Longshot of the Day: Race 7 at Oaklawn Park

Track: Oaklawn Park

Race 7: $130K allowance going 6 furlongs on dirt for 3+ fillies and mares

Post Time: 4:30 PM ET

Horse: #5 Lemonesse (8/1 morning line). Use as a win bet at 6/1 or higher.

Finding a horse that is returning to what they do best is typically a good angle as past performances can often throw people off. Lemonesse is a great example as the daughter of Gun Runner started her career winning three straight races with the first two being sprints. She eventually beat non-winners of three allowance company going a mile (and two turns) at Remington Park but struggled mightily against stakes company when she switched off Lasix and went 1 1/16 miles. Last time out trainer Steve Asmussen cut her back to six furlongs as it is what she does best. She broke well but got badly pinched back when sandwiched between a few other horses. She typically does her best running up front but showed a lot of grit to travel wide the whole way and make up ground to finish fifth in a 12-horse field. Asmussen’s son, Erik, remains aboard, which I do not always love to see, but to give Erik credit, he jockeyed this horse to victory in her first two career starts. That effort was also over a wet track. On Saturday she will get fast racing surface and as long as Erik Asmussen can get her away from the gate okay, she has the races to run back to that are among the best in the field. While her pedigree would suggest distance, her running lines show a different story. Look for her to be tracking within a couple lengths of the early pace and make a move around the turn to get into contention. So long as she avoids trouble, I think she is sitting on a big effort as she is a different horse with Lasix and only having to run one turn.