US expert Tom Collins thinks super miler can land the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap

He Hate Me
10.25 Gulfstream Park
1pt win

Proven Strategies
10.57 Gulfstream Park
1pt each-way

Mr Freeze
12.04 Oaklawn Park
2pts win

Saturday marks the end of Oaklawn Park's meet and in true American style it is going out in style with two divisions of the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby either side of the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap.

It is hard to find value in both divisions of the Arkansas Derby with Charlatan set to go off a worthy short-priced favourite in the first contest, while nothing stands out at a decent price in the second heat.

Instead, it is worth focusing on the aforementioned Oaklawn Handicap (12.04), where 14 runners are set to compete for a purse of $600,000.

A fast pace is expected with the Brad Cox-trained Warrior's Charge set to go forward along with Bob Baffert's poorly drawn Improbable (gate 14), but they both might be headed in the early stages by Mr Freeze.

Trained by Dale Romans, Mr Freeze has proved extremely tough to peg back when able to dictate the fractions on the front end in the past and may be able to slow the race up after going faster than ideal to grab the early advantage into the first bend.

Winner of the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby in 2018 and Grade 3 Ack Ack Stakes in 2019, Mr Freeze has improved again this season and has regularly hit the frame in the best mile contests, including when second behind Mucho Gusto in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup in January.

Mr Freeze was all the rage when he lined up in the Gulfstream Mile the following month and rewarded punters with a demolition job under Manny Franco. He pulled three lengths clear of his nearest pursuer and the result never looked in doubt under a confident ride to land the Grade 2 prize.

They went quick fractions that day but Mr Freeze was able to sit up with the pace three-wide and he drew clear in the style of a horse on top of his game, posting a 103 Beyer figure in the process.

Romans was going to ship him to Dubai to contest the Godolphin Mile but decided to stick to this plan and he has been working well leading up to the race. He will prove hard to beat and his morning line price of 6-1 is ridiculous.

There are also three stakes contests at Gulfstream Park and it may pay to oppose the likely favourite in two of them.

I tipped Chad Brown's Network Effect in allowance optional claiming company when he was last seen on the back of a four-month absence and he ran a super race to be beaten just half a length despite plenty going wrong in the run (slow start, clipped heels and keen early).

He was the best horse on the day by a country mile but isn't the most reliable and is worth taking on now that he is upped in grade and dropped in trip to contest the Big Drama Stakes (10.25).

Irad Ortiz and Brown rarely get it wrong when teaming up in stakes company, but they might have met their match as the Luis Saez-ridden He Hate Me represents better value and has the form to win.

Trained by Stanley Hough, He Hate Me has drawn well in gate two and should be able to get a prominent early sit under Saez, who will be desperate to get some winners on the board in his pursuit of the jockeys' title.

He Hate Me has been unlucky not to get his head in front in this kind of company on his last six starts, recording form figures of 233423 in black type, stakes or Listed races stretching back to last August.

His latest third in the Sir Shackleton Stakes at this track was a highly creditable effort and he looked like winning for a long way before his sustained bid rounding the home bend took its toll.

Vekoma, a smart George Weaver-trained runner, picked him up that day and a repeat effort would make him hard to handle.

The following English Channel Stakes (10.57) looks wide open and I'll take a chance on the in-form Proven Strategies for Mark Casse and Dylan Davis.

This forward-going sort took seven races to break his duck but was tried in the Grade 1 Summer Stakes and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf along the way and ran well in both races to finish fourth and sixth respectively.

He lost his maiden tag without breaking sweat on his penultimate outing before making every yard once again in an allowance optional claimer here last month.

Proven Strategies needs to step forward again but he should have a clear run to the front with hold-up horses drawn immediately inside of him and will try to hold off the closers.

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