Clark Stakes: A Longshot in the Winner’s Circle? Try Stage Raider

First Mission and Il Miracolo, a pair of 3-year-olds, are the top two betting choices for Friday’s $600,000 Clark (G2) at Churchill Downs, but the eight older horses in the field offer a few betting options that could result in a nice holiday weekend payoff.

First Mission, Godolphin-owned and Brad Cox-trained comes into the 1 1/8-mile Clark with three wins in a row after a second-place debut. He is the 3-1 favorite.

Todd Pletcher’s Gasoline and Linda Rice’s Film Star: Rising Stars at 5-1

Il Miracolo, set for his 16^th start for trainer Antonio Sano, enters off s runner-up finish against older horses in the Fayette (G3) at Keeneland on Oct. 28.

The next wave on the morning line are 5-1 choices Gasoline and Film Star.

Gasoline, trained by Todd Pletcher, is a 4-year-old gelding with three wins in his last four races, including his two most recent starts at Churchill Downs in allowance optional claimers. He is running in his first graded stakes race.

Film Star, trained by Linda Rice, is making his 12^th start of 2023 with three wins and nine seconds, including a runner-finish in the Woodward (G2).

And then there’s Stage Raider, a 12-1 live win contender for trainer Cherie DeVaux.

Stage Raider’s Comeback in Clark (G2): Assessing Rivals and Churchill Race Dynamics

The 5-year-old son of Pioneerof the Nile finished second to Zozos in the Ack Ack (G3) at Churchill on Sept. 30 before a poor effort (sixth of seven) in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Santa Anita on Nov. 4. A return to Churchill and a strong start from post 9 under Brian Hernandez, Jr., might be worth serious consideration.

The picks: 1 Stage Raider 2 First Mission 3 Gasoline

The field for the $600,000 Clark (G2), from the rail out, with jockey, trainer, odds:

1 Straight Arrow (Florent Geroux, Mike Dini), 8-1
2 First Mission (Luis Saez, Brad Cox), 3-1
3 Il Miracolo (Tyler Gaffalione, Antonio Sano), 4-1
4 Gasoline (Flavien Prat, Todd Pletcher), 5-1
5 Trademark (Fernando De La Cruz, Vicki Oliver), 6-1
6 Film Star (Jose Lezcano, Linda Rice), 5-1
7 Giant Game (Martin Garcia, Dale Romans), 12-1
8 Happy American (Declan Cannon, Neil Pessin), 20-1
9 Stage Raider (Brian Hernandez, Jr., Cherie DeVaux), 12-1
10 Blue Devil (Javier Castellano, Jeff Hiles), 10-1