Check out my Friday (5-1-26) Churchill Downs Race 8 analysis below.
CD 8 (G2 Eight Belles, 7f) – 4:30 PM ET
Primary – #9 ON TIME GIRL, #8 Goodall
Secondary – #7 Luv Your Neighbor
Horse Comments:
#9 On Time Girl (5-2) is 4-for-6 with a second and a third. She attended the pace and won her first two starts at 6f, and she landed the place as the beaten favorite in the Myrtlewood at KEE last October. She pressed and kicked away to win the Fern Creek at 6.5f in November, and she stalked and scored by 3 lengths as the favorite in the G3 Forward Gal at this 7f distance Jan. 31. She raced wide from the outside post and was best of the rest in third (beaten 6 lengths) when last seen in the G2 Davona Dale at one mile (one turn). Irad Ortiz, Jr. strings along and she sports two local moves for this, and she is 2-for-2 at CD and 1-for-1 at 7f. An outside tactical trip is expected.
#8 Goodall (3-1) was 7-2 in her 6f bow at FG Jan. 17 and she made the running and ended up 2nd of 12. She set a pressured pace and dug in and earned her diploma by a half-length as the favorite second time out, and she went off lasix, chased from second, and kicked away to win the Purple Martin by 4 1/2 lengths at 5-1 odds March 14. It is a good sign that she sat in second without lasix and earned an improved number last time. I like her early-pressing versatility and outer draw, and she is a logical contender under her new rider Flavien Prat if she handles the added furlong of this race. They paid $525k for this Yaupon filly and she sports four local moves for this.
#7 Luv Your Neighbor (6-1) has distance limitations and that is why she is running here at 7f instead of the G1 Ky Oaks at 9f. She fired trifecta shots in all six conventional dirt outings. She won her debut in the slop at 7f, misfired on all-weather ground second time out, and was second in the slop on 12-4-25. She ended 2025 with a head defeat in the Untapable (1m 70yds), and was second by a neck in Silverbulletday (1m 70yds), second by a half-length in the G2 Rachel Alexandra (blinkers on – 8.5f), and third by 8.5 lengths in the G2 FG Oaks (8.5f). Saez stays put and I like her tactical speed.
Wagers:
#9 to win
Exacta 8-9/7-8-9
Trifecta 8-9/all/7
April 2026 Bettor Bet$ Free Pick Winners
April 2 – Charlie’s Curlin ($5.60)
April 3 – Joint Venture ($3.60)
April 4 – Meaning ($3.80)
April 8 – Dresden Row ($6.58), Trifecta ($67.28)
April 11 – West End Kid ($5.72), Exacta ($10.58), Trifecta ($29.28)
April 12 – In Our Time ($12.88)
April 13 – Play the Gray ($8.20)
April 15 – Rothko/Coalmoon Exacta ($42.26)
April 16 – Chapman’s Peak/Concord Green/Carcano Trifecta ($232.24)
April 21 – Black Rose/Quality View Exacta ($41.80)
April 22 – Evanescence/Beyond Belief Exacta ($11.32), Trifecta ($19.12)
April 28 – U Devil You ($9.26)
April 30 – Maximum Bourbon ($3.92)
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