Spa selections 2020: Saratoga picks August 14

Ginger N Rye won the 2017 Smart N Fancy Stakes at Saratoga. Photo by Chelsea Durand/NYRA.

by Joseph Aiello

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

Race 4 – Perfect Sting Stakes

1. #1 Cafe Americano (2-1) – Comes off a long layoff and may be slightly overlooked as the other Chad Brown entry, but may not close from too far back in what could be a slow pace

2. #5 Feel Glorious (5-1) – Clement trainee likes this distance and should find herself in the mix especially if she is placed closer to the lead

3. #4 Altea (9-5) – Has had winning issues, but switching to Rosario has led this mare to close strongly in her last few efforts, and she should be in the mix late in this race anyone could win

Race 8 – OC 40000n2x

1. #5 Leaky Cup (9-2) – May be able to out-break the others here, and has run well at this distance so he should at least finish in the money

2. #4 Tale of the Union (8-5) – Rare for Baffert to have a New York bred, but this colt by Union Rags should get a good stalking trip and every chance to win

3. #2 Thorny Tale (3-1) – This gelding may be best suited coming from off the pace, but has had difficulty winning in the past

Race 9 – OC 62500n2x

1. #4 Mr. Alec (3-1) – Will need to hold off Argonne at the start, but can also show some versatility in sitting off the leaders with Joel Rosario

2. #8 Current (7-2) – Drops from a Grade I and adds blinkers, this colt may find his ideal distance in this race, and picks up Irad Ortiz

3. #1A Value Engineering (5-2) – Certainly are plenty of long shots who will offer better value such as Conviction Trade and Bundibunan, but this Klaravich entry can’t be ignored

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