Diversify, Mind Your Biscuits clash in $1.2 million Whitney

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Not so long ago, the chances that the 2018 Whitney Stakes (G1) would turn out to be much of a race were pretty dim. The handicap division is once again considered weak, and most of the best horses are based in California, where they’ll likely turn up in the Pacific Classic on Aug. 18.

Somehow, though, with help from an unexpected addition or two, the Whitney has ended up with an intriguing – from both a competitive and a wagering standpoint – field of eight. A victory by any one of five or six expected starters would not be a complete surprise.

New York-breds have played a minor role in the Whitney. Most famously, there was Fio Rito, whose victory in 1981 was the first Grade 1 score by a horse bred in the Empire State. Commentator won the race as a 4-year-old in 2005, and then again at seven in 2008. The Distorted Humor gelding tried for the trifecta one year later but could do no better than third behind Bullsbay and Macho Again.

In today’s $1.2 Whitney, New York-breds Diversify (7-5) and Mind Your Biscuits (2-1) have been made the two morningline favorites. Both horses appear to be in top form.

After beating up on statebred competition as a 3- and 4-yearold, Diversify burst on the national scene with a gate-to-wire victory in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) in his first start in a graded race. The now 5-yearold gelding faded in his next two outings but signaled his readiness for the Whitney with another front-running tour de force in the Suburban (G2) last out. Diversify looks like the lone speed in the Whitney, and if he was able to carry his speed for a mile and a quarter in the Gold Cup and Suburban, the thinking is that he ought to be able to stay up for a mile and an eighth. In any case, the others will have him to catch.

Mind Your Biscuits is a twotime New York-bred horse of the year and the leading New York-bred money-earner ever. His three Grade 1 wins include back-to-back runnings of the Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1). The 5-year-old Posse horse, however, has yet to win a race beyond seven furlongs. He has been competitive in his three starts at a mile, most recently in a nose beat by Bee Jersey in the Met Mile. Figures to try to get first jump on Diversify in the lane.

The lightly raced Backyard Heaven (9-2) looked like he might be a force to be reckoned when he put up big numbers in a one-mile allowance and in the Alysheba Stakes (G2) on Kentucky Derby weekend. The 4-year-old Tizway colt lost some of his lustre with a sixth-place finish in the Stephen Foster (G1) in mid-June. A return to his form in the Alysheba could make him tough in this spot.

Tapwrit (6-1) is winless in three starts since his victory in the 2017 Belmont. Most recently, he was in the mix in the Suburban but lost ground late to finish fifth behind Diversify, beaten almost 10 lengths as the 3-1 favorite. Tapwrit’s best hope is that the two favorites will cancel each other out on the front end, leaving one of the stalkers to pick up the pieces.

Good Samaritan (12-1) is another who would benefit from a fast pace. Remembered best for his 8-1 upset in last summer’s Jim Dandy, the 4-year-old Harlan’s Holiday colt started off 2018 with a sharp score in the New Orleans Handicap (G2), He didn’t perform as well in two subsequent starts at shorter distances, but with the Whitney being run at the same distance as the Jim Dandy and New Orleans, Good Samaritan could be an overlay at 12-1.

McCraken (15-1) will need to run his best to compete here but has shown what he can do when he’s on his game, with three graded wins as a 3-yearold and a nose loss in the ninefurlong Haskell.

Dalmore (30-1) and Discreet Lover (30-1) are the outliers in this eight-horse field.