BANKROLL
BANKROLL: $1,221.43
Dominoes continued to fall on Wednesday, as it was announced the Preakness will move back eight days and be contested on the fourth Sunday in May. This, of course, came two days after the announcement of a new six-race series that excluded the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown.
I don’t like the move, but it was inevitable. Horses simply aren’t bred to run twice in two weeks anymore. I would have preferred a solution involving radical changes to the breeding industry, but this would require short-term sacrifices on the part of businesses currently making money hand over fist, so those changes are probably never coming (even if the status quo is currently doing far more harm than good).
My two-part question: Is an additional week enough time to preserve the Preakness as a “next step” for most Kentucky Derby runners, and will that move be enough to hold the modern Triple Crown together given the six-race series that now serves as competition? I hope the answers are positive ones, but we won’t know for sure until next May.
WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS: Noble Glow ran well in the third, but finished second behind well-bred, well-meant firster Maria Louise. I dropped $20.
THURSDAY’S PLAY: I’ll have a pair of exacta plays focusing on races that, I think, could provide some value. In the third, I’ll play a $2 exacta box using #1 CHRIS’S SONG, #8 KINGS LANDYN, and #10 OURS TO START, and in the sixth, I’ll play a $2 exacta box using #1 DOTSY, #7 CAPODUST, and #10 CODY’S APPROVAL.
TOTAL WAGERED: $24.
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SARATOGA SELECTIONS AND ANALYSIS
Best Bet: Starship Titan, Race 8
Longshot: Dotsy, Race 6
R1
Interlock Empire
Golden Symphony
Expensive Cut
#3 INTERLOCK EMPIRE (7/5): Comes in for hyper-aggressive connections and takes a monstrous drop in class. For other owners or trainers, I’d see that drop as a red flag, but with this operation, it’s not, and if he’s anywhere close to the horse we’ve seen multiple times this year, he’ll be very tough; #4 GOLDEN SYMPHONY (3-1): Stretches out to the Wilson chute and comes in for a tag after two tries against starter allowance foes. He didn’t run well last time, but he also didn’t sit his desired trip and should be more forward in the Thursday lid-lifter; #2 EXPENSIVE CUT (5-1): Hasn’t won in quite a long time, but is inside-drawn speed coming out of the chute for a trainer whose horses have been live this summer. If he’s allowed to get comfortable up front while dictating terms, he could easily hang on for a piece of this.
R2
Zack the Grey (MTO)
Monaco Crown
Al Mowashaah
#2 MONACO CROWN (5-1): Had some trouble in his debut at Colonial, which came against open company over yielding going. Blinkers go on and he gets to run against New York-breds, and while this two-turn trip is an unknown, that can be said about all of the others in this spot, too; #5 AL MOWASHAAH (5/2): Was bet in his debut downstate but faded after contesting the pace. There’s some turf on the bottom of his pedigree, and the presence of Irad Ortiz, Jr., for trainer Brad Cox may indicate that he has more to offer than he showed first time out; #7 PAREA (10-1): Didn’t do much running in his unveiling, but he stretches out and goes to the grass. His pedigree (by Speaker’s Corner, out of a Tapit mare) says he may want both of those moves, and Flavien Prat and Mike Maker do excellent work together.
R3
Ours to Start
Kings Landyn
Chris’s Song
#10 OURS TO START (10-1): Is a tepid top pick in a mess of a maiden claimer. There just isn’t much talent on the part of those that have run before. With that, I’ll take a shot with a first-time starter for astute trainer George Weaver, and this one has a few workouts that indicate he might have a bit of ability; #8 KINGS LANDYN (8-1): Appeals to me most of the ones that have run before. He showed a bit of an ability to rate first time out when he was third behind a next-out winner in June. Given the abundance of early speed and lack of stamina on offer elsewhere, I find him intriguing; #1 CHRIS’S SONG (9/2): Has run fairly well twice at similar levels downstate and presents an inside speed option. Ricardo Santana, Jr., has gotten to know him a bit over those two outings, and this is one of two contenders trained by Linda Rice.
R4
Irish Jackson
City Blocks
Jackie the Joker
#7 IRISH JACKSON (6-1): Looks like the lone closer in a race full of early speed, and she got a good confidence-builder last time out at Finger Lakes. She may not have beaten a lot that day, but she’s run well at this level on this circuit in the past, and the faster they go early on, the better her chances figure to be; #3 CITY BLOCKS (5-1): Loves Saratoga, with two wins and a second in three local starts, and comes back to what’s probably the right level. The two-back work was a very good one, and if she’s the horse we saw here last summer, she’ll have a big chance; #1 JACKIE THE JOKER (9/2): Was a very heavy favorite last time out and folded after helping to set the pace. She drops to the right level and certainly has a chance, but she may have her hands full up front early on with how many of her rivals will also want to be forward.
R5
Speightful Storm (MTO)
High Leverage
Mykonos
#2 HIGH LEVERAGE (3-1): Drops back down into the maiden claiming ranks and cuts back in distance after probably going too far last time. His two-back effort against similar downstate saw him do everything but win, and the return to these conditions with Irad Ortiz, Jr., aboard could be what he needs to graduate; #11 MYKONOS (9/2): Completes a 1-2 punch for this owner, whose colors also grace my top pick. He had an eventful trip last time, but still managed to rally for third despite being much further off the pace than usual. Prat riding back is a plus; #8 EYE ON THE BALL (5-1): Led in the stretch last time out before settling for second, being beaten just a neck. This one has some tactical speed, which should help, although he did sit a dream trip that day and couldn’t quite get the job done.
R6
Cody’s Approval
Capodust
Dotsy
#10 CODY’S APPROVAL (8-1): Took money at first asking on the turf and chased a fast pace before fading to run last. Between her experience edge and possibly not caring for turf, there are some reasons to believe she’ll improve here, and we may get a price given the last-out clunker; #7 CAPODUST (5/2): Debuts for powerhouse connections and has a right to be precocious, being by the speedy Nashville. Some of her workouts are sharp, including a recent four-furlong gate drill, and it wouldn’t be surprising if she was ready to run right away; #1 DOTSY (20-1): Is a big price for a small barn that does most of its work at Finger Lakes. However, she’s worked well, is kin to six multiple winners, and has a second dam that also threw graded stakes winner Voodoo, among others. The rail draw can be tricky, but she also could be a runner.
R7
Fort Nelson (MTO)
Risk Tolerance
Siyouincanada
#6 RISK TOLERANCE (1-1): Ran second in a very classy optional claiming event last time out, and while he’s been away since then, he’s also shown he runs well fresh. That three-month layoff isn’t the red flag it used to be, and if he runs back to his last-out effort, he’ll be the one to beat; #4 SIYOUINCANADA (7/2): Wired the field in his debut before finding stakes foes a bit too tough in the Saranac. He set a pretty fast pace that day, and he may not have to go so quickly early on to sit his desired trip (being able to run with Lasix again doesn’t hurt, either); #5 HIGHLANDS WAY (10-1): Came from way back to earn his second win in a row last time out. The inner turf is sometimes unkind to deep closers, but this one may be rapidly improving for Todd Pletcher. If he gets a pace to run at, perhaps he’ll be heard from late at a bit of a price.
R8
Alan Turing (MTO)
Starship Titan
A Bourbon for Toby
#2 STARSHIP TITAN (5/2): Came off a long break running and nearly got there when second behind a perfect-trip winner. That was this gelding’s first try in nine months, and any sort of improvement would make him a very formidable favorite; #9 A BOURBON FOR TOBY (7/2): Takes a class drop after running against much better in his last two outings. His two-back effort, where he ran second behind the talented Fort Washington in the Grade 3 Dinner Party, was outstanding, and that day’s rider, Irad Ortiz, Jr., is back aboard here; #5 SLAPINTHEFACE (15-1): May have needed his effort last time out, which was his first race since late-October. He won two in a row late last year before going to the sidelines, and one of them was a $200,000 stakes race. A logical step forward second off the bench gives him a chance at a minor award at a big price.
R9
Sacrosanct
Doc Sullivan
El Grande O
#6 SACROSANCT (4-1): Stretches back out to seven furlongs for the John Morrissey and is a tepid top pick in a fantastic race for the level. He’s wheeled back pretty quickly after running third in a stakes-quality optional claimer, and that race was against open company. He goes against state-breds here and has a big chance; #10 DOC SULLIVAN (7/2): Won this event a year ago (in one of my toughest beats of the season; I needed The Wine Steward badly…) and is a candidate to do it again. He hasn’t run since late-March, but he’s proven at this level, gets Irad Ortiz, Jr., and may be the one they have to hold off late; #3 EL GRANDE O (6-1): Won a swiftly-run allowance race on closing day at Aqueduct and steps back up into stakes company. Running without Lasix is a question mark, but there’s no doubt he’s a very fast horse on his best day.
R10
San Antonio Sara (MTO)
Intothewilderness
Chaumet
#8 INTOTHEWILDERNESS (7/2): Closed in a race with very little pace and fell less than a length short. She adds Lasix in the Thursday nightcap, should get some more pace to run at, and could be sitting on a career-best effort third off the bench; #1 CHAUMET (6-1): Drops in for a tag for the first time and didn’t run terribly against straight maidens on Independence Day. These shallower waters could be what she needs, and she may have further potential to move forward; #10 SKY LOW LOW (6-1): Fell a neck short at a price last time out and has run her two best races over this turf course. She’s 0-for-12 and draws a tricky outside post, so there are things for her to overcome, but she can’t be discounted.