BANKROLL

BANKROLL: $1,815.75

The Jockey Club Gold Cup was drawn Wednesday and will be run Sunday. For a very long time, it was the handicap division’s premier race, and its move to the back end of the Saratoga meet was made, in part, to preserve its top-end status.

To the race’s credit, it drew Whitney winner Arthur’s Ride, as well as familiar faces Tapit Trice, Bright Future, and Disarm. One glaring absence from the Gold Cup, though, is Next. The country’s premier marathoner will bypass the event and instead target a race at Parx next month.

I can understand some aspects of the decision. Next will be an overwhelming favorite in that race, and, for that matter, any other event where he goes an ultra-long distance of ground. However, decisions like that make me appreciate ones like the call made by Ken McPeek, who took a shot with Thorpedo Anna in the Travers and gave fans of the sport a fantastic memory.

WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS: Giroovin ran very well having to close into a pace that turned out to be much, much slower than many handicappers (self included) figured it would be. Unfortunately, that was only good enough to finish fourth. After scratches, I dropped $35.

THURSDAY’S PLAY: I’ll try to extract some value out of #1 CHATEAU in the eighth. He’ll be bet heavily in the win pools, so I’ll focus on multi-race exotics. He’s a single in $6 doubles that start in the seventh with #4 VINTAGE VINO and #8 ACT OF MUTINY, as well as doubles for that value that end in the ninth with #1 JAA MODE and #6 SKYLER’S STARSHIP. I’ll also use all of these horses in a $2 Pick Three, too.

TOTAL WAGERED: $32.

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SELECTIONS/ANALYSIS

Best Bet: She Caught My Eye, Race 2
Longshot: Jackson’s Dixie, Race 5

R1

Jus Too Fly
Correlation
Papa’s Nico Boy

#5 JUS TOO FLY (7/2): Debuted with a second-place finish at Laurel and has several reasons to improve in the Thursday opener. His pedigree says he’ll love the turf, and this barn’s horses tend to get better with experience; #8 CORRELATION (5/2): Set a fast pace in his unveiling at Ellis Park and has since been moved to the barn of Mike Maker. A step forward makes him a player, though I’m a bit skeptical turf is truly what he wants; #9 PAPA’S NICO BOY (8-1): Is another bred to relish the turf and could pose a threat to run well on debut. His bloodlines hint he wants a bit more distance than today’s 5 1/2-furlong route, but the cushy outside post is certainly a plus.

R2

She Caught My Eye
Anotherdaygoneby
Mon Petit Chou

#3 SHE CAUGHT MY EYE (3-1): Drops in for a tag after more than a year of running against allowance foes, and that class advantage is a substantial one. She draws well for Linda Rice second off the bench, and I’m expecting significant improvement from her most recent effort; #2 ANOTHERDAYGONEBY (7/2): Rallied to top weaker foes in a $10,000 claimer last month, and while this is certainly a tougher spot, she’s in good form with four wins in seven starts this season. She’d benefit from a pace meltdown and should be going the right way late; #4 MON PETIT CHOU (6-1): Hasn’t won in quite a while and has run second twice in as many starts at this stand. She’s impossible to endorse on top given the drought, but she does like Saratoga and has some value on the bottom of vertical exotics tickets.

R3

Evaluation
Sweet Anniversary
Nolita

#1 EVALUATION (1-1): Debuted with a solid, professional score earlier this month and faces winners for the first time. That day’s runner-up was an impressive winner on Travers Day, and those two were well, well clear of the rest of the group; #7 SWEET ANNIVERSARY (4-1): Ships to Saratoga after a pair of wins at Finger Lakes. This is certainly a class test, but her two recent works here are sharp and she certainly hasn’t done anything wrong to this point; #5 NOLITA (9/2): Hasn’t run in nearly a year, but put forth a few solid efforts last summer before going to the sidelines. She’s been working steadily for Bill Mott, whose numbers with comebackers are very strong.

R4

Sandborn
Mr Flowers
Hurricane Express

#5 SANDBORN (4-1): Improved last time out to run second at this level and route. He was a bit wide throughout in that event, and further improvement plus a clean trip would give him a big shot in this wide-open maiden claimer; #2 MR FLOWERS (8-1): Ships up from Laurel after running second to a next-out winner at this distance in late-July. He’s got some speed, which should help, and this barn has quietly put together a very strong meet; #1 HURRICANE EXPRESS (5-1): Adds blinkers second off the bench for Chad Brown after finishing a length behind my top pick last time out. Irad Ortiz, Jr., goes elsewhere, but Dylan Davis hops aboard, and he’s enjoyed a head-turning summer while establishing himself as one of the better riders on the New York circuit.

R5

Shesalittle Edgy
Jackson’s Dixie
Malibu Moonshine

#8 SHESALITTLE EDGY (8/5): Exits a win at this level last month and hasn’t run a bad race all season long to this point. I came into this race wanting to go against her, but it’s not like this field is much better than the one she beat last time, and a similar effort likely means a similar outcome; #9 JACKSON’S DIXIE (12-1): Takes a significant drop in class to run against claimers for the first time since December. She’s beaten allowance or optional claiming foes three times since then, and while her last few starts haven’t been great, you don’t have to go back far to find efforts that would give her a big chance in here at a square price; #6 MALIBU MOONSHINE (9/2): Is another taking a considerable class drop off of a few underwhelming efforts. She’s won three stakes races, and while she may be better over wet tracks than fast ones, I think the cutback in distance will help her, and any sort of duel up front could set things up for her late kick.

R6

Contrabandist
T Kraft
Noble Confessor

#7 CONTRABANDIST (6-1): Is a tepid top pick in a mess of a maiden race out of the Wilson chute (unproven 2-year-olds at a quirky route? Send help!!!). He was fourth behind the ultra-impressive Ferocious last time out and has a pedigree that says he wants more distance, which he gets at second asking; #9 T KRAFT (3-1): Did a lot of the dirty work last time out before being reeled in in that race’s final yards. The far outside post is a big problem, but it’s not a disqualifying factor for horses fast enough to clear the field, and this one may fit that bill; #8 NOBLE CONFESSOR (2-1): Was third behind my second choice in his debut and is bred to improve with distance and experience. My question, though, is this: If this one’s so well-meant, why does Todd Pletcher also saddle my top selection in the same race?

R7

Military Road (MTO)
Vintage Vino
Act of Mutiny

#4 VINTAGE VINO (9/2): Ran well to be a close-up second last time out going longer, and that day’s winner came right back to beat first-level allowance foes. We know this distance won’t be too much for him, and I think he’ll be the one they have to hold off late; #8 ACT OF MUTINY (5-1): Has run just once since October, but his two turf races a season ago were both solid. The two-back bullet drill hints that he’s ready to go, and if he is, a repeat of either his two-back or three-back efforts would put him right there; #9 INHERENT PROMISE (4-1): Has run four solid races since going to the barn of Lisa Lewis, who doesn’t train many horses but is a very, very capable conditioner. Most recently, he was a close-up second at this level and route in mid-July, and his usual effort gives him a chance in another wide-open turf race.

R8

Flying P entry
Hatch
Charging Aero

FLYING P ENTRY (8/5): #1 CHATEAU has a very simple strategy. He goes to the front and holds on as long as he can, and that works pretty well in races that are otherwise light on early zip. That seems to be the case here, and I think it’s likely he forgets to stop; #3 HATCH (4-1): Makes his first start off the claim for Linda Rice, who’s one of the best in the game with new acquisitions. He may not have liked the slop last time out, and a return to the form he showed two starts ago would make him a contender; #9 CHARGING AERO (6-1): Won against similar last time out after jockey Luis Rivera kept him a bit closer to the pace. He doesn’t need the lead, by any means, but I think he’ll sit a stalking trip and have every chance when the real running starts.

R9

Skyler’s Starship
Jaa Mode
Merlin’s Moment

#6 SKYLER’S STARSHIP (9/2): Finished third behind the 1-2 finishers in the Albany two back in the New York Derby, then got a very, very strange ride as a 1/5 favorite and was off the board. I have no idea what happened that day, but I’m willing to give him a pass, and I think he’ll be the one they have to catch; #1 JAA MODE (3-1): Was second last time out at this level going two turns, but draws a tricky rail post in this Wilson chute event. His best race could win, for sure, but I thought his trip last time out was a perfect one, and I don’t love backing short-priced horses who couldn’t turn previous perfect trips into wins; #4 MERLIN’S MOMENT (8-1): Didn’t break well in the New York Derby and had an adventurous trip in a race prior to that one. His early-2024 races, though, weren’t bad at all, and I think he’s got a shot to surprise in a race that, by the way, I truly wish was being run at a two-turn route (more starts in front of fans, please!).

R10

Zulu Kingdom
Without Caution
Reach for the Rose

#7 ZULU KINGDOM (4-1): Makes her US debut for Chad Brown after a first-out stakes score in France. That day’s third-place finisher came back to win, and this one’s August 12th work over the Oklahoma turf course was very sharp. He looks every bit the one to beat in the Grade 3 With Anticipation; #2 WITHOUT CAUTION (7/2): Did everything right in his debut, where he stalked, pounced, and won at odds of 13-1. This barn has cooled off a bit after a scorching start to the meet, but the outfit still has 17 in-the-money finishes in 28 starts and looks live with this one; #6 REACH FOR THE ROSE (5-1): Debuted with a second-place finish in the Royal Palm at Gulfstream, then jogged home well clear in an off-the-turf race out of the chute. Judging by the aggressive debut spot, it’s clear this barn has had high hopes for this colt for quite a while, and he showed the distance won’t be what beats him in his last-out score.

R11

Creditworthy
Time and Tide
Speed Figures

#2 CREDITWORTHY (8/5): Looks strictly the one to beat in the Thursday finale and will likely be a popular multi-race exotics single. He was a fast-closing second in his debut downstate, a race he’d have likely won without having to check on the backstretch; #10 TIME AND TIDE (9/2): Debuts for a very patient outfit that doesn’t win with many first-time starters. However, this colt has been working up a storm in the mornings, and he’s bred to be a very strong turf horse. Flavien Prat sees fit to ride, and as far as alternatives to a heavy favorite go, there’s plenty to like here; #6 SPEED FIGURES (5-1): Showed speed in his debut, which came in an off-the-turf event at the beginning of the month. The presence of broodmare sire Candy Ride says he may be better on turf than dirt, and the recent bullet drill across the street indicates a step forward could be in the offing.