best of buddies (10-1) - last two solid. fast enough to win with a ground saving trip under 116 lbs. concerned the efforts might take a toll though, especially with only two weeks rest here.
crested (9-2) - should be running late, but might not get the pace set up needed.
sea of trees (6-1) - should also make a decent late run, but also might be compromised by the pace.
arbuckle bandit (6-1) - nice winter campaign, worked from a \'14\' down to \'9\', then popped a \'4\' off the claim. wisely laid up, and seems to be working his way back. gets 6 lbs from the favs, and should save some ground under razo from post 4.
tally up (8-1) - has the fast \'2.5\' sprinting, and a few other competitive figures. should also get the decent trip.
go between (7-2) - nice \'3\' top in the turf cup, then backed up a bit when beating a rather weak field in the va derby. was spent by the arl race and wisely laid up. should run better here with the freshening. gets high weight.
brilliant (5-2) - has the huge top, and a lot of decent figures. might lose a bit of ground as a stalker from post 7, and gets high weight.
creative force (10-1) - \'7\' turf top. outside post.
...
very competitive race. i will key arbuckle bandit at decent odds. solid pattern, nice timing coming in.
