Get A Hunch, Bet A Bunch

Eight fillies and mares chase first money today in the meet’s first stakes race, the Sweetheart Handicap. The top five weighted horses are in the field, so it promises to be a dandy sprint.

Maheras Run, first or second in 12 of 17 lifetime starts, is the probable choice from the outside post with stiff competition expected from the Montana-based fillies Nightly Habit and Lady in Sable. Don’t, however, overlook Night Rodeo, a stretch-runner who has won stakes in each of her two previous Spokane campaigns.

Most of the best middle-priced claimers on the grounds hook up in the seventh race. The field includes both El Cabrio and Convergent Run, who almost always run as hard as horses can run.

Here are today’s selections:

$5 daily doubles pairing AWINNERFORMARY and HARD WORKIN WOMAN in the first race with MANTIS in the second ($10).

SECOND: $10 to win on MANTIS.

FOURTH: $10 to win in DOC SHAH’S MAJESTY.

SIXTH: $5 to win on TOO TRUE SLEW and wheel her in the quinella ($10).

NINTH: Wheel SUNSHINE SUPERMAN to every combination of SPOOK EYE ONE, UNCLE OT and SHIRL’S LAD in the $1 trifecta ($6).

Original bankroll: $2,000.

Present bankroll: $2,002.