#5 Rollers (9/2 ml)

Tagg trainee had worked head-up from the gate a couple of times with Big Truck, prior to thgose two making their debuts. Big Truck is now 2-for-2 with a stakes win to his credit, and Rollers posted a 6-length win in his own debut. Note that Eibar Coa abandons Fed Watcher to stick with Rollers. Tough field here, but the main threat Immortal Eyes seems to have trouble holding onto leads. I'll take my chances with Rollers.

HRT record:

33 for 113 (29%)

$303.10 mutuels ($9.18 avg)

Rollers went off as the 5/2 favorite, and ran out after a bad trip. He broke slowly and was shuffled back to last, then was rushed up the backstretch before going 8-wide on the turn while trying to circle the field. He ran on decently thru the stretch, but he just had WAY too much to do here. I really don't know what happened leaving the gate. I stuck around to watch the head-on replay, and i couldn't pick anything out. No bumping, no trouble that i could see. Just broke slow, and seemed to have some trouble finding his stride. Looked fine after that. I did notice after the race that Tagg had come in personally to saddle the horse, as i noticed him talking with Coa near the winner's circle. Horse looks to have a pretty big stride, and should do well routing, i think.