Longshot of the Day: Race 5 at Keeneland

Track: Keeneland

Race 5: $130K allowance going 5 ½ furlongs on the turf for 4+

Post Time: 3:08 PM ET

Horse: #6 Boltage (8/1 morning line) use as a win bet at 6/1 or higher.

Finding a longshot to play is sometimes as much about finding horses to play against as finding a horse that you love, which is the case with Boltage. Turf sprints are always difficult to handicap as the race can be over within the first 50 yards given how horses break and their early position. I am not a particular fan of #2 Coast Along (7/2) who will be part of the early pace scenario for trainer Shug McGaughey. He is a trainer I love, but I rarely trust him with horses coming off a layoff. Then I took a long look at #4 Let It Ride (6/1) for trainer George Weaver, but this is one coming off a significant layoff having fallen last time he ran and has had an irregular work pattern leading up to his return. As for Boltage, he checks a lot of boxes for trainer Michael Stidham. First, jockey Ben Curtis is up on the mount and perhaps nobody is riding better than him to start the Keeneland Spring Meet as he’s won 50% of his mounts to this point including a stakes victory. I also love that Stidham cut this horse back to being a turf sprinter after he had been made to route for most of his career. He also showed good early speed, but tended to fade going longer despite breaking his maiden going a mile out at Del Mar. Last time out in February, Stidham made the change at Fair Grounds to sprint this son of Bolt d’Oro and he was able to translate his routing speed to sprint races as he sat second early and then took over and extended his lead late against N1X allowance company. He is stepping up in conditions today going against N2X company, but I love the fact that he popped with a big Beyer Speed Figure (90) once he tried something new. He has been training great for Stidham leading up to this race with a pair of bullet workouts at Fair Grounds and then went four furlongs in 48.1 seconds that was third of 22 at Keeneland last week. Love that Curtis stays aboard and knows what this horse can do in this spot. Look for Boltage to provide some value as a horse that could sit just off the pace and get a win for you at a price.