Saratoga Race 5
Maiden Special Weight
2yo Fillies
$51,000
8.5 Furlongs (Turf)
Entries:
Program #/Horse/Morning Line Odds
1
2 Crazy Party 3-1
3 Tiana 8-1
4 Illegally Blonde 4-1
5 Regalo Mia 12-1
6 Honey Talk 8-1
7 Formative 6-1
8 Vapour Musing 5-1
9 Southern Drifter 15-1
10
The morning line favorite is Crazy Party, a daughter of A.P. Indy. Owned by the same stable that owns three-time Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. I) winner Goldikova, Crazy Party is trained by Todd Pletcher and will be making her debut. She has been turning in some good workouts over the Saratoga turf and I believe that she is capable of winning first time out. John Velazquez has the mount.
Illegally Blonde looks to have an advantage here by merit of experience. Trained by Kenny McPeek, the daughter of Mineshaft finished a very strong third in her lone start to date, a six furlong maiden special weight at Churchill Downs. In that race, she broke poorly and trailed the field by fifteen lengths in the early stages before rallying furiously to be beaten just two lengths. She will have to prove herself on turf today, but she should relish the distance of this race. She will be ridden by Robby Albarado.
Graham Motion, one of the best trainers in the country with turf horses, has Vapour Musing in this race. An unraced daughter of the German-bred Manduro, she has turned in some good workouts over the all-weather track at Fair Hill in Maryland and looks like a serious contender here. Owned by Team Valor International, Eddie Castro has the mount.
Formative, an unraced daughter of Dynaformer, may just have what it takes to win first time out. Trained by William Mott, the filly is bred to route on turf and has been breezing consistently for some time now at Saratoga. A pair of those works were on turf, so at least she has a bit of experience over the surface. She will be ridden by Jose Lezcano.
Tiana and Honey Talk, both 8-1 on the morning line, have racing experience already. The former, a Rick Dutrow-trained daughter of Offlee Wild, finished a distant fifth in a six-furlong turf maiden special weight at Belmont Park after a less-than-perfect trip. Honey Talk, a daughter of Distorted Humor, finished ninth of 10 in a five furlong main track maiden special weight at Churchill Downs for trainer Neil Howard. Both fillies are eligible to improve while making their second starts, especially Honey Talk.
Regalo Mia, a Florida-bred daughter of Sligo Bay, will be making her first start here. Trained by Michelle Nihei, she has had only five workouts in preparation for this race but they have been good. On July 16th she worked a half-mile handily in :47.54 from the starting gate. Prior to that, she had breezed the same distance in good time on turf. A maintenance work on July 22nd sets her up for what I believe could be a very good performance today.
Finally, there is Southern Drifter. The daughter of Dixie Union has raced twice before, finishing sixth in a five furlong main track maiden special weight at Churchill Downs, and eighth in a similar six furlong event just over a month later. In the latter race, she finished 7 3/4 lengths behind Illegally Blonde, so she is obviously going to have to improve a great deal to win this race. But she will be racing on Lasix for the first time, stretching out in distance, and switching surfaces -- all of which could yield an improved performance. Trained by D. Wayne Lukas, Corey Nakatani has the mount.
My selections for this race are:
1 Crazy Party
2 Vapour Musing
3 Honey Talk
PREVIOUS RESULTS
July 27th
Saratoga Race 3
Maiden Special Weight
2yos
$51,000
Five Furlongs
J C's Pride turned in an absolutely spectacular performance yesterday to break his maiden by 3 1/2 lengths. Second in his debut race to Sanford Stakes (gr. II) winner Overdriven, J C's Pride was expected to come through with a sharp victory in his second race and was thus sent off as the odds-on favorite at 0.30-1. But I doubt anyone expected what was about to occur.
J C's Pride broke quickly under Jose Lezcano and sprinted away to take the early lead. He rattled off an opening quarter mile in :21.87 like it was nothing. Second choice Mr. Style attempted to make a run at him turning for home, but J C's Pride left him behind easily and coasted under almost no urging to win in a stunning performance. But what was even more incredible was the final time of :56.54, breaking an eighteen year old track record of :56.71 set by Fabulous Force on August 18th, 1993. Trained by Robert Barbara, J C's Pride is a son of Henny Hughes and may make his next start in the Hopeful Stakes (gr. I).
Mr. Style, from the barn of Todd Pletcher, chased J C's Pride all the way around the racetrack to finish second by 8 3/4 lengths over Delta Ranger, who broke very slowly but still managed to get up for third. Added distance and maturity may just turn Delta Ranger into something special. Ventura Bar, Chalybeate Springs, and Hard Nosed completed the order of finish.
Saratoga Race 5
Maiden Special Weight
2yos
$53,000
5-1/2 Furlongs (Turf)
State of Play looked simply terrific winning his debut race under Ramon Dominguez. A son of War Front, the colt tracked a pretty quick pace of :21.93 and :45.27 set by Woods Hole and Sark before blowing past them in the stretch to win under little urging by 2 1/2 lengths. Owned by Team Valor International and trained by Graham Motion, State of Play stopped the clock in 1:02.99 and looks like a very promising juvenile indeed. Sark held well to finish second, a half-length clear of the late-running Arthur. Tiger Walk raced greenly to finish fourth, while Situational Ethics, favored Doctor Chit, Texas Josh, and Woods Hole trailed the field.
-Keelerman
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