Saratoga FULLCARD Hotlist - August 27

NY Hot List races to watch – TRAVERS FULL CARD PICKS – Saturday, August 27, 2022 at Saratoga
By Matt Shifman and Bob Ehalt

Hot List Key:
 A: A preferred horse to watch                                 B: Secondary horse to watch
*C: Went down 2 or more betting notches and finished 1st through 3rd
*D: Went down 2 or more betting notches and finished 4^th or worst
* - 4 or more betting notches if 11-1 or more.

1^st race [Md Sp Wt 105000, 6F] – (6) King’s Glory comes from the barn of Steve Asmussen who already unleashed a few impressive debut 2-year-old winners and maybe this $575,000 yearling purchase is another. The son of Speightstown is out of a stakes-placed mare who has produced three winners including a graded stakes winner of $526,000. (3) Verifying will make his first start for Brad Cox and the son of Justify if out of a more that was a Grade 3 winner and produced the champion Midnight Bisou. (4) Didinger was second in his first start losing by a nose at Parx. The son of promising freshman sire Bolt d’Oro is out of a mare that has produced only winners. (2) Track Mate made his first start for D. Wayne Lukas going long on the turf and now moves to the main track for the second start when Lukas 2-year-olds usually show their best.

2^nd race [Md Sp Wt 105000, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (7) America’s Guest gets top choice status based on his racing experience with a start at Saratoga already. He was fifth in his debut in a race where the third-place finisher came back to win his next start already. (4) Alexis Zorba will make his fourth start and second in America at the Spa for trainer Joseph O’Brien. Last time he set the pace and finished second. (8) Take Me to Jimmy will debut for Chad Brown and the son of Kitten’s Joy is out of a mare that produced stakes winners on the turf. (1) Fire Baron / (1A) Decanted is an entry trained by top turf conditioner Mike Maker. Fire Baron has made one start already and Decanted will make his first start.

3^rd race [NY, Alw 95000 N1X, 7F] – (1) On the Hill has improved steadily in his last four starts including a three-length win in a starter allowance and now returns to face NY-breds for the first time in four starts. (2) Bold Journey came back from a four-month layoff to run second at Saratoga in a similar spot. (7) Colloquy cuts back to the seven-furlong distance at which he ran third in his debut for the Clement barn. (6) Majority Partner dropped into a maiden claimer after a layoff and won by three lengths and was claimed by Linda Rice.

4^th race [Ballston Spa (G2), 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (1) High Opinion (B) was hard to handle in the early going of a Saratoga start and then found traffic in the later stages of the race. She was third in the Beaugay (G3) and won a stake at Parx. (5) Technical Analysis was second in the Diana (G1) behind her front running Chad Brown stablemate. Last summer she won a pair of graded stakes at the Spa. (3) Our Flash Drive was second in the Beaugay and was third when she travelled to Woodbine. Three weeks ago, she won the restricted De La Rose at Saratoga for Mark Casse. (2) Lemista is another Chad Brown runner and she won the Matchmaker (G3) at Monmouth Park on the Haskell undercard.

5^th race [Forego (G1), 7F] – (3) Jackie’s Warrior brings his four-race winning streak to the Forego after winning the Vanderbilt (G1) at Saratoga in a seemingly effortless manner where Joel Rosario never moved a muscle. (5) Cody’s Wish won his last two stakes for Bill Mott including the Westchester (G3) at Belmont and the Hanshin at Churchill Downs. (6) Pipeline will cutback in distance with a past victory going seven furlongs. He was second going nine furlongs in the Monmouth Cup (G3) for Chad Brown. (1) Baby Yoda will use his late running style to possibly pass tired horses in the wake of Jackie’s Warrior. Last seen he won an allowance at today’s distance at the Spa.

6^th race [Alw 50000s, 7F] – (7) Swift Tap (C) was bet down from 7-1 to 5-1 and finished second by a neck after getting herded out in the stretch in a $50,000 claimer. (2) Life Changer was third and then second in a pair of starter allowances, one at Belmont and one at the Spa. (3) Leddy was claimed for $25,000 by Linda Rice out of his 2022 debut which he won by more than three-lengths three weeks ago. (5) Baltasar also ran in the last two editions of this starter allowance condition where he lost the win by just a neck in one of them.

7^th race [OC 62k/N2X, 5 ½ F TURF] – (1) Comedy Town (A) ran second in his third start of the year even though he was blocked during the stretch run and had to wait for running room. (5) Ranger Fox won his first race of this year which came following a seven-month layoff, so expect him to move forward. Trainer John Terranova wins right back 26% of the time. (2) Maxwell Esquire was claimed two races back when he ran third in a similar race. New trainer Mike Maker moved him up in class and stretched him out. He’s now back in a winning spot. (7) Cazadero changed to the barn of Brandan Walsh who moves him to turf sprinting for the first time as a new gelding.

8^th race [H. Allen Jerkens (G1), 7F] – (6) Jack Christopher brought his unbeaten record to the Haskell (G1) where he would answer the question about racing around two turns. He had the lead in the stretch, but the extra distance caught up with him as he finished third. Now he cuts back to seven furlongs going around one turn against a field of 3-year-olds. (8) Gunite won his last two starts in the Maxfield at Churchill Downs and then the Amsterdam (G2) at Saratoga. The son of Gun Runner will sit that stalking trip again looking to take advantage of a fast pace collapsing. (9) Accretive will make the third start of his career after a narrow loss to Gunite as those two battled to the wire. The experience gained at the Spa will serve him well. (4) Actuator will cut back in distance after his victory in the Indiana Derby (G3). He was a seven-length winner in his prior start at Churchill going seven furlongs.

9^th race [Personal Ensign (G1), 1 1/8 mi] – Four of the horses in this Personal Ensign field raced in the Ogden Phipps (G1) on Belmont Stakes weekend. (3) Clairiere won the Phipps with a closing move and since then got her first victory at Saratoga in the Shuvee (G2) once again defeating Malathaat. Clairiere seems to be getting better and better during her 4-year-old season. (1) Letruska will make her first start since the Phipps when she was out front as usual but then came up empty in the stretch. On that day, trainer Faustino Gutierrez was unhappy with her lack of energy. It looks like Letruska will have the opportunity to go to the front where she gets her best results. She won this race last year. (5) Malathaat is the picture of consistency with only top three finishes in her 11 career starts. She was second in her last two races behind the top choice. (2) Search Results won two of her last three starts in the Ruffian (G2) and the Molly Pitcher (G3) on either side of her third-place finish in the Phipps. She also has only top three finishes in career.

10^th race [Sword Dancer (G1), 1 ½ mi TURF] – (3) Broome returns to America where last year he had the lead and finished second in the Breeders’ Cup Turf for Aidan O’Brien. This year he was second in a Group 2 at Royal Ascot. (1) Adhamo ran the two best races of his career recently capped by a win in the United Nations (G1) following a second in the Manhattan (G1) for Chad Brown. (6) Gufo gets blinkers back on and he had them on last year when he won this race for Christophe Clement. In 18 starts, only twice did he finish off the board. (10) Mira Mission will come with high odds and he has a big chance to get in the exotics. He has been training on the Saratoga turf all summer and the longer distance may be just what he wants.

11^th race [Travers (G1), 1 1/4 mi] – (5) Artorius is the least experienced horse in the field and amongst the Chad Brown trio in the Travers. With only three starts, he broke his maiden in his second start at Belmont in June and then stepped up to win the Curlin at Saratoga by almost five-lengths going nine-furlongs. He has the look of a horse with lots of upside potential and he will try and do what his sire Arrogate did which was win the Travers in his first try in a graded stake. (6) Epicenter was made the morning line favorite based on his victory in the Jim Dandy (G2) and his seconds in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and the Preakness (G1). Yet, he is still seeking his first Grade 1 victory. (1) Cyberknife has lived up to his billing as a 3-year-old that needed to mature mentally and in doing so he won a pair of Grade 1s in the Arkansas Derby and most recently the Haskell. (8) Zandon is another of the Brown runners with a chance to give the trainer his first win in the Mid-summer Derby. Never worse than third in six starts of which five were in graded stakes. He has had some excuses in his career and will need his best effort to win here.

12^th race [NY, Md Sp Wt 88000, 5 ½ F TURF] – (9) Steerage (B) broke slowly, had to check, and then got hustled into traffic in the stretch but still managed to get third. He was claimed from that race for $40,000. (7) Heymackit’sjack is projected to set the pace and gets the blinkers on after finishing second in his last two starts. (2) Feathers Road has top three finishes in eight of his last 10 starts. (4) Empire Sky was third in both of his starts at Monmouth Park and now will face NY-bred company for the first time.

13^th race [Alw 115000, 1 mi TURF] – (1) Parnac won her two starts in Germany and then was fourth in her American debut for Clement after a wide trip. (9) Miss Tapirado improved in her two starts following a layoff for Bill Mott after rallying for second last time in a similar spot. (2) Invincible Gal was third in her 2022 debut last month in an allowance after racing in a series of stakes races last year for Chad Brown. (4) Wicked Groove has been in excellent form and had a rough trip towards the end of her last race when she finished fourth.

Saturday Pick 3 Special --
The Saturday Special $3 Pick 3 on races 6 – 8 ends with the Jerkens (G1) à 2, 3, 5, 7 with 1, 5 with 6 = $24.