We have a great weekend of racing at Saratoga, per usual. The weekend slate features three stakes races, headlined by the Grade I Diana Stakes on Saturday. The Grade III Sanford Stakes will also take place on Saturday, with the Coronation Cup Stakes on Sunday. There’s some great racing today, with most of the purses being $100,000 or higher. The forecast is showing scattered thunderstorms which could pull a few races off the turf. If that’s the case, then the Grade I Diana Stakes analysis should be void. I have included both my picks for the turf and the dirt, so I wouldn’t bet that race until 10-20 MTP unless you’re playing fixed odds and looking for CLV.
In addition to Saratoga, we have the Grade I Haskell Stakes on the final day of the Monmouth Park meet. This race is absolutely loaded with some of the best horses in the world and should be very entertaining. The Haskell Stakes offers the largest purse of the day at $1,000,000.
Below is the order of all the three races, as well as the track and race, so you’re better able manage all three races. The schedule is as follows:
- GIII Sanford Stakes (Saratoga, Race 9) – 5:40 PM EDT Post Time
- GI Haskell Stakes (Monmouth, Race 12) – 5:47 PM EDT Post Time
- GI Diana Stakes (Saratoga, Race 10) – 6:16 PM EDT Post Time
Sanford Stakes
The Sanford Stakes is a Grade III six furlong sprint for two year old horses. This race was inaugurated in 1913 and originally called the Sanford Memorial Stakes. The event changed to it’s present name in 1927. This race is named after Stephen Sanford who was a business man from New York and one of Saratoga’s original horse racing families. The Sanford Stakes was downgraded to a Grade III Stakes in 2014. John Velazquez holds the record for most wins by a jockey with 7 (1999, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2015). Todd Pletcher holds the record for most wins by a trainer with 7 as well (1999, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2018).
Race Information:
- Track: Saratoga Race Course (Saratoga Springs, New York)
- Event Grade: III
- Race: 9
- Post Time: 5:40 PM ET
- Length: 6 Furlongs
- Purse: $150,000
- Division: Open| 2 Year Olds
- Surface: Dirt
- Wagers: Exacta, Trifecta (.50), Super (.10), Pick 3 Races (9-11), Double Wagers
Field:
- Wit (Irad Ortiz Jr.), 8-5
- Candy Landing (James Graham), 7-2
- Catch the Smoke (Dylan Davis), 50-1
- Trust Our Journey (Eric Cancel), 15-1
- Dance Code (Jose Lezcano), 12-1
- Maryland Brando (Carol Cedeno), 10-1
- Ottoman Empire (Jose Ortiz), 10-1
- Due Vini (Luis Saez), 20-1
- Headline Report (John Velazquez), 5-1
- Kavod (Manuel Franco), 20-1
- Seize the Night (Jon Kenton Court), 20-1
- Lucago (Junior Alvarado), 50-1
Preview:
WIT, son of PRACTICAL JOKE, won his maiden race on June 5th in a 5 1/2 F Sprint at Belmont. In his sole race, WIT has run the best Equibase Speed Figure with a 91, out of all other entrants.
CANDY LANDING, son of TWIRLING CANDY, is also fresh off his maiden win. He dominated the competition winning by 4 1/2 lengths in a 5 1/2 F Sprint at Churchill Downs on June 11th.
CATCH THAT SMOKE, fresh off his maiden win in a 4 1/2 F Sprint at Monmouth Park on June 11th. This two year old colt is the son of MOHAYMEN.
TRUST OUR JOURNEY, son of Triple Crown winner AMERICAN PHAROAH, finished third in his last race a 5 1/2 F Sprint at Belmont on June 4th. He was his maiden race a month prior in a 4 1/2 F Sprint at Gulfstream Park.
DANCE CODE, won his maiden a less than a month ago in a 4 1/2 F Sprint at Parx. He is the son of HONOR CODE who captured the Grade I Whitney at Saratoga back in 2015.
MARYLAND BRANDO, won his maiden last time out at Delaware Park capturing a 5F Sprint. One of his siblings is A.P. INDY, who won the G1 Breeders Cup and Belmont Stakes.
OTTOMAN EMPIRE, who will be ridden by Jose Ortiz is fresh off a maiden victory at Churchill Downs. He’s the son of CLASSIC EMIRE, a colt who has three Grade I victories to his name.
DUE VINI, won his maiden last time out on June 20th in a 5F Sprint at Monmouth. He is the son of TREASURE BEACH who captured two Grade I Stakes.
HEADLINE REPORT, enters this race coming off a bit of a lay off with his last race in April of this year. In that race he won his maiden in a 4 1/2 F Sprint at Keeneland. He’s the son of GORMLEY a two time Grade I Stakes winner and a sibling of A.P. Indy. HEADLINE REPORT has run the second fastest Equibase Speed Figure with a 90, out of all of the other entries.
KAVOD, enters this race with the most experience having three starts under his belt. In his last outing he finished second in a 5 1/2 F Sprint at Tremont on June 4th. He broke his maiden the start prior in a 5 F Sprint at Belmont. He’s the son of LEA, who captured his first two victories back at the Spa in 2012 and would go on to have an excellent career.
SEIZE THE NIGHT, son of CARPE DIEM, a two time Grade I Stakes winner, won his maiden last time out. He bested the competition in a 5 F Sprint at Churchill Downs back in May.
LUCAGO, captured his first win last time out in a 5 F Sprint at Gulfstream. The race prior he finished second in a similar race. He’s the son of KANTHAROS, a horse who never lost a race in his three starts. In those three races, he captured a Grade II and Grade III win. The Grade II win coming at Saratoga in the Saratoga Special.
Picks:
WIN: (9) HEADLINE REPORT, (7) OTTOMAN EMPIRE
EXACTA BOX: 1, 9, 7
Diana Stakes
The Diana Stakes was inaugurated in 1939 and is a Grade I Stakes race open to fillies and mares four years older and up. This race was named after the mythological goddess of the hunt, Diana. In 2013 this race was upgraded to a Grade I Stakes. John Velazquez holds the record for most wins by a jockey with 6 (1995, 2001, 2005, 2015, 2018, 2019). Chad Brown holds the record for most wins by a trainer with 6 as well (2011, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020).
Race Information:
- Track: Saratoga Race Course (Saratoga Springs, New York)
- Event Grade: I
- Race: 10
- Post Time: 6:16 PM ET
- Length: 1 1/8 Miles
- Purse: $500,000
- Division: Open| 4 Year Olds & Up
- Surface: Inner Turf
- Wagers: Exacta, Trifecta (.50), Super (.10), Double Wagers
Field:
- La Signare (Ricardo Santana Jr.), 15-1
- Pocket Square (John Velazquez), 8-1
- Magic Attitude (Javier Castellano), 12-1
- Vigilantes Way (Jose Ortiz), 20-1
- Harvey’s Lil Goil (Junior Alvarado), 3-1
- Summer Romance (Luis Saez), 4-1
- Lemistra (Irad Ortiz Jr.), 5-2
- Althiqa (Manuel Franco), 3-1
Preview:
HARVEY’S LIL GOIL, sired by AMERICAN PHAROAH will be one of the favorites in the Grade I Diana Stakes. The 4 year old filly trained by William Mott, has an impressive resume. In her last outing she finished fifth in the Grade II New York Stakes at Belmont Park on June 4th. However, earlier in the year she won the Grade III Beaugay Stakes besting LEMISTRA. She also has a Grade I win under her belt as she won the QE II Challenge Cup back in 2020.
MAGIC ATTITUDE also raced in the Grade II New York Stakes back in June where she finished seventh. Prior to that race she won the Grade II Sheepshead Bay Stakes at Belmont earlier in the meet. This filly has some pedigree as she’s the daughter of GALILEO, who had a successful career winning several Grade I Stakes.
VIGILANTES WAY is fresh off a win in the Grade III Eatontown Stakes at Monmouth Park. She switched from dirt to turf back in 2020, and hasn’t moved back. This filly will have a step up in class here in the Diana as she’s never been in a Grade I Stakes Race before. However, she does have the pedigree to do so as the the daughter of MEDAGLIA D’ORO.
SUMMER ROMANCE, daughter of KINGMAN, enters the Diana off a second place finish to ALTHIQA in the Grade I Just A Game Stakes. This is the second time she’s lost to ALTHIQA with the time prior coming back on January 28th in the Grade II Cape Verdi Stakes where she finished fifth. She does have a Grade II win on her resume winning the Balanchine Stakes. This horse has had some success in Grade II/III races but has yet to breakthrough and find the winners circle in a Grade I. On Sunday, stablemates SUMMER ROMANCE and ALTHIQA put in workouts where SUMMER ROMANCE started two lengths behind ALTHIQA and finished on even terms. From everything I’m reading, it looks as though SUMMER ROMANCE is in better form going into this race.
As with most of these fillies in this race, LEMISTRA also has some pedigree. She’s a four year old filly and the daughter of RAVEN’S PASS who won the Breeders Cup in his last outing before retirement. LEMISTRA has struggled to find the winner’s circle in her last two races, after winning three consecutive before that. In those three races, she won two Stakes Races which includes the Grade II Kilboy Estate Stakes and the Grade III Park Express Stakes. She’s was shipped state side for her only race in 2021, where she lost to fellow entrant HARVEY’S LIL GOIL in the Grade III Beaugay Stakes.
ALTHIQA doesn’t have the pedigree these other fillies have but she is coming off a Grade I win in the Just A Game Stakes. In that race, she bested fellow entrant SUMMER ROMANCE as mentioned before. This four year old filly is the only horse in this race to have won a Grade I Stakes race. In her last eight races, she has hit the board every time. The only concern is she’s had some difficulties with this distance. She has normally runs 7F to 1M races. The only time prior she ran a 1 1/8 M, she finished third in the Grade II Balanchine Stakes to none other than SUMMER ROMANCE. It’ll be interesting to see if she feels more comfortable at this distance now that she’s experienced it before.
To round out the entrants are POCKET SQUARE and LA SIGNARE. POCKET SQAURE ran fifth in the Grade I Just A Game Stakes and looked to be a class behind ALTHIQA and SUMMER ROMANCE. Even with Chad Browns success in this race, I don’t see him getting his eighth win in this race with POCKET SQAURE. LA SIGNARE has raced the most out of her fellow competitors with her most recent race coming back on May 31th at Santa Anita. She finished second in the Grade I Gamely Stakes that day. Some encouraging news for this horse is she seems to be getting better with age, having her best performances in Grade I Stakes her last two times out. We’ll see if she can continue that trend here and win her first Stakes Race since 2018.
Picks – TURF:
WIN: (6) SUMMER ROMANCE
This horse is a turf specialist and I think she can beat stablemate Althiqa here.
Picks – DIRT:
WIN: (5) HARVEY’S LIL GOIL
EXACTA BOX: 4, 5
HARVEY’S LIL GOIL & VIGILANTES WAY are the only two horses in this race with dirt experience. It’s hard to imagine that most of the other horses won’t be scratched if this race does get moved off the inner turf. However, if they’re still able to field enough horses for this race HARVEY’S LIL GOIL is the play. She’s has two wins and a third place finish in the Grade I Alabama on the dirt. Since the odds will adjust accordingly, this race may be a stay away for me.
Haskell Stakes
The Haskell Stakes is the highlight of the Monmouth Park season and closes out the meet. This race was inaugurated in 1968 but was known as the Monmouth Individual Handicap. It has changed names many of times over the years ranging from the Haskell Invitational Handicap to the Haskell Invitational Stakes, before finally settling on the present name. This event is named after Amory Haskell who was the former president and chairman of Monmouth Park. Craig Perret, Martin Garcia, and Mike E Smith are all tied for the record for most wins by a jockey with 3. Bob Baffert holds the record for most wins by a trainer with 9 (2001, 2002, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2020).
Race Information:
- Track: Monmouth Park (Oceanport, New Jersey)
- Event Grade: I
- Race: 12
- Post Time: 5:47 PM ET
- Length: 1 1/8 Miles
- Purse: $1,000,000
- Division: Open| 3 Year Olds
- Surface: Dirt
- Wagers: Exacta, Trifecta (0.50), Superfecta (0.10), Daily Double (Races 13-14)
Field:
- Following Sea (Joel Rosario), 3-1
- Antigravity (David Cohen), 30-1
- Mandaloun (Florent Geroux), 2-1
- Hot Rod Charlie (Flavien Prat), 6-5
- Pickin’ Time (Nik Juarez), 20-1
- Midnight Bourbon (Paco Lopez), 9-2
- Basso (Isaac Castillo), 30-1
Preview:
MADALOUN enters this race as one the morning line favorites at 2-1. He’s is fresh off a win in the Pegasus where he edged out WEYBURN at the wire. He had shaky start in that race but was able to hold on and gained some experience at Monmouth, where he had not raced prior. Before that, he finished second to MEDINA SPIRIT in a very contentious Grade I Kentucky Derby, that still does not have resolution. In the coming months he may be declared the winner if MEDINA SPIRIT is disqualified due to a medical condition by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. HOT ROD CHARLIE will push the pace in this race along with MIDNIGHT BOURBON which could set up perfectly for MANDALOUN’s off the pace running style.
HOT ROD CHARLIE is the actual morning line favorite with 6-5 odds. He’ll go with blinkers off for this race which …. He’s the due favorite after running second in the Grade I Belmont in his previous race. In the Grade I Kentucky Derby he finished third behind fellow entrant MANDALOUN who took second. He’s registered to run in the Grade I Travers Stakes at Saratoga later this year along with, as you guessed MANDALOUN. HOT ROD CHARLIE has entered three Grade I Stakes races in his career and has yet to find the winner’s circle. However, since trainer Doug O’Neill switched him to dirt he has yet to finish less than third in any race. Good news for HOT ROD CHARLIE fans is that he has a hot jockey on him in Flavien Prat who is having his best season of his career. He comes into the Grade I Haskell as the favorite with his best chance to put an end to that trend.
MIDNIGHT BOURBON is running his first race since the Grade I Preakness where he ran second to ROMBAUER. Paco Lopez will get the ride in the Haskell which is a change from Irad Ortiz Jr., who is at the Spa. She faced fellow entrant HOT ROD CHARLIE before in the Grade I Kentucky Derby. HOT ROD CHARLIE finished second in that race while MIDNIGHT BORBOUN finished sixth. MIDNIGHT BOURBON will also press the pace in the Haskell, especially with Paco Lopez aboard and his finishing ability in question after the Grade I Kentucky Derby. He had a great race in the Grade I Preakness but, will need to improve on that here in order to have a chance.
FOLLOWING SEA, has the least experience out of any horse in this race but has had a promising career so far. He is a former Bob Baffert trainee, who is now under Todd Pletcher. In his last race he won by 6 1/4 lengths in a 6 1/2 F Sprint at Belmont. In his three races, he has finished first twice and third once. However, he steps up in class here to see if he belongs with this pedigree of horses. He comes off of Lasix for this race as it is not allowed in the Haskell. Even though he has not raced in a stakes race before, he registered triple figure Equibase speed figures in his last two races which proves he belongs here. He also has the pedigree as the son of RUNHAPPY a three time Grade I Stakes winner. He has the inside post in the Haskell and should press the pace with Joel Rosario aboard. If nothing else, he’ll make this race interesting and could possibly make a name for himself with a win.
ANTIGRAVITY is coming off back to back wins at Monmouth and looks to make the leap against this stacked field. PICKIN’ TIME has won a Grade III Stakes before, but failed to capture a win in his two starts in a Grade II Stakes. BASSO won his first career start but has failed to capture a win since then. All three of these horses are a toss for this race.
Picks:
WIN: (1) FOLLOWING SEA
Flat out, FOLLOWING SEA may be very special. Researching this horse, most of the people involved with him on a day to day basis believe so. Based off that, I think this race is his coming out race and he takes down the big boys. Now under HOF Trainer Todd Pletcher, I think he takes the next step here. He’s lived up to expectations so far, so who’s to say he wont do it again here.
Best of luck, and as always you can find me on Twitter @GatorBetting and Instagram @Gator_Sports_Betting.
