Expert Pick of the Week: 2023 Monmouth Park Oaks

Jul 27, 2023 John Mucciolo/TwinSpires.com

A
total of 10 sophomore fillies will travel 1 1/16 miles on the main oval in
Saturday’s $250,000 Monmouth Oaks (G3). The well-matched field is a very good
betting endeavor with numerous win threats in the field, and I will side with
Seduction to pick up her initial stakes
win for conditioner Todd Pletcher.

By
Bernardini, the three-year-old filly was a smart runner-up in her debut
offering at Aqueduct in October and returned to dust maiden special weight foes
at Gulfstream Park in her 2023 bow, pulling clear by five lengths in a one-mile
contest. In the Boiling Springs S. on this surface last time out, the
Kentucky-bred bay endured a difficult trip when a non-threatening fifth but has
tons of room for improvement.

Seduction
has posted a pair of solid morning drills leading up to this affair and will
surely appreciate having a local run under her belt, as well. The bay has good
positional speed and will benefit from being drawn well off the rail to ensure
a clear voyage on Saturday. Jose Gomez inherits the ride atop the leading
selection and will be moving to the fore in early stretch.

Conditioner
Chad Brown has two live contenders in the cast, and I will use both for the
exotics.
Shidabhuti captured the
first trio of lifetime tries in her career, prior to finishing a solid third in
the Gazelle S. (G3) at Aqueduct in April. In her latest performance, the
$310,000 yearling purchase finished a clear second in the Boiling Springs S.
while making her first appearance on the oval.

Shidabhuti
possesses a nice turn of foot and will move forward in her second showing of
the season. The Practical Joke three-year-old will be doing her best work in the
lane with Jairo Rendon in the silks.

Brown’s Occult was last seen rallying for a
third-place result in the Acorn S. (G1) at Belmont Park. The dark bay daughter of
Into Mischief picked up her biggest win to date when annexing the Busanda S. at
Aqueduct in her first run of 2023, and she has been training forwardly in
advance of this outing, too. The Kentucky-bred filly, who was a $625,000 yearling
purchase, will track the pace from the early going with Feargal Lynch taking
the reins.

Expert Pick

An
exacta with
#8 Seduction on top of #7 Shidabhuti and #9 Occult in the 2023 Monmouth Oaks is the Best Bet of the Week.