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Spa selections 2018: Saratoga August 2

by | Aug 1, 2018 | Breaking, Handicapping

Pret Say Eye

Pret Say Eye was antsy early, strong late for trainer Lacey Gaudet (left) at Saratoga in 2016. Photo by Teresa Genaro.

by Joseph Aiello

In Spa Selections, Saratoga on-site correspondent Joseph Aiello provides picks for a handful of key races at Saratoga, including all of the exciting stakes action!

 

Race 4 – Birdstone Stakes

1. #1 Hard Study (3-5) – Five year old horse by Big Brown won this race last year, is dropping from a Grade III and is the clear best in this small field

2. #5 Big Dollar Bill (6-1) – Tough for out of town jockeys to win at the Spa, but this gelding might just like the longer distance and has been running well

3. #3 You’re to Blame (7-2) – The other Pletcher entry isn’t quite as classy as Hard Study, but has the running style to stretch out to a mile and three quarters

Race 7 – Alw 50000s

1. #5 Sentry (9-2) – Manny Franco has ridden this gelding well in three tries, including a win and recent second in an allowance race at Belmont

2. #4 Honey Dont (5-1) – Junior Alvarado jumped off of Miles of Humor to ride this gelding who will win with a repeat of his last start but has been inconsistent

3. #10 Lil Commissioner (8-1) – Herecomesyourman can’t seem to win with solid efforts, so take this Diodoro trainee who broke through in his last start

Race 8 – Alw 87000n1x

1. #1 Wisconsin Night (3-1) – Repeat of last try for this grey filly should spell trouble for the rest of the field and she gets a hot jockey trainer combo

2. #4 Mizzen Max (7-2) – Has run second or better in six career tries, will look for first back to back wins with this slight distance cut

3. #2 Dream Pauline (5-2) – Seems better to pick the once raced filly by Tapit here who won in her only try over others who have struggled with more starts

Race 9 – OC 80000b

1. #7 Care Lady (7-2) – One of two fillies from out of North America, unlike Onthemoonagain, this one seems better equipped to run well here with a Grade I win last time out

2. #4 Con Te Partiro (5-2) – Rosario rode this filly well three back and gets the nod over others due to graded tries and strong finishes

3. #1 Danceland (6-1) – Ran well in a similar spot here last year but needs more pace than is shown in this field to run into