Longshot of the Day: Race 7 at Horseshoe Indianapolis
Track: Horseshoe Indianapolis
Race 7: $36K MSW going 1 mile on turf for 3+ IN-bred fillies and mares
Post Time: 5:16 PM ET
Horse: #11 Lady Artist (8/1 morning line) use as a win bet at 5/1 or higher.
Early season turf races at Horseshoe Indy are always an opportunity for value. For Tuesday, I find myself looking at this maiden field and prioritizing experience on the turf as well as having an effort off the bench since so many runners are coming in off a layoff. As a result, Lady Artist stands out at an 8/1 ML that could get bet down a bit prior to post. The Tiana Richardville trainee might have had six bites at the apple, but the daughter of Paynter’s best two performances have come on the grass. She only finished fifth and fourth in her two turf efforts, but she earned a 39 and 44 Beyer Speed Figure, respectively, for those races, which puts her near the top of the field for turf BSF. For instance, morning line favorite #4 Kennedy Heights (8/5), aside from being 0-10 only has one BSF higher than Lady Artist and has a propensity for finishing second. From a pedigree standpoint, Lady Artist is out of a Temple City mare who ran nearly exclusively on the turf, but her full has yet to win, though she did jut come in a close second in a dirt sprint. Speaking of dirt sprints, the other reason I like Lady Artist is that she got a race in to start the season in which she sprinted six furlongs on the main track in a clear effort to knock off the rust. She lacks great early speed going long, so sprinting was never going to be her strong suit. As a result, I am willing to chalk that performance up to simply being a leg stretcher for today’s effort. She gets back on the turf in a field of maidens that shockingly lacks turf experience. Of the 12 runners entered in the race, only three have run on the turf before, and very few of the first time turf runners have pedigrees to suggest that they’ll take to the grass. Lady Artist might not dazzle you with her running lines, but she has experience on the surface, will be coming in more fit, and should move forward in her second start of 2025.