Kentucky Derby aspirations, and race favorite Silver Medallion will need a win here if he hopes to be in the starting gate at Churchill Downs on May 7th.

Coolmore Lexington Stakes Post Positions, Odds, and Tips:

1 – Derby Kitten, 4/1

I don’t see Derby Kitten competing in the Coolmore Lexington Stakes despite the low odds.  He’s gotten 2nd in the Overnight Stakes and the Alligator Alley in his last two starts, but the competition has been minimal.  The only career win for Derby Kitten was a maiden claimer and this is a turf horse with a turf pedigree.  The distance won’t be an issue, but the stronger competitors will be.

2 – Silver Medallion, 8/5

The race favorite won the Eddie Logan and the El Camino Real Derby before a disappointing 4th place finish in the Santa Anita Derby left Silver Medallion needing a win here to get into the Kentucky Derby field.  This is another horse that has run mostly on turf or synthetics and he should be in the thick of things in the Coolmore Lexington Stakes.  He’ll stalk the pace before putting on a nice move in the back stretch.

3 – Prime Cut, 7/2

This is a horse that has raced on dirt in every single race in his career and hasn’t finished outside of 3rd in his last 4 races.  That being said, his only two career wins are an allowance last time out and a maiden-breaking effort back in 2010.  I like the pedigree here but it’s tough to know what to expect with only 2 career races at longer than a mile.  I’d expect improvement but it might not be enough to win the race.

4 – Hurricane Lake, 6/1

This 3-year-old took 9th in an allowance at Keeneland last year but is coming off an allowance win over a decent enough field at Golden Gate in his first career win.  Hurricane Lake has shown massive improvements since being switched over from turf to dirt and fake dirt, and a decent run could be in the cards for the Coolmore Lexington Stakes.

5 – Taptowne, 15/1

The race long shot is fresh off a 5th place finish in the Spiral Stakes and has never won a race in 4 tries.  The good news for Taptowne is that his pedigree suggests he’ll like the dirt and the distance, and I could see this horse proving a spoiler for quite a few exotics if every goes well.  Taptowne has ran against better competition than most of the other runners and I expect him to be bet down before post time.

6 – Casper’s Touch, 3/1

He won’t have enough earnings for the Kentucky Derby but this strong competitor is being pointed toward the Preakness Stakes and cannot be overlooked.  He came up empty in an excellent Fountain of Youth Stakes field but is fresh off a 7-furlong win at Keeneland.  He broke his maiden against some decent runners at Churchill Downs and has probably faced the best competition out of any Coolmore Lexington Stakes runners.

Coolmore Lexington Stakes Picks – Winner and Trifecta:

1 – Silver Medallion

2 – Taptowne

3 – Casper’s Touch