Spa selections: Saratoga July 31
by Joseph Aiello
In Spa Selections, Saratoga on-site correspondent Joseph Aiello provides picks for a handful of key races at Saratoga. Today, it’s four races, including the $100,000 Coronation Cup Stakes.
Race 1 – Alw 85000n1x
- #4 Miss Kentucky (5-2) – Switch to turf is odd, but a possible lack of speed in this race means this filly by Blame may run away with it
- #2 Battlement (8-5) – Four year old from powerhouse Juddmonte Farms will win if True Charm provides enough speed
- #6 Pray for Bourbon (4-1) – Took forever to break maiden, but doesn’t need to be forwardly placed to win like others in field
Race 3 – Alw 85000n1x
- #1 Smile Big (5-2) – Best challenger to Moana as long as she doesn’t repeat a race from last year which saw her be disqualified from first to last in a 12 horse field
- #3 Moana (6-5) – Another three year old from the endless Pletcher barn ran in the Mother Goose and Black Eyed Susan this year and is class of field
- #5 Posse Needed (6-1) – A lot of questions for this Mark Hennig trainee including distance and a cold jockey, but broke her maiden in four starts as opposed to Blenheim Palace’s ten
Race 7 – OC 25000n1x
- #6 Minsky Moment (6-5) – Only win came on sloppy surface, but this colt wins this one by default in a weak field
- #4 Blame the Thief (5-2) – Will need to break well to compete, but switch back to dirt should help this Timothy Hills trainee
- #1 Royal Ekati (4-1) – Won his only race with jockey Jose Ortiz and has advantage over Winston’s Choice due to better class
Race 8 – Coronation Cup Stakes
- #8 Morticia (2-1) – Jose Lezcano keeps mount on filly who is simply a little faster than the field
- #2 Hidden Mystery (10-1) – Showed good explosion in stretch run of last race and has jockey trainer combo who have won almost 30% of races in past year together
- #5 Epping Forest (5-1) – Gets edge over Lady Alexandra thanks to win at distance and better jockey