Weekend Winners Club

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Saturday, July 27, 2019. A field of only 6 will compete at Saratoga today in the Jim Dandy G2, considered to be the major prep for the Travers G1 in exactly 4 weeks from now. Contestants include Preakness winner War of Will, favorite and Belmont runner-up Tacitus, and Tax who was 4th in the Belmont.
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Peter Pan G2 winner Global Campaign, who beat the actual Belmont Stakes winner in the Pan, makes the slight 2nd choice in the morning line. The two other contestants, Laughing Fox and Mihos, are both stakes winners but neither have finished in the top 3 in a graded stakes race.
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It would thus seem like the 2 long shots don’t stand much of a chance, but they are 2nd and 3rd in LP in the Grid. Normally a good factor for a 9f race, but then you consider that there is almost a complete lack of early speed in the race, and again they are not realistic.
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Front runner Global Campaign is on paper to have it his own way out front, but you can bet Tax and WOW won’t be lingering too far behind him. Mihos will need to ride close to the pace also. But don’t mistake, it won’t be some kind of speed duel with blazing fractions.
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So, the Dandy is not a very good betting race, and nor is the other featured race, the Alfred Vanderbilt G1 with its field of 7. The Bowling Green G2 however, offers a field of 12 after scratches. Channel Maker will be the favorite and bested 2nd choice Arklow by ¼ length in the Man O War G1 in May. Both are coming off solid graded stakes races in June.
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But the field also includes 3 top 5 finishers in the United Nations G1 last month at Monmouth: runner up Zulu Alpha, Channel Cat, and Focus Group. Sadler’s Joy is listed as the 3rd ML choice but it will be his first contest since running 3rd in the BC Turf G1 last November.
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There’s no early speed in the race, which is an extra advantage for Channel Maker who runs near the pace. There doesn’t appear to be any logical pace setter so likely 1 of the longshots will try to steal it on the front end. Ya Primo is kind of a mystery but comes off 2 straight G1 wins in some other country.
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There are 12 races on the card with over 100 horses competing for some nice purses. Race 4 is a MSW with a 90k purse that will be attracting attention to those following 2yos. None of them are in the AFH top 100 because only 1 of them has raced yet and didn’t win. But the list of trainers includes Pletcher, Zito, Asmussen, Asmussen, Mott, and other top trainers.
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The seemingly unbeatable entry is a couple: Pletcher with a colt by Super Saver, who he won the Kentucky Derby with, and an Into Mischief colt trained by Asmussen. It will be as exciting a 5.5f maiden race as there is. Another MSW for 2yo’s also for 90k will be run at 8.5f on turf and that should be interesting as well.
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Grab the Grid here and make some good picks today. Scratches already processed.
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Good luck!

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