SIXTH RACE

CAPTAIN GAUGHEN can go longer, but prefer him sprinting on grass, and he returns to NY at a level where he is supposed to be very tough after holding his form in Florida over the winter; hasn’t actually won a race since September of 2015, but there have been some excuses along the way, and he can clearly still run. SUMMER BREEZING also returns to NY in a spot where he figures hard to handle with his good race, though don’t love his winter Fair Grounds form; tactical speed allows him to get the jump on closers like the top one. RUNAWAY POSSE was wrangled a bit in the early stages to get back off the pace when returned to NY last time, but he failed to produce a finish there in disappointing performance; class relief works, and have always preferred him as a closing sprinter on grass.

SEVENTH RACE

SHADOW RIDER a better one-turn horse, but he improved over the winter routing on the inner, and he took a game run after Are We Not Men on a modest pace last time before settling for a clear second-best; best race gives him a chance in field not lacking for early pace. GOING STRONG another who seems to prefer one-turn routing, though have to admit that he has been disappointing since posting that impressive win in the mud making NY debut; had to come wide after getting bumped back at the start last time, and settled for 2nd behind a winner who had never previously Beyered out of the 60’s. PHAT MAN has to get faster, but he is a 3yo with only 6 starts behind him, and he just missed after a long duel when back to dirt last

EIGHTH RACE

SPIGA was hard to settle early on in her stateside debut before eventually landing a nice trip, unfortunately for her she was trying to finish with a very impressive winner from the Chad Brown barn and just had no chance with that horse; this looks better, and the seven should be a good distance for her. TRUE PLEASURE has posted both career wins on the main track, but prefer her as a turf horse, where she has run well without winning, so far; wonder if the seven will push her a bit. PLATINUM SPARK was a well-meant winner on dirt in her debut, then missed a bunch of time and returned with a solid effort on turf despite getting out-finished for a board spot there; can step it up second time back from that layoff, and she may not have to improve all that much.

NINTH RACE

KANTUNE a maiden on grass on the way in but he appears to handle this surface just fine, and he has the kind of speed that is projected to play well in this field; right level for his NY debut. SMARTY KITTEN also looking for first career win on turf, but he has run well and owns competitive figures; main drawback fact that his two starts in NY are not good. LONE TRADER had no chance with runaway winner Black Tide last time, but he was clearly second-best at the end while making first start off the layoff; do prefer him sprinting on grass, and he is drawn to a tough outside post.