Saratoga Wednesday: Garrity picks 4 races including the $85,000 Summer Colony Stakes
Saratoga opens for another week today. After receiving over three inches of rain yesterday from Tropical Storm Isaias, all races are off the turf, but the main track, as of Wednesday morning, is fast, and the races on it should be fair. We have plays in four of them. Let’s go.
Saratoga, Race 4, 2:29 pm EDT
$85,000 Summer Colony Stakes, 1 ⅛ miles, Fillies & Mares 4 & Up
There are only five entered in the day’s lone stakes at the Spa, and despite the short field, it’s an interesting race to handicap, as there’s not much separating the three main contenders. Trainer Todd Pletcher saddles three of the five, and we ended up settling on one of them, 9/5 second choice 2-Bellera, who is the pick.
We give her the edge because of the distance (she’s 3 for 5 lifetime at nine furlongs), and also because she seems to be in better recent form than the others runners. We will bet her to win at 9/5. The bet: Saratoga, Race 4, $35 to win on 2-Bellera.
Saratoga, Race 6, 3:37 pm EDT
Allowance/Optional Claiming, 1 ⅛ miles, Dirt, New York-breds 3 & Up
Seven state-breds line up for the Race 6 at Saratoga, a second-level allowance dirt route. 4-Doups Point is the play: he is trained by Christophe Clement, and will be ridden by Joel Rosario, and they’ve been incredibly hot recently, winning with horses that made a lot less sense than this 4-year-old colt. There’s no use fighting it when a barn is this hot; we’ll instead get on the bandwagon and bet him to win. The bet: Saratoga, Race 6, $30 to win non 4-Doups Point.
Saratoga, Race 7, 4:12 pm EDT
Maiden Special Weight, 7 furlongs, Dirt, FIllies & Mares 3 & Up
Seven maidens go here, and we’re against the favorite, 1-Black Magic Woman. She’s a first-time starter, and while she is well-bred, and has been working well in the morning for Todd Pletcher, 7 furlongs is a tough distance to win at first asking, and her rail draw makes her task that much tougher. She could just be better than the rest of the field, but at a short price, we will be playing against her.
We like 2-Soft N Lovely. She’s another first-time starter, and another well-bred filly, by top stallion Hard Spun, and she is trained by Ignacio Correas, who wins at a decent 12% clip with firsters. She has been working very well in the morning, and we view the presence of top rider Manny Franco as a positive sign. We will bet her to win at 12-1. The bet: Saratoga, Race 7, $34 to win on 2-Soft N Lovely.
Saratoga, Race 8, 4:46 pm EDT
$50,000 Claiming, 1 ⅛ miles, Dirt, 3 & Up
Eight go in this claimer, and we’re going with the horse on the outside, 8-Han Sense. He’s coming off a good second at the $40k claiming level, and we like the fact that trainer Kelly Breen jumps him up in class, to $50k, off that effort. He has good speed, which should put him on or near the lead, which will be an advantage in a race that looks to have a moderate early pace. His credentials are solid, which makes him the pick over the other logical contenders, all of whom have one or more questions marks about how they are coming into this race. We will bet Han Sense to win at 9/2. The bet: Saratoga, Race 8, $40 to win on 8-Han Sense.
That’s all for today. Until the next time, enjoy the racing, be safe, and, as always, good luck at the windows.