BANKROLL

BANKROLL: $904.25

This blurb could’ve gone a bunch of different directions, given the outstanding card from top to bottom. However, as I started writing about the Whitney, I felt a need to veer elsewhere.

If Fierceness wins the Whitney, he’ll have a win at the Spa in three straight years. That’s impressive and uncommon in an age where most top male horses are whisked away to the breeding shed as early as possible.

Fourstardave, the namesake of the eighth race, found the Saratoga winner’s circle in eight consecutive summers. For my money, it’s the most unbreakable record in all of horse racing, and it’s incredibly appropriate that the horse dubbed “the Sultan of Saratoga” has a Grade 1 race in his honor on one of the meet’s highest-profile cards.

FRIDAY’S RESULTS: Signator wasn’t the spoiler in the second, but Fortuna Mia prevailed in the fifth to allow me to sneak out a slight profit. Scratches cut the investment to $38, and bets returned $41.25.

SATURDAY’S PLAY: I’ve got three $15 win bets that serve as my primary action. My plays are #1 SUNRISE in the second, #5 TEST SCORE in the ninth (the Saratoga Derby), and #3 LOOK FORWARD in the 10th (the Test). In addition, I’ll link Test Score and Look Forward in a $5 cold double.

TOTAL WAGERED: $50.

SARATOGA SELECTIONS AND ANALYSIS

Best Bet: Look Forward, Race 10
Longshot: Sunrise, Race 2

R1

Spendthrift entry
Blinging It Back
Tagermeen

SPENDTHRIFT ENTRY (3-1): Both #1 ABRIGADO and #1A TED NOFFEY seem live to me in the opener. I prefer the latter, who fetched $650,000 at auction last year and turned in a massive gate work back on July 5th; #5 BLINGING IT BACK (2-1): Chased Obliteration home in the Grade 3 Sanford for his second straight runner-up finish in stakes company. He’s back to the maiden ranks here in what will already be the fourth start of his career; #2 TAGERMEEN (7/2): Was a distant second behind a runaway winner at first asking and has a right to improve with experience. He sold for $1.4 million earlier this year at the OBS sale, and the two-back bullet followed by a maintenance move is a Steve Asmussen trademark.

R2

Sunrise
Capital Partner
Blame Jerry

#1 SUNRISE (10-1): Boasts a pedigree that’s one of the strongest you’ll see for a debuting turfer. He’s a full brother to Grade 1 winner Spendarella and multiple stakes winner Spanish Loveaffair, and a half to Grade 1 winner Spanish Queen. This should absolutely be what he wants to do; #5 CAPITAL PARTNER (7/2): Sold for more than $484,000 at auction last year in Europe and is another with fantastic bloodlines. He’s a son of Kingman, out of a mare who’s kin to multiple graded stakes winner Fantasia, among others; #10 BLAME JERRY (8-1): Goes out for the Pletcher/Velazquez tag team and hammered for $200,000 at Keeneland last year. This son of Blame is a full brother to Grade 3 winner Onus and fellow stakes horse Silvology, and his dam is kin to millionaire grass horses Ironicus and On Leave, among others.

R3

Obliteration
Comport
Ewing

#6 OBLITERATION (7/5): Has performed two of those in as many starts, which he’s won by a combined total of more than 17 lengths. He gets a cushy outside draw in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special, and continued improvement would make him a real handful; #2 COMPORT (8-1): Merits a look underneath at a bit of a price. His maiden win at Churchill was solid, and he then ran into Romeo in the Bashford Manor (but beat the third-place finisher by seven lengths in a swiftly-run race); #1 EWING (8/5): Did zero wrong in his debut, where he freaked by 12 lengths, but I do have some doubts. He beat a short field that day and has things all his own way up front. The waters are deeper here, and the rail draw isn’t always a good one for younger horses.

R4

Acoustic Ave (MTO)
Weaver entry
Run Curtis Run

WEAVER ENTRY (3-1): #1A ANTARES isn’t without a shot first off the claim, but #1 TWISTED FILIGREE is the one I want. He came back running with a gutsy wire-to-wire score last time out, and he’s never been worse than second in three Saratoga turf sprints; #5 RUN CURTIS RUN (5-1): Attracts Flavien Prat, who gets off my top pick to ride this one. He’s won just once since the start of 2024, but his races this year have been solid, and if there’s a contested pace, he stands to benefit; #10 FINAL VERDICT (9/2): Has run well twice here this summer, albeit in losing efforts. The post position is a problem, but Jose Ortiz rides for this smaller outfit, and he almost certainly had several options.

R5

Lost and Found
Metfardeh
Contorted

#4 LOST AND FOUND (3-1): Came back running when second in her first start since December at Churchill Downs. She comes into this one off a bullet drill over the Oklahoma track, and she hits me as the one they’ll have to catch; #1 METFARDEH (6-1): Sold for an eye-popping $2.3 million at Keeneland in 2023 and makes her long-awaited debut here. She’s trained well for Todd Pletcher, and my only hesitations have to do with the rail draw and the quirky seven-furlong trip; #11 CONTORTED (15-1): Has a lot of back class and ran well to be second at Ellis Park a few weeks ago. Her sheet includes several next-out winners, and she figures to be forwardly-placed with an ideal outside draw at a nice price.

R6

Spendthrift entry
Cadenza
Ornellaia

SPENDTHRIFT ENTRY (3-1): There’s strength in numbers in this wide-open event, and both #1 STEER CLEAR and #1A SOLEMN VOW have a right to be runners. The former is kin to 2-year-old stakes winner Fore Left, while the latter is a half to Grade 1 winner Prince of Monaco and has a dam that’s kin to a pair of stakes winners; #2 CADENZA (5-1): Makes her debut for Brad Cox and sports a series of flashy moves at Churchill Downs. Half-siblings Sneaking out, Grecian Fire, and Smuggler’s Run are all stakes winners, so this daughter of Charlatan has plenty of potential; #4 ORNELLAIA (7/2): Hammered for $1.1 million earlier this year and must’ve blown folks away at the sale, because the pedigree is pretty modest. This daughter of Girvin has been working steadily for Chad Brown and attracts first-call rider Flavien Prat.

R7

Jefferson Street
Dilger
Pentathlon

#13 JEFFERSON STREET (9/2): Makes his return to the races after a long break, and he ran in several very tough spots a season ago (including a solid second in the Grade 2 Amsterdam). He gets Lasix here, he’s been working well for Bill Mott, and hits me as the one to beat if he’s ready to run; #5 DILGER (6-1): Was third in the Grade 2 Carter two back and drops back into the allowance/optional claiming ranks. Both of his wins have come with Lasix, which he gets here, and he’ll also have the riding services of Irad Ortiz Jr.; #10 PENTATHLON (10-1): Does his best running at Saratoga and was a solid winner at this route on Belmont Stakes Day. That was a strange surface, to be sure, but he seems to be going the right way for Shug McGaughey and can’t be ignored in a wide-open event.

R8

Deterministic
Win for the Money
Johannes

#8 DETERMINISTIC (9/2): Found Grade 1 glory in the Manhattan last time out and cuts back to a mile in this year’s Grade 1 Fourstardave. He’s got plenty of speed, but he doesn’t necessarily need the lead in order to run well. Given the presence of sprinter #2 MY BOY PRINCE, that could prove very valuable; #5 WIN FOR THE MONEY (8-1): Almost certainly needed his run in the Grade 3 Kelso, where he still finished a solid third. He was up pretty close that day, and I don’t think it’s his best game. If he’s able to sit back and make one run, he could have a big shot; #3 JOHANNES (5/2): Makes his 2025 debut after being away since the day after Christmas, when he won his fourth graded stakes of the 2024 campaign. His best effort puts him right there, but the layoff and the ship-in from California are both major question marks that, for me, make his likely price hard to swallow.

R9

Test Score
Hotazhell
Tiberius Thunder

#5 TEST SCORE (7/2): Has developed into a top-notch turf horse, as evidenced by his score in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby. His two-back second behind Zulu Kingdom was also a very good race, and I think he may show more tactical speed in the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby; #7 HOTAZHELL (7/5): Ships in from Europe after facing top-tier competition in the Group 1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown. He was one of the continent’s top 2-year-olds, and that form would make him tough, but I have questions about this distance and if he may prefer less ground; #8 TIBERIUS THUNDER (15-1): Is another Euro, and this one will be a price. He needs to step forward on figures, but he’s shown he doesn’t have an issue with this distance, and whenever Frankie Dettori is called in to ride a European invader in a major turf race, I pay attention.

R10

Look Forward
Ragtime
Echo Sound

#3 LOOK FORWARD (8-1): Did little wrong last time out when second behind perfect-trip winner La Cara in the Grade 1 Acorn. She cuts back to one turn in the Grade 1 Test, and the last winner Ben Cecil ever trained is 3-for-3 in one-turn races; #1 RAGTIME (4-1): Is a perfect 2-for-2 and won while wrapped up last time out against an overmatched group of first-level allowance foes. She’ll have to run without Lasix, which is a question mark, but further improvement isn’t out of the question given her relative inexperience. If that happens, she’s a major player; #6 ECHO SOUND (9/5): Ran big on speed figures in winning the Grade 3 Victory Ride, but I’ve got some doubts. She beat a very short field that day with a picture-perfect trip, and she hasn’t gone seven furlongs yet. This isn’t an easy spot to do that for the first time, and I can’t back her at a short price.

R11

Fierceness
White Abarrio
Sierra Leone

#9 FIERCENESS (9/5): Sure seems likely to get his desired outside stalking trip from this post in a loaded renewal of the Grade 1 Whitney. He’s shown he can capitalize with his desired setup, and while this is a fantastic group of older horses, his best likely beats everyone else’s best; #7 WHITE ABARRIO (4-1): Has shown he hates the Wilson chute (I can relate…), so I have no problem drawing a line through the Grade 1 Met Mile. He loves this distance, has been working well, and may provide some value given his lofty credentials; #5 SIERRA LEONE (2-1): Was second in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster last time out after a season-opening dud in the Grade 2 New Orleans Classic. His win in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic speaks for itself, and he’ll have a big chance if the early pace turns out to be very fast.

R12

Caribbean Wind (MTO)
La Salvadorena
Leslie’s Humor

#3 LA SALVADORENA (3-1): Boasts a win and two seconds from three tries at this route, and the only poor race she’s ever run came going two turns. Regular rider Flavien Prat will be in the irons for this one, and she should get plenty of pace to chase; #12 LESLIE’S HUMOR (9/2): Goes first off the bench for Chad Brown, who’s been working her steadily here since early-May. The post position isn’t ideal, but she ran well in some swiftly-run races for the level last year before going to the sidelines; #6 BEING BETTY (15-1): Is a bit of a wacky play stepping up in class, but she came back running last time out to win in wire-to-wire fashion after setting a solid pace. This is a tougher group, to be sure, but the price is right and further improvement would give her a chance.

R13

Say Yes to Dreams
Selfless
Peak Hype

#10 SAY YES TO DREAMS (9/2): Ran once in Europe in June of 2024 before going to the bench, but she’s been training consistently for Chad Brown and gets Lasix for the first time. Her pedigree says she’s supposed to be a runner, and if she’s ready, she’ll have every chance to strut her stuff; #9 SELFLESS (10-1): Hasn’t run since January, but comes back for a savvy barn that’s already had some success at this stand. Her late-2024 and early-2025 races were far from bad, and they featured several next-out winners ahead of her; #2 PEAK HYPE (7/2): Had an adventurous trip in her debut at this route and figures to improve with that under her belt. Irad Ortiz Jr. rides back for Chad, who seems to hold a strong hand in the Saturday nightcap.