Longshot of the Day: Race 6 at Turfway

Track: Turfway Park

Race 6: $80K MSW going 1 mile on synthetic for 3+

Post Time: 8:25 PM ET

Horse: #7 Obelisk (10/1 morning line) use as a win bet at 6/1.

Yesterday we cashed on our longshot play, but sadly the horse got bet all the way down to favoritism. Still, a win is a win, but let’s try to cash a bigger ticket today with Obelisk. The son of Quality Road is making his second start for trainer Eoin Harty and has plenty to build upon in what was an educational debut going six furlongs at Turfway Park back in January. In debut, Obelisk found himself sitting at the back of the field before making a move in the stretch to finish fourth by 3 ½ lengths. The top two betting choices finished 1-2, so it is hard to get upset with a formful result and it was encouraging to see him take some money from the public prior to that first race as he went off at 5/1. I would expect him to show slightly better speed with a draw further outside as he can more easily track the early pace scenario under the guidance of apprentice jockey Andres Calleja who rode him in debut. The apprentice jockey gets a seven-pound advantage over the field, which is significant went going two turns for maidens. A couple of other things that stand out to me is that trainer Eoin Harty has won 19% of his maiden second starts in synthetic maiden special weight races over the last five years, which is much higher than his overall 13%-win rate during that same period. Additionally, the horse’s pedigree and running style should suggest stretching out from six furlong to a mile is ideal. Quality Road is a good influence up top and underneath, his dam (Better Lucky) was a G1-winning turf router who also a G1-placed sprinter over the all-weather surface back in the day at Keeneland. Loads of good pedigree on the female side of the family. Horses typically can make a big jump between their first and second starts and with the longer distance and pedigree to match, I like Obelisk at 6/1 or higher come post time.