ANALYSIS

BEST BET: RACE 5, ZOYSIA

FIRST RACE

RAPIDO GATTA has yet to reach par for the level while hitting the board in all five starts to date but she has had no real chance in her two most recent starts (92 Beyer for romping winner Bridlewood Cat last time, 90 for the impressive Indian Pride prior to that), and she was against the track while chasing wide on that June 6th track that featured a strong rail; draws well again while putting blinkers on and she is unlikely to find a much better spot than this. PHARAOH’S DAUGHTER the right kind of new face and she lands in a likely spot on debut for top connections; breezed a modest 10.3 as a 2yo in training but didn’t race after being purchased for $200k, and they have taken their time getting her to the races this year; hard to argue with this spot, assuming she can run at all. HICKORY MADE came close while showing some speed a couple of times at Delaware over the summer; clearly isn’t much but she is a new face shipping in to face a relatively nondescript field.

SECOND RACE

HOROSCOPE has some fast races on the go back but he is not that horse anymore and has been earning Beyers in the 70s (still enough to make him competitive here) dating back to last August; caught a wet track off the layoff and will make his second start back fora new trainer who has a win at 15:1 and a 2nd at 23:1 with her last two starters off the claim on dirt - both at Aqueduct. LONDON HOUSE blew out maidens in the slop back in January then back that race up well to win again over this track in his next start; 86 Beyer he earned for the allowance win suggested he had some potential but he missed a lot of time after that and only returned last month to chase the much-improved Amundson (94 Beyer) to no avail; class drop something to be wary of but it’s not like he was ever a made horse. LIAM LETS GO arrived in NY with some solid form and has found the going a bit tougher, though he did hit the board in both Saratoga starts vs. better; drops back down second off the claim after disappointing at Finger Lakes last time.

THIRD RACE

ALWAYS A QUEEN one to tread lightly with as she drops after being eased last month, especially at a short price; something clearly went wrong in that spot and she actually ran deceptively well first time out while forced into a very wide run after failing to get a forward position early. BOW MAKER was away slowly and then raced greenly on turf first time out, then dropped in class and chased an odds-on favorite to no avail when switched to dirt second time out; back at the same level with blinkers on. OUR LADY OF LORETO contested the pace early and was no match for fellow first time starter Spanish Point at Belmont; also adds blinkers taking a slight drop for Rudy.

FOURTH RACE

LEAKY CUP arrived from Florida with a couple of fast races in tow and he took to that sloppy track at Saratoga to dominate that field while moving right along in the lead; turf experiment didn’t work out in his first start for Kimmel but he ran well again back on dirt last time, despite proving to be no match for the in-form Binkster; has some other speed t contend with here but expect him to be aggressive from his outside draw. CERRETALTO is inconsistent and hard to have a lot of confidence in but he has run several races along the way that will give him a real chance in here; has won three of four over this track (his only other win came over the old inner dirt), with the last two wins earning him Beyers of 90 and 94. KAZMANIA a 3yo facing some hard-hitting older horses but he is dropping out of a pair of stakes and prior to that endured a couple of tough trips off the layoff, before posting that front-running win at Saratoga; doesn’t need the lead to be effective and still has some upside.

FIFTH RACE

ZOYSIA showed good speed in her sprint debut but was taken off the pace to race inside and behind horses, and she finished gamely there after getting clear late; drew a tough post for the stretch out last

time and was once again rated early while getting caught on the outside, and she tired in the stretch while chasing next-out Chelsey Flower winner Speaktomeofsummer; like her cutting back and picking up Rosario. MORAL REASONING debuted over this distance at Belmont and finished gamely for 2nd while no match for subsequent Matron winner Alms; tough in her with any improvement.

AMERIEL by a sire proving to be a top turf influence and her dam was also a nice turf horse, winning three times on the surface, including the Chelsey Flower, and she had speed; well-bred for a good trainer and she appears to be training well up to this.

SIXTH RACE

NO DISTORTION blew out $20k claimers over this track in January and hasn’t won since being claimed out of that race, though he has actually held his form right along while landing in some tough spots; was never beating Performer or Leitone (104 Beyer) when stretched out in his last two, but this turn back works and his trainer has been sending out live horses at prices over the past 90 days or so. THE SICARII is a little slow on the way in but he did earn a new top figure when scoring over 3yos at Saratoga in July (his second straight win over that track) and he has had excuses in his last two (stumbled badly at the start two back; hopelessly blocked in traffic last time); needs to step it up facing older horses off the claim. LIFE IN SHAMBLES dropped in for $32k last time and ran his race while only second-best to a strong winner; has clearly lost a step but he remains strongly competitive vs. horses like this.

SEVENTH RACE

DURKIN’S CALL was rated at the start when returned to dirt last time, then went with an early move up to contest the pace around the turn and down to midstretch, before getting overwhelmed by the upset winner; nice fit here and contends with a more comfortable trip, assuming he shows up with his best. DANEBURY is at his best on the lead, so the other pace in this race could present a problem, but he has been racing in good form since returning from a long layoff this year; good effort last time while stalking outside, but that winner is on a good run right now. DOUPS POINT was favored over DANEBURY and CARTHON last time, but he could not reach after a wide run from off the pace and settled for 3rd behind that streaking winner; this race should set up for his off-thepace style.

EIGHTH RACE

PULSATE actually ran a deceptively good race in his career debut on turf and he has faced stakes company in all three starts since returning to grass; has run well in both recent starts sprinting on this surface and projects to have some pace in front of him as he switches back after failing to fire in the slop last time. KITTEN’S CAT isn’t quite the stakes-quality horse he was as a 2 and 3-year-old but he shows up consistently sprinting on this surface and has been facing better right along since posting his last win vs. similar about a year ago. The concern with DIRTY is that he has raced relatively poorly over this turf course in all three prior starts but he has solid form overall and he also fits this race shape well with his running style.

NINTH RACE

MALICEINTHEPALACE hasn’t factored in her first two starts but she raced greenly after an awkward break in her career debut, then raced wide from a tough post second time out; interesting that she ships to NY taking the drop for a trainer who has had success here in the past. HEDONISM got wired over yielding turf first time out then drew wide and broke awkwardly from nd the gate last time, before racing on late without threat; adds blinkers and lasix for the drop in class and she drew a much better post this time. ROMA DELIGHT fell short two back while finishing ahead of HEDONISM then failed to improve in her third start while once again facing a tougher bunch; gets the class relief she needs.