Wednesday wagers: Murumbi motors home 1st at Delaware

Delaware Park kicks off another racing week Wednesday, and I’ll try to pick some winners with my five-pack of selections.

Best bet: Murumbi (race 8)

Best value bet: Radieux (race 2)

Race 2

No. 7 Radieux (6-1) ran his best race in a while speed figure-wise when dropping to the $5,000 claiming ranks last time out, settling for second behind a runaway winner. He could offer value in his third start off the bench. No. 4 Spectrier (2-1, morning-line favorite) narrowly missed in his latest attempt at this level, logical alternative. No. 5 Hollywood Closeup (4-1) tries a new low while shipping in from Monmouth, and the recent tune-up work is solid.

How I’d bet it (based on a $100 budget): $2 exacta box 4/5/7, $8 win 7

Race 3

No. 4 Hendrickson (4-1, morning-line favorite) gets effective class relief shipping in from Gulfstream and lures Jamie Rodriguez (30 percent) – tepid nod. No. 2 Street Rockin (9-2) could pick up the pieces late, as he did when he moved into fourth at this level last time out. No. 1 Country Charlie (10-1) should be involved early and is well-rated enough to outrun these odds.

How I’d bet it: $2 exacta box 1/2/4, $4 exacta 4/1,2

Race 4

No. 5 Principia (4-1) fits nicely with these and is a big threat to steal this one up front under Daniel Centeno (26 percent). No. 1 Carroll Girl (6-1) has run two straight you can draw a line through (turf, slow start). A repeat of her three-back effort puts her in the hunt. No. 3 Alexa’s Dream (8-1) and No. 4 Brown Suga Babe (3-1) are tough to leave out off open-length victories vs. lesser with high-percentage connections representing each.

How I’d bet it: $6 exacta box 1/5, $2 exacta 1,5/3,4

Race 6

No. 5 Mackman (9-5) gets the nod over No. 4 Goodafternoonoscar (3-2, morning-line favorite) based on the 1-for-5 record as opposed to the 1-for-22 record of his main rival. Mackman was a well-rated maiden winner at Oaklawn before tackling much tougher in consecutive starts. The latter sheds blinkers following recent races vs. allowance company at Laurel. No. 6 Play Hard (4-1) has been idle since September but exits a sharp maiden score and gets the red-hot Gabriel Maldonado, with 14 wins in his last 30 races overall, aboard for Gary Capuano (35 percent).

How I’d bet it: $10 exacta 5/4, $5 exacta 5/6, $5 exacta 4/5

Race 8

No. 2 Murumbi (2-1, morning-line favorite) hasn’t won in a while but got awfully close when last seen. That was likely because of the increase in distance, and he remains routing today. He meets a fairly weak field in the nightcap. No. 3 Party Monster (6-1) could make an impact on the class drop and is consistent enough in the speed figure department. No. 6 Dia de Sol (5-1) will take them as far as he can – likely to move forward second off the bench and lures Carol Cedeno (19 percent).

How I’d bet it: $10 exacta 2/3,6

Robert Criscola is a free-lance handicapper based in New York.