There will be a mandatory payout on the Super High 5 on Saturday at Woodbine. With more than $173,000 in the carryover pool heading into Friday’s card, the Saturday pool could grow to as much as half a million dollars if the jackpot is not hit Friday. The wager has a 20-cent minimum with 15 percent takeout on new money.

The mandatory payout race anchors a 12-race card with post time for the finale scheduled for 6:50 p.m. EST. There are a pair of graded stakes leading into the Super High 5 race, which is a $15,000 claiming race for non-winners of three races lifetime at 1 1/16-miles over the all-weather surface.

Finding a key horse is far from a must,
but can often be the most cost-effective approach to attacking a
vertical wager like the Super Hi-5. Ideally, that key is not the chalk
or second choice.

The favorite in Saturday’s finale, Patrolman, is certainly likely to hit the board after finally disposing of non-winners of two foes on October 20. The Martin Drexler trainee has never finished worse than second in four tries over this surface and should get an honest pace to run at given the presence of Silver Smoke and Stormin Dave. The main issue is he has burned a lot of money recently. In fact, the 5-year-old lost three straight times as the chalk before finally paying the public back at 7-5 last month. He is a must-use, but I do not trust him on the win end.

The same is true of second-choice Sammy Stone. The Oscar Performance gelding makes his second start off the claim for trainer Mike Dunslow after a strong runner-up effort against better going seven furlongs two months ago. A repeat of that effort definitely puts him in the mix, but he is 0-for-8 over this surface and 0-for-4 at the distance making him more of an underneath use. 

Winston Blue intrigues most. The son of Tale of Ekati makes his third start since entering trainer Andrew McPherson’s barn back in August. McPherson gave the Ontario-bred six weeks after claiming in early August and brought him back in a pair of seven-furlong affairs against better where he hit the board in both tries. Now, the 5-year-old gelding stretches back out to his preferred two-turn distance and should find himself in a perfect mid-pack position on the backstretch. Hopefully, jockey Fraser Aebly can angle over and save ground into the first turn. If so, I love Winston Blue’s chances of making a strong impression late. I will “live and die” with him running for first or second Saturday evening. 

If you are looking for a long shot to hit the board, perhaps Lil Bit Gangsta can come with a strong late run under Leo Salles. The son of Reload is winless in eight starts over the Woodbine all-weather surface, but those tries came over two years ago. He is a far better horse now and could get the right setup to pass the majority of the field in the lane. 

One horse that is likely to be used on most tickets that I am willing to let beat me is Ghostly Spitfire. The 6-1-morning line shot earned his second career victory last month over this surface, but got a great trip and beat a modest group compared to what he encounters in this one. I can definitely see him regressing for Breeders’ Cup winning trainer Kevin Attard. 

This is a very playable race to close out the card on Saturday. Hopefully, we can take a slice of what should be a massive pool.

Coverage of the Super High 5 at Horse Racing Nation is provided in partnership with Woodbine Entertainment.