ANALYSIS

BEST BET: RACE 3, MR RITZ

FIRST RACE

LOVE THAT LUTE is moving up while seeking his fourth consecutive win under leading rider Da Silva. He should take some beating if he stays in the zone. SPEIGHTSTOWN TIME is dropping back down to an inviting spot off a subpar showing for $25K, during which he stumbled at the break. UNDERCOVER CAT just missed in a similar spot in a typically good performance for him Sept. 8.

SECOND RACE

HURRICANE EMILY was more aggressive than usual before tiring on a very windy card that was ultimately cancelled Sept. 21. She was good-looking maiden breaker from off the pace in her penultimate start. WORLDS YOUR OYSTER prevailed in a three-way front-end battle before losing a heartbreaker in the aforementioned NW2 tilt. SECRETSOF THE NILE is dropping from N1X company to compete with a $40K tag.

THIRD RACE

MR RITZ won his last race in a $200K stakes on the turf at Indiana Grand with ease, which came on the heels of a victory in a key N1X here on the grass. He worked brilliantly over the Tapeta last weekend, and should be a force to be reckoned with in this G3 stakes on that surface. STRIKE ME DOWN was a belated fourth in his last Tapeta excursion in the Queen’s Plate, and has since been second twice in allowance company on the Saratoga sod. LOOKIN TO STRIKE pressed a fast pace en route to a capturing a second-level optional claimer in his latest.

FOURTH RACE

BAY OF RUM came close to clearing the NW2 condition in his last few under the lovely Chantal. The stalker could break through after tracking all the speed in this six-furlong dash. AREOCENTRIC has been idle since ending up second in an identical race July 27, but could hit the ticket with the leading bug Kimura taking over. COUNT FOREST rode a golden rail to victory over $20K maidens second-time out a month ago.

FIFTH RACE

SHE CALLS IT romped in her debut before getting her number taken down in a controversial disqualification Sept. 16. She figures to prevail on a repeat in this longer OS maiden special sprint. PREFERRED GUEST placed in each of her outings in restricted stakes company. The winner of her last race returned to double up in an OS allowance. ROYAL WEDDING rallied wide from off slow splits for second in a recent $40K maiden claimer. Use her underneath in the exotics, along with FALCON’S VIEW.

SIXTH RACE

NARROW ESCAPE has been knocking on the door in N1X company under Da Silva, and might be poised to put it all together here with blinkers off. WHO’S GOT IT is eligible to handle the move up in class off a $32K claim by McKnight, a 39% angle since the beginning of 2017. HONIG earned a big Beyer in a recent $40K victory, but the runner-up came back to disappoint in his next appearance.

SEVENTH RACE

HEMP HEMP HURRAY has worked nicely since ending up second to the swift Wyatt’s Town in a six-furlong Tapeta stakes for 3yos for the second time in a row Sept. 2. The versatile Mike Maker charge drew the desirable rail post, and should have a good trip on the pristine inside ground that hasn’t been used since Sept. 16. YORKTON figures to take some catching if he gets his preferred firm ground. He’s trained encouragingly since upset-

ting Pink Lloyd in the G3 Bold Venture on the Tapeta Sept. 15. KITTEN’S CAT won a key secondlevel optional claimer Sept. 8, and the classy 4yo might not be out of his league with these. LADY ALEXANDRA was cross-entered in a stakes at Belmont Saturday, but is coming here and should be a factor off her neck loss in the G1 Highlander.

EIGHTH RACE

WHITE WEDDING dueled up front along the rail before tiring in the final sixteenth over a track that favored closers on the outside in the Aug. 29 Simcoe Stakes. He can get back on track in this OS maiden special. WILEY O’RIELLY closed strongly from fifth for second in his improved second start a month ago. DUN DRUM is adding blinkers and Lasix off a third behind the latter. Use SUMMER RETREAT in vertical wagers.

NINTH RACE

FUNTASTIC was surprisingly flat last out in the G1 Sword Dancer at Saratoga, but was victorious in a light G1 the time before at Monmouth. He could make all the running over the preferred inside part of the course in his first start under JR, who’s no stranger to winning major stakes at Woodbine. The favored THUNDERING BLUE is coming off a chalky victory in a G3 in Sweden. He was previously third behind two of the top older runners in Europe, Roaring Lion and Poet’s Word, in the G1 Juddmonte International at York, where he won a G2 in July. TIZ A SLAM tracked a lively pace, set by the favored Hawkbill, before weakening late in the local prep, the G1 Northern Dancer Turf. JOHNNY BEAR won the latter event for the second year in a row, and should be used in the exotics, along with SPRING QUALITY.

TENTH RACE

SANTA MONICA was a powerful come-from-behind winner of the G2 Dance Smartly over 10 furlongs under Jose Ortiz here June 30. The winner set a dawdling pace when she finished second in her last race in a G3 fixture at Saratoga. GOLDEN LEGEND defeated a talented runner from England last time while beating the boys in a G3 stakes in France. She prefers some cut in the ground, but could make some noise regardless of the course condition. PROCTOR’S LEDGE is marooned in the outside post, but she rarely runs a bad one, and could hit the ticket as a longshot. The French import POLLARA is a wild card. She’s returning from a layoff with Lasix, in her first try for trainer Chad Brown. Sophomore fillies from France once dominated this event.

ELEVENTH RACE

HIDDEN APPEAL led most of the way before weakening in her first venture outside the maiden ranks at this $10K NW2 class Sept. 8. WRITTEN placed in back-to-back starts at this level, before running fourth in a $20K NW2 turf route most recently. NADELEINE is dropping to a logical spot. Consider her for the lower rungs of the exotics, along with ABOGADA.

SCRATCH BOARD

Here are the horses entered today who have been scratched in the last 45 days and have not raced since the scratch. Definitions: Off the turf: Turf race switched to main track. Trainer: Any scratch made by a trainer, including ones for weather, medical issues, a decision not to run in a stakes race, a horse entered back the next racing day, or a conditional entry (i.e., main track only for a turf race). Vet: Injury or illness. Steward: Administrative issues like medication and eligibility.