The Lead:
Saratoga used to be called "The August Place to Be," so the first weekend of this month kicks off with a couple of the Spa's most traditional stakes, Saturday's Grade 1 Whitney and Grade 1 Test. Now the meet extends from mid-July, giving us more of a good thing. This Saturday's lineup also boasts the Lure, Glens Falls and Saratoga Derby Invitational, making for 5 consecutive stakes (Races 6-10) on the dozen-race card.
Field Depth:
SEARCH RESULTS tops the marquee as the field's lone existing Grade 1 winner. OBLIGATORY is a Grade 2 winner and Grade 1-placed. ZAAJEL has won at the Grade 2 level. ILLUMINATION and MAKE MISCHIEF are Grade 1-placed, while ALWAYS CARINA is Grade 2-placed. SOUPER SENSATIONAL is a Grade 3 winner and also Grade 2-placed. The fillies have tested all the top waters and aren't separated a great deal on class.
Pace:
A Grade 1 sprint at 7 furlongs should have some heat, and the Test's speed comes from rail-drawn ILLUMINATION, ALWAYS CARINA and class riser BELLA SOFIA. The pace projects to be above-average, but doesn't appear to be a meltdown. It likely will play fair to all running styles.
Our Eyes:
SEARCH RESULTS is a neck away from perfection, losing only a Kentucky Oaks throw-down at 1-1/8 miles to Malathaat. But whereas Malathat didn't come back as stout when upset at Saratoga in the Coaching Club American Oaks, we already know that SEARCH RESULTS handled the tussle; she won the Acorn on Belmont Day just 5 weeks later. Trainer Chad Brown, who won the 2018 Test with Separationofpowers, has a dynamic duo in the Test with stablemate ALWAYS CARINA. This pair worked in company July 31 and shared the morning's bullet drill, as shown at XBTV.com. They worked heads up as often is the case with Brown mates, but ALWAYS CARINA caught the eye more as she was going the easier of the two outside of SEARCH RESULTS. It may be splitting hairs between two talented sophomores, but I slightly preferred ALWAYS CARINA and she will be the better price. That's always the best determinant to play.
ILLUMINATION will run after a court injunction allowed Bob Baffert to enter horses on the NYRA circuit. Suffice to say, she won't be the most popular runner of the meet with many followers. But horseplayers analyze races, and that distrust of Baffert won't spill too far into the parimutuel pools in all likelihood. He won this race last year with Gamine and has shipped to win the Test 3 times. ILLUMINATION looked very good finishing her Del Mar work as seen at XBTV and will be rail speed under John Velazquez, a 2-time Kentucky Derby winner with Baffert but mired in a terrible Spa funk this summer.
ZAAJEL hinted during Gulfstream's Championship Meet that she was a 3-year-old filly to watch. Things went off kilter for a few starts, but she rebounded in a big way at 18-1 in the Mother Goose at Belmont. Notably that race was a return to 1-turn race, where she's 3-for-3. She's been well-beaten in a pair of 2-turn races, so the Test's 1-turn configuration has to be seen as a positive. She was composed while going easy in her last work for this on video while her workmate was lugging in and out, never losing her focus and cool. She may not be as purely fast as some of these at 7 furlongs, and it's curious Todd Pletcher hasn't won the Test since going back-to-back in 1998-'99 as he was opening his career.
Late-running OBLIGATORY won the Eight Belles at Churchill and came up a half-length short of SEARCH RESULTS in the Acorn. The faster they go, the better for this Bill Mott trainee. The 7-furlong to 1-mile distance around 1 turn is right in her wheelhouse. Jockey Jose Ortiz is riding in elite form at the meet and she would be no surprise, while likely a fair price on the tote after 16-1 and 5-1 offerings in her last pair.
Most Certain Exotics Contender:
SEARCH RESULTS hasn't missed a beat yet and has a running style to be in the hunt without being cooked if the pace is hotter than projected.
Best Longshot Exotics Contender:
No big longshots are in the fold to this eye, but OBLIGATORY certainly could be an overlay price and highly capable.
Sending it in ($100 bankroll):
After a $600+ score last week in this space at Gulfstream, let's try to keep the roll going. $60 win ALWAYS CARINA. $20 exacta part-wheel ALWAYS CARINA with SEARCH RESULTS and OBLIGATORY ($40).
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