Spa selections 2018: Saratoga August 2

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