Spa selections 2022: Saratoga picks July 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 7 – Wilton Stakes

1. #6 Favor (7-2) – Gets some class relief here and should be a better price than this, but breaking well will be key as she needs to be close to the front to have a chance

2. #7 Tarabi (5-2) – Hasn’t been the best finisher in her short career, but ran into Echo Zulu twice last year and seems like the most consistent runner of the group

3. #4 Angitude (8-1) – Better value than Goddess of Fire, and appears to have some upside in stretching out to this distance and controlling the pace, plus has strong connections

Race 8 – OC 80000n1x

1. #11 Wonka (9-2) – Tough post, but drops from a grade III and has run well in all three of her starts, should be closing here

2. #3 Myriskyaffair (7-2) – Clement and Rosario are always tough to pass up on the turf, and even with this one missing wins a few times, still drops from a grade II and will be in a good spot

3. #2 Bravo Kitten (8-1) – An interesting filly who takes blinkers off so she may need a bit more pace in this tightly contested field, but ran well against allowance company at Kenneland

Race 9 – Grade III Schuylerville Stakes

1. #1 Just Cindy (5-2) – This filly by Justify might end up getting the right set up as she and Janis Joplin were the only two to come from off the lead first time out which is a plus in this field

2. #9 Summer Promise (3-1) – Comes off a great bullet work which shows she is in top form after an easy win, and will be vying for the lead in this one

3. #6 Me and My Shadow (7-2) – Usually don’t love picking horses switching from an artificial surface to dirt, but this one was sharp in her debut and can win if she gets away easy

Race 10 – Clm 35000n2L

1. #6 Abuse of Power (5-2) – Drops in class but gets the nod over some others purely because of his potential to close into what could be a torrid pace

2. #10 Dame Time (6-1) – Seems to be in good form and doesn’t necessarily need to break first to be a factor, so Trevor McCarthy would be smart to place this filly off the leaders early

3. #5 Fast Corey (7-2) – Magniloquent will have a difficult time keeping up with this filly by Practical Joke who probably won’t win with this running style, but could hang on for third 

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