Bet Sunday stakes! Garrity picks stakes races at Woodbine, Monmouth Park, Saratoga, and Del Mar

We have four plays today: a stakes race each at Saratoga, Monmouth Park, Woodbine and Del Mar. All four are on the grass, and we expect firm turf in all of them. Let’s go.

Woodbine, Race 7, 4:23 pm ET

$100,000 Catch A Glimpse Stakes, 6 ½ furlongs, Turf, 2-Year-Old FIllies

Seven juvenile fillies will go six and a half furlongs on the turf in the Catch a Glimpse. We like this race because of the presence of local runner 2-Dreaming of Drew, who’s favored off a fast win in a maiden race at Woodbine on July 18. But that race was on a synthetic surface, and she’s never run on the turf before, has never run this far before, and at even money is an underlay of biblical proportions. We will be lining up to bet against her.

We like 3-Alda, who starts for trainer Graham Motion. She broke her maiden in a six furlong grass race at Belmont Park on July 9, and she did so quite impressively, sitting chilly early behind a fast pace and rallying late, moving to the front in deep stretch with a powerful late charge. We see a similar result today, and will bet her to win at 3-1. The bet: Woodbine, Race 7, $40 to win on 3-Alda.

Monmouth Park, Race 9, 4:41 pm ET

$75,000 Get Serious Stakes, 5 furlongs, Turf, 3 & Up

A full field of nine linse up to sprint five furlongs on the sod at the Jersey Shore in the Get Serious. It may not be a graded stakes, but it’s a terrific betting race, partly because of the big field, and partly because there’s a horse we love: It’s 8-Satellite Storm. He’s a speedy 6-year-old gelding who returned from a winter vacation to win an allowance race at Colonial Downs on August 9, and this is his first start for Tom Clark, a very skilled trainer who wins at a prodigious rate with a limited number of starters (his win rate is 22% on the year, 43% at the current Monmouth meeting, and 36% with horses making their first start for him). Look for Satellite Storm to go right to the front, and to win this race in wire-to-wire fashion. We will bet him to win at 3-1. The bet: Monmouth Park, Race 9, $40 to win on 8-Satellite Storm.

Saratoga, Race 8, 5:18 pm ET
Grade 1 Diana Stakes, 1 ⅛ miles, Turf, Fillies & Mares 4 & Up

The folks at the New York Racing Association have carded a doozy on a Sunday afternoon: the Diana is as good a group of female turf runners as you’ll see outside a Breeders Cup race. There are only six entrants, but they’re all really, really good.

Trainer Chad Brown starts two of the six, and they are the two morning line favorites: 3-Rushing Fall, who has 10 wins in 13 career starts, is 3/2; and 5-SisterCharlie, the 2018 Champion turf female, is 5/2. We are going against both, for different reasons: Sistercharlie has not seemed the same horse in her recent efforts, and Rushing Fall is a mare who likes to be on the lead, and who figures to have some company up front.

We like 1-Call Me Love. She started her career in Italy, and while she’s winless in three starts since being brought to the U.S. this spring, she did not embarrass herself in any of them, and she has shown signs, especially in her last, a close second in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa at Saratoga on July 25, that she is getting her feet underneath here on this side of the pond, and rounding into form. We also think that the pace will favor her: she should be able to sit just behind the pacesetters, saving ground from her rail post, and move to the front when the field turns for home. We still think she has a ton of upside, and at 8-1, we think she’s the best play in the race, especially since she is trained by Christophe Clement and will be ridden by Joel Rosario, and those two have seemingly won every other turf stakes race at the current Saratoga meeting. We will bet her to win. The bet: Saratoga, Race 8, $40 to win on 1-Call Me Love.

Del Mar, Race 9, 9:00 pm ET

Grade 2 Del Mar Mile Handicap, 1 mile, Turf, 3 & Up

A good field of eleven goes in this Grade 2 stakes. Closers have been doing well on the turf at Del Mar, and we mention that because we like one here: the field is loaded with early speed, and we think that will result in a very quick pace that will set the table for a come-from-behinder. The pick is 9-Overdue, who should get an ideal trip for trainer Phil D’Amato and rider Juan Hernandez. At 12-1, he is a big price, and a good play. We will bet him to win. The bet: Del Mar, Race 9, $40 to win on 9-Overdue.

That’s all for today. Until next time, enjoy the racing, be safe, and, as always, good luck at the windows.