Spa selections: Saratoga July 27
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 5 – Alw 77000n1x
- #11 Candy Zip (12-1) – Intriguing colt at a number who should be able to make a move into a early flurry of frontrunners
- #5 Stoney Bennett (7-2) – Wrong Ben might be better at the distance, but this first time gelding has been bet heavily and is looking to return to his first race form
- #1 Charlie McCoy (3-1) – Loses Manny Franco to Stoney Bennett, but will be in a good spot coming off his best try yet
Race 8 – OC 62500n2x
- #4 Uncle Mojo (5-2) – Hot jockey trainer combo and coming out of the Grade I Stephen Foster makes this colt the obvious favorite
- #7 Flowers for Lisa (7-2) – Winner of back to back races and the only one in the field who has won at the distance
- #3 All About Ashley (10-1) – Much cheaper than the others, but take this gelding based off of success over this track and wins in three of his last four
Race 9 – Curlin Stakes
- #1 Hofburg (1-2) – Not sold on this colt by Tapit, of which there are two others in this six horse field, but Mott won this race last year and this suspect field means no excuses here
- #6 Reride (6-1) – Jose Ortiz has yet to heat up for the meet, and this turf to dirt colt has the most wins in the field and should be positioned well
- #4 Nicodemus (10-1) – With Madison’s Luna being overly reliant on a good break, take a shot with this two time starter who should like the distance stretch and has nothing to lose
