The first race that we shall cover is the fifth race this afternoon, a $50,000 old maiden special weight for fillies. Eight were entered, but one has scratched.
Here are the entries:
Race 5
Program #/Horse/Morning Line Odds
1 Stopshoppingmaria 6-1
2 Delightful Magic 7-2
3 My Miss Aurelia 5-2
4 Bourbonesque 20-1
5 Refining 6-1
6
7 Party of Interest 12-1
8 Bargain Blitz 3-1
I'll shall make this brief, for we will have many more races to go through before the meet ends, but here I go.
I will not be surprised if Stopshoppingmaria ends up going off at lower odds than 6-1, simply because of her connections. Owned by Repole Stables, she is trained by Todd Pletcher and to be ridden by John Velazquez -- the exact same connections of last year's two-year-old colt champion Uncle Mo. A daughter of More Than Ready out of Skybox, this will be her debut race. The rail might not be the best place for her to start, but don't be surprised if she turns in a stunning effort today.
Delightful Magic is another first-time starter. Trained by Mark Casse, she has turned in some very good workouts recently, including three furlongs in :35.17 from the gate on July 16th. A daughter of Mineshaft out of Magic Kitty, Shaun Bridgmohan has the mount on the promising-looking filly.
My Miss Aurelia fascinates me. A daughter of Smart Strike out of My Miss Storm Cat, she breezed four furlongs in :49 2/5 just three days ago. Trained by Steve Asmussen, she is owned by Stonestreet Stables and George Bolton, who own the magnificent sprinter The Factor. With Julien Leparoux in the saddle, I suspect that My Miss Aurelia may be sitting on a winning debut.
Bourbonesque is the longest shot in the field at 20-1. Trained by D. Wayne Lukas, she has shown little in two starts, finishing eighth in both. However, this will be her first start on Lasix, which could yield an improved performance. Alan Garcia will ride the filly, who is a daughter of Dynaformer out of Rhineland. Seeing this pedigree, I wouldn't be surprised if Bourbonesque improves with more distance.
Refining is the only non-Kentucky-bred in the field, being a Florida-bred. By Malibu Moon out of Good Cause, the Bill Mott-trainee has never raced but has shown some good breezes and may be sitting on a strong effort.
Party of Interest has a nice pedigree, being by Bernardini out of the Seeking the Gold mare Search Party, but the Shug McGaughey-trainee hasn't show the greatest of workouts among these starters. This will be her first race, and she should be able to work out a nice trip from gate seven, but she'll have to run well to win this race. Alex Solis has the mount.
Finally, there is Bargain Blitz. A daughter of Rahy out of Freedom of Speech, she has raced twice so far with mixed results. In her first race, she reared at the start and ended up finishing last. In her next start, she broke cleanly and pressed the pace three wide and led passing the eighth pole before finishing second, beaten 1 1/4 lengths. Trained by Neil Howard, Robby Albarado has the mount.
Race 7
The seventh race at Saratoga is a $40,000 maiden special weight for New York-bred two-year-old fillies. Eleven have entered, ten of which have never raced before. Because of this, there really isn't a whole lot to say about them, but I'll mention some of the more intriguing contenders.
Here are the entries:
Program #/Horse/Morning Line Odds
1 Kibosh 6-1
1A Project Runaway 6-1
2 Pure Gossip 8-1
3 Lenders Way 8-1
4 Cinnamon Stick 15-1
5 Sing Like A Bird 3-1
6 Karma Police 5-1
7 Barrel of Joy 20-1
8 The Funky Express 10-1
9 Wildcat's Smile 4-1
10 Proud and Charming 12-1
Cinnamon Stick is the only horse in the field to have raced before. In his lone start, she finished fifth of sixth in a five furlong maiden special weight at Belmont Park behind the promising filly Hook It Up. Trained by Cloum O'Brien, the daughter of Freud out of Super Blue will be ridden by Ryan Curatolo. Her recent workouts haven't been phenomenal, but she is eligible to improve in her second start.
The morning line favorite is Sing Like A Bird, a daughter of Lawyer Ron out of Birthday Wire. She has shown some good workouts and will be ridden by one of the leading riders in the country, Ramon Dominguez. She will break from gate four and should get a good trip.
Javier Castellano, one of the leading riders in New York, will be aboard second-choice Wildcat's Smile. By Forest Wildcat out of Serenity's Smile, she had had a pair of strong five-furlong breezes recently and could be sitting on a winning performance.
Karma Police has been training well at Keeneland, but thus has no experience at all on dirt. Still, with Rajiv Maragh in the saddle, the Eoin Harty-trainee may have a shot at pulling a minor upset at 5-1.
Race 9 - Schuylerville Stakes (gr. III)
Entries:
Program #/Horse/Post Position
1 Force de La Nature
2
3
4 True Feelings
5 Alydarla
6 Gypsy Robin
7 Vukovar
8
9 Georgie's Angel
The morning line favorite, and perhaps the most intriguing horse in the race, is Georgie's Angel. Owned by Sheffer Racing Stable, the daughter of Bellamy Road out of Lalka is trained by Todd Pletcher and will be ridden by John Velazquez -- always a promising duo. Georgie's Angel won her only start to date, a 4-1/2 furlong maiden special weight at Churchill Downs. She stopped the clock in a quick :51.23 while winning by 6 1/4 lengths in a gate-to-wire performance. She will have to stretch out to six furlong today, but she is going to be a tough filly to beat and looks like a potential star.
Gypsy Robin is the second choice. Trained by Wesley Ward, she has had an interesting career thus far. After breaking her maiden in April at Keeneland by 7 1/2 lengths, she shipped to Royal Ascot in England to compete in the group II Queen Mary Stakes, where she finished seventh. She will have to prove herself on dirt today, but looks like a strong contender. Jeffrey Sanchez will ride.
Force de La Nature broke her maiden going five furlongs at Churchill Downs by 1 1/4 lengths, defeating the above-mentioned Bargain Blitz, who will be running in the fifth race at Saratoga today. How well Bargain Blitz performs could give a clue as to how well Force de La Nature will compete today. Trained by Eddie Kenneally, Julien Leparoux has the mount.
The cleverly-named Alydarla is going to be a longshot -- simply because she has never raced before -- but with only six fillies scheduled to compete, she might just be able to secure a major piece of the purse. She has been training very well for James Chapman and has the top rider Edgar Prado in the saddle. I have this suspicion that she may run better than expected.
True Feeling won her only race to date, a five-furlong maiden special weight at Delaware Park. She was visually impressive there, charging from off the pace to win by 3 3/4 lengths. However, she will have to turn in an improved performance to contend in a strong race like this one. Jeremy Rose will ride the Anthony Dutrow-trainee.
Finally, there is Vukovar. She won her only start, a 4-1/2 furlong maiden special weight at Parx Racing, by 6 1/2 lengths. While very impressive, Vukovar is going to have to turn in a very strong performance to beat this field. David Cohen has the mount on this Eric Guillot-trained filly, who did turn in a sharp five-furlong workout for this start.
Enjoy the races everyone!
-Keelerman
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