by Gerry Connors

Harrisburg, PA — Hello handicappers, and welcome to the USTA’s Cyber Circuit Racing for 2007! We’ll be here for each event, trying to help you gain some early insight into who is likely to be in Victory Lane after the big race. Our first assignment is at a former home of mine, Cleveland’s Northfield Park, for the Battle Of Lake Erie FFA.

If you compare the Meadowlands form of My Boy David (post 1) and Mister Big (post 8), you’d have to like Mister Big. Look at the Aquarius Final: Mister Big rallied from ninth to take it all, while My Boy David looked to be gapping the winner and offered no challenge.

But this is half-mile track racing, and that coveted rail, along with other factors, lead me to pick My Boy David here. After the Aquarius Final, he raced twice more at The Meadowlands, steadily if unluckily, then was given a freshening and came back to “home cooking” with two nice wins at Balmoral. I think the time away, followed by the confidence builders, have turned this horse around, and we’re hoping for young Anderson to be very aggressive from the pole and find the winning trip now.

I don’t see much between Gold Dust Beach, the morning line favorite, and former Battle winner Maltese Artist, except for the possibly-crucial fact that Gold Dust is inside the Artist. Both are horses with good early speed, but they face a tough rival from the rail, and if there are any outside leavers, the front end’s going to be awfully crowded, and they may not get the kind of trip they need to beat this kind.

As you may have guessed, I’d have picked Mister Big if he was most anywhere but stuck behind the 8-ball. If they let him get away at a good price, watch for him in gimmicks.

Load The Dice is pretty sharp — but if he leaves, a crowded front end gets even more crowded, and he was found wanting last time trying his likely tactic here, sweeping. (If Gingras does come to Cleveland, that’s a plus.)

The other three are horses anybody would want to own, but they’ll be severely tested for class in the Battle.

Good luck!