Sunday, July 31, 2011

The Juveniles at Saratoga -- July 31st, 2011

Another two juvenile maiden special weights -- one for fillies and one for colts -- are on this afternoon's card at Saratoga. Let's see whose running:

Saratoga Race 2
Maiden Special Weight
2yo Fillies
$40,000
Six Furlongs

Entries:

Program #/Horse/Morning Line Odds
1 Beautiful But Blue 6-1
1A Clever Spirit 6-1
2 Castles Burning 6-1
3 Suave N Sassy 15-1
4 Shesabronxbomber 7-2
5 Erin Enchanted 3-1
6 Sally's Dream 10-1
7 Princess Phoebe 10-1
8 Bellacourt 6-1
9 Lady Samuri 15-1
10 Goldie's Reward 10-1

It's hard to believe it, but this race does not contain a Todd Pletcher-trained first time starter!

The morning line favorite is Erin Enchanted, trained by William Badgett, Jr. The late-running daughter of Lion Heart has shown no early speed so far, but nevertheless, she has a potent late run that has enabled her to finish third and second in her two races to date. Her last two workouts haven't been anything phenomenal, but she should be running strongly at the finish here. Rajiv Maragh has the mount.

Shesabronxbomber, trained by Larry Rivelli, is the second choice. By Afleet Alex, she finished third in her only start to date, a 5-1/2 furlong main track maiden special weight at Belmont Park. Coincidentally, that was the same race in which Erin Enchanted finished second, 5 3/4 lengths in front of Shesabronxbomber. However, the latter has since turned in a great five furlong work and I wouldn't be surprised if she improves enough to defeat Erin Enchanted in her second start. She will be ridden by Corey Nakatani.

Amazingly, the fourth, fifth, and sixth-place finishers from that same race are running here as well! In order of their finishing position, they are Sally's Dream, Suave N Sassy, and Bellacourt. The first mentioned of the trio, a daughter of the Japanese-bred Utopia, finished just a neck behind Shesabronxbomber while running a very good race. Trained by Mark Hennig, Cornelio Velasquez has the mount on her today.

Suave N Sassy, trained by John Hertler, is a daughter of Suava. Since finishing fifth in the above-mentioned maiden race, which was her first start to date, she has turned in no workouts. This makes we wonder a little bit about her fitness, but she is eligible to improve in the second start of her career. Jean-Luc Samyn will ride her.

Bellacourt raced pretty greenly in the early stages of the race before finishing sixth, a neck behind Suave N Sassy. But the daughter of Lion Heart, trained by James Lawrence, II, has subsequently trained well at Fair Hill and may be set to run an improved race. Eddie Castro has the mount.

Beautiful But Blue and Clever Spirit are the coupled entry owned by Chester and Mary Broman. Both are unraced, with the former being a daughter of El Corredor and the latter a daughter of Smarty Jones. Beautiful But Blue, trained by Thomas Bush, has only recorded five workouts but her last, five furlongs in 1:01.05, was pretty good. She will be ridden by Javier Castellano. All of Clever Spirit's workouts have been very slow, so I'm sure that this race will do a lot for her fitness. She may not be ready to win first time out, but the Ramon Hernandez-trainee might be one to watch in the future. She will be ridden by Frederic Lenclud.

Castles Burning, trained by David Fawkes, is an unraced daughter of Hook and Ladder. Her workouts haven't been anything spectacular, but with Ramon Dominguez in the saddle she must be respected.

Princess Phoebe has been turning in some decent workouts at a variety of tracks for trainer Eric Reed. A daughter of Defer, she will be making her debut today. Manoel Cruz has the mount.

Then there is Lady Samuri, trained by the famous two-time Kentucky Derby-winning LeRoy Jolley, is 15-1 on the morning line. She has been turning in consistently good workouts for some time now at Saratoga and while she's going to be a longshot, she may just have what it takes to hit the board. A daughter of First Samuri, she will be ridden by Jose Lezcano.

Finally, we come to Goldie's Reward. Trained by George Weaver, the daughter of Grand Reward has been turning in some average works at Saratoga but will have the services of top jockey John Velazquez in what will be her debut race.

My picks are:

1 Shesabronxbomber
2 Erin Enchanted
3 Beautiful But Blue

Saratoga Race 4
Maiden Claiming
2yos
$29,000
5-1/2 Furlongs

Entries:
1 Yonder 'tis 12-1
2 Silver Max 10-1
3 Professor Fate 5-1
4 King and Crusader 5-1
5 Bunker's Ledge 15-1
6 Enrico Pallazzo 3-1
7 Seawalker 20-1
8 Lionator 20-1
9 Afleet Bandit 8-1
10 Moreforyourmoney 5-1
11 Two and Twenty 8-1

Once again -- a maiden race at Saratoga that does not contain a Todd Pletcher-trained juvenile!

I shan't go into the details of every horse in the race, for there are many and this post is long enough already. I shall just briefly go over the favorites.

The morning line choise is Enrico Pallazzo, a Kathy Ritvo-trained son of Scat Daddy. In his career debut, he finished fifth and last behind subsequent Sanford Stakes (gr. II) winner Overdriven and J C's Pride, who returned to break the Saratoga five-furlong track record. Considering the caliber of the competition he was facing, Enrico Pallazzo may be ready to dominate here, seeing that he is taking a big drop in class. Eddie Castro has the mount.

Professor Fate, King and Crusader, and Moreforyourmoney are all 5-1 on the morning line, and all are unraced. Professor Fate, a son of Lion Heart, has been training fairly well for Eddie Kenneally and will be ridden by Javier Castellano. King and Crusader, another son of Lion Heart, has been training even better for David Fawkes and has Ramon Dominguez in the saddle. Moreforyourmoney is a son of Value Plus and has been breezing well from the gate for trainer Michael Hussion. John Velazquez will ride the promising-looking juvenile.

I shall pick Moreforyourmoney for the win.

PREVIOUS RESULTS

July 30th

Saratoga Race 2
Maiden Special Weight
2yos
$54,000
Six Furlongs

Giant Surprise looked like a star in the making when he drew away for a stunning 4 1/4 length victory against a field of quality maidens. Owned by Repole Stables and trained by Todd Pletcher, the juvenile broke fairly well and went straight to the lead under John Velazquez. Officer Prado chased him all the way around the track but without success, and Giant Surprise dominated en route to a final clocking of 1:10.23. Unfortunately, he was vanned off after the race. Hopefully there was nothing seriously wrong with the Giant's Causeway son. Officer Prado stayed on well for second, a head in front of the late-running Invocation. Favored Stealcase, Timely Tally, Dixie Minister, Doctorious, A Cat Thaf Flies, and Lostandfoundagain completed the order of finish.

Saratoga Race 6
Maiden Special Weight
2yos
$56,000
8.5 Furlongs (Turf)

Todd Pletcher won the other maiden special weight of the day for juveniles with favored Captain Webb. Ridden by John Velazquez, the son of English Channel sat third early on behind a slow pace of :24.42 and :50.56 set by Honor Call and Master Achievement before blowing past them in the stretch to win by 2 1/2 lengths. The final time was 1:45.25. Daddy Nose Best rallied for second despite steadying off heels at the quarter pole and may have been the best horse in the race. Saturday Classic got up for third under Shaun Bridgmohan. Honor Call, Tizahomerun, Master Achievement, Magical Moment, Quiet Danger, and Colbert trailed the field. Furman Bisher was pulled up on the first turn and vanned off.

July 29th

Saratoga Race 9
Maiden Claiming
2yo Fillies
$35,000
5-1/2 Furlongs

Caviar N Champagne completely outclassed her ten rivals in this event, drawing away under John Velazquez to win by 7 1/2 lengths. Trained by Allen Iwinski, the daughter of Formal Dinner went straight to the lead and was absolutely never challenged en route to her decisive victory in 1:05.95 at 14.60-1. 33-1 shot Bye Love You rallied from off the pace for second, a neck in front of favored Purses Galore. Buccella, Angel Love, Torch Me, Trust N Madam, Downhill Joey, Expect Thunder, My Viva Loca, and Wesley's Aunts completed the order of finish.

-Keelerman

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