Saturday at the Spa features the Grade I Diana Stakes and Grade III Coronation Cup. A seven horse Diana carries four Chad Brown entries with three who make rider changes as some of the top jockeys in the colony head south for the Haskell. In the Coronation Cup, a similarly small field of six features a bevy of jockey changes, with the up-and-coming Jaime Rodriguez taking over on our Midlantic bred contender Hark Theangelssing. Breaking from post five, this 12/1 morning line long shot put forth his best career effort last time out in a stakes win at Laurel Park. Even amongst classier competitors this time around, Hark Theangelssing appears to be entering in top form with a chance to run huge and pick up a stakes win for the Midlantic.

Race eight on the twelve race Saturday card, the Coronation Cup is a five and a half furlong turf sprint exclusively for three year old fillies. Even with a few stakes winners in the bunch, the 3/5 morning line favorite Cy Fair appears to be the clear top choice with two graded wins including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint against the boys in the fall. She is also entered in Sunday’s Quick Call amongst three year old colts, and could defer to that race if George Weaver decides to face the tougher group. For Virginia bred Hark Theangelssing to best Cy Fair if she stays here, she would need a similar set up to her recent stalking trip where she nipped the leader at the wire. A Saratoga turf course that has played to speed much of the summer could be to her advantage, as a change in running style last time out led to an improvement in her speed figures and resulted in a defining victory in five starts. Trainer Michael Trombetta recently decided to breeze this grey filly over the Saratoga training turf course just six days ago to get her accustomed to the change in scenery, as she clocked a sharp 48⁴ four furlongs. The quick turnaround and strong work plus recent performance suggest that Hark Theangelssing is ready for another breakthrough effort as she faces tough competition in her sixth start. By Mendelssohn – Questionoftheday, by The Factor, Hark Theangelssing is owned by the Estate of R. Larry Johnson who was also the breeder.

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