Longshot of the Day: Race 4 at Horseshoe Indianapolis

Track: Horseshoe Indianapolis

Race 4: $41,000 allowance going 1 mile on turf for 3+ Indiana breds

Post Time: 3:43 PM ET

Horse: #3 U R Not the Father (12/1 morning line) use as a win bet at 8/1 or higher.

One angle I enjoy playing in turf races this time of year is betting against favorites coming off long layoffs. Turf racing can often be seasonal for many horses in the Midwest and once grass racing stops in the fall, they get turned out for a few months before returning to action in the spring. On class, #7 V Max (6/5) makes plenty of sense, but he has not run since October for trainer Ethan West who has only put four works into him ahead of his 2025 debut. Meanwhile, #10 Zach (5/2), aside from being marooned in an outside post, also has not run since October and his trainer is 0-7 over the last five years coming back from a 6+ month layoff in turf races.

As a result, I targeted U R Not the Father as a horse who has shown some ability in limited chances on the grass and got in a start off the bench. The five-year-old son of Neck ‘n Neck does not have much turf pedigree in either side of his immediate family, but his two best Beyer Speed Figures have come over the grass. He nearly broke his maiden back in September over the turf before winning next out in a race the was rained off the grass that he took in gate-to-wire fashion. He appears to do his best work up front and faired far better when positioned aggressively out of the gate. He closed out his 2024 season back on the turf in his first race against winners where he finished fourth in a nine-horse field, which was a solid showing considering the conditions. Trainer Tiana Richardville sent him to the bench from October to April but brought him back to get some conditioning into him in a six-furlong sprint on the dirt, which was clearly nothing more than a leg stretcher to get him ready to go long on the turf again. He did not do much running that day, but he broke toward the back of the field and did a little bit of running late, but the effort was not so much about evaluating his performance as much as getting on the track and knocking off some rust. Expect a much sharper start as he stretches back out to his best distance and has a bit of an advantage over the favorites. I also like his drawing as he is the outside of some of the other speed in the race and should be able to cross over a significant amount of the field to sit in the two path of the first flight going into the first turn. Getting a good position early should allow him to get into a smooth rhythm running and he will have the conditioning to finish off his run.