Rising star 3-year-old Most Wanted totes an unblemished 4-for-4 record into the $600,000 Clark Stakes Presented by Norton Healthcare, the signature race on Churchill Downs’ Black Friday card Nov. 29, and the bet here is the Candy Ride colt strikes again under the Twin Spires.

The Clark, downgraded from a Grade 1 to a Grade 2 for the 2023 renewal, drew a solid group of 10 entrants but none of the runners from the Breeders’ Cup return on four weeks rest with championship aspirations that need a boost. A Grade 2 in November just does not carry the weight of a Grade 1 when it comes to Eclipse Awards.

Trainer Ken McPeek pointed graded stakes winner #7 Rattle N Roll (5-1 morning-line odds) to the $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, but the 5-year-old by Connect had finished third in the Grade 2 Lukas Classic Stakes in his return from a one-year hiatus and did not draw into the race.

Re-routed to the Clark, Rattle N Roll is eligible to improve in his second race after the long layoff with nine weeks of rest. He’s 3-for-8 lifetime at Churchill Downs with seven top-three finishes and was very good last year when winning three straight Grade 3s before coming up a half-length short in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Stakes (held at Ellis Park) at this 1 1/8-mile distance. I expect him to run well in the Clark with a chance to regain his top form and turn the tables on Lukas Classic winner #6 Hit Show (3-1).

Hit Show, like Most Wanted, is a Candy Ride colt trained by Brad Cox entering the Clark on a winning streak. Hit Show has swept the West Virginia Governor’s Stakes, Lukas Classic, and the Hagyard Fayette Stakes in his last three starts, the most recent two at the 1 1/8-mile distance. Hit Show has never been better.

I landed on #5 Most Wanted (7-2) because I like what I’ve seen from him and I think he has another step to take at the end of his 3-year-old season, a time when racehorses often make significant jumps. The half-brother to 2021 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and 2022 Pegasus World Cup winner Life Is Good debuted in June and won his first three starts by less than a length while showing some versatility: prevailing from off the pace in his debut, pressing the pace in his second start, and then setting the tempo in a nose victory in his stakes debut in the Ellis Park Derby Aug. 11.

Most Wanted’s graded stakes debut in the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby was his best race to date, in my opinion, as he dueled for the early lead, was headed in the stretch, and then fought gamely to win by a length Sept. 29 at Remington Park.

Jockey Florent Geroux opted to stay on Most Wanted for the Clark rather than ride Hit Show, a colt he’s ridden in each of his five races in 2024, so that tells me he thinks this one has a bright future. Most Wanted has more tactical speed than the other two entrants I mentioned as well as Suburban Stakes winner #3 Crupi (4-1) and that could be a big boost to his chances in the Clark.

My plan is to bet Most Wanted to win and then key him on top of the trifecta over Hit Show and Rattle N Roll. I considered using potential pacesetter #9 Cooke Creek (6-1) and #4 Piroli (20-1) in the trifecta to spice up the payout, the latter coming out of a return to top form at Keeneland Oct. 20, but the top three feel like are pretty clear standouts, so I plan simplify and stick with them.

Betting Strategy on a $10 Budget

$10 win: #5 Most Wanted ($10)

What to say at the betting window: Churchill Downs, Race 11, $10 to win on #5

Wagering Strategy on a $30 Budget

$20 win: #5 Most Wanted ($20)

What to say at the betting window: Churchill Downs, Race 11, $20 to win on #5

$5 trifecta: 5 with 6,7 with 6,7 ($10)

What to say at the betting window: Churchill Downs, Race 11, $5 trifecta, 5 with 6,7 with 6,7