Free Drop Billy tries turf in Saranac
By Jeff Scott SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » After making a number of stops along the Triple Crown trail –including inthe-money finishes in the Holy Bull Stakes and Gotham, as well as up-thetrack finishes in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont – Free Drop Billy will try turf for the first time today in the $300,000 Saranac Stakes (G3). A Grade 1 winner as a 2-year-old in the Breeders’ Futurity, the Union Rags colt has been pegged at 6-1 in the field of nine 3-year-olds going a mile and an eighth.
The lightly raced Raging Bull, who exits a nose win as the 5-2 favorite here in the Hall of Fame Stakes (G2), is the 2-1 choice today. The French-bred son of Dark Angel has three wins and a runner-up finish in four starts and will be trying 1 1/8 miles for the first time.
Maraud, the horse who was nosed out by Raging Bull four weeks ago in the Hall of Fame, is rated at 9-2 today in the Saranac. The son of Blame has a pair of graded wins at 1 1/16 miles this year (at Gulfstream and Churchill Downs) and will also be making his first start at a mile and an eighth. Maraud broke his maiden at first asking at Saratoga a year ago tomorrow. Up the Ante (7-2) will be making his first start in a graded race. The Smart Strike colt comes off a second in the listed Stanton Stakes at Delaware Park and, most recently, a 3½-length
triumph in the one-mile Manila Stakes at Belmont. Up the Ante sports a 3-1-0 record in five starts on turf.
The New York-bred Therapist (8-1) returns to open company after dominating a pair of New York Stallion Stakes events at Belmont and Saratoga. Last out, the Freud colt ran away with the Cab Calloway Division of the NYSS here by 5½ lengths. Therapist has been victorious in six of eight career starts and has been off the board just once.
The rest of the Saranac field consists of March to the Arch (10-1), Golden Brown (12-1), Hot Springs (12-1) and Sand Dancer (201). WISE OWL says - Raging Bull: Looks tough to beat, he was moving well late in the Hall of Fame Stakes to take it by a nose over Maraud, should like the extra distance here. However, there doesn’t appear to be a ton of speed signed on so I’m giving the nod in this one to Up the Ante from the inside post. Yes, he lacks the class of others in this field, but he did beat Raging Bull in his last race, and should once again be able to dictate the race flow. SAM HOLLINGSWORTH says - Racing Bull and Up the Ante: Chad Brown’s Raging Bull looks poised to bounce back after losing by a nose to the also-enteredhere Maraud earlier in the meet in the Hall of Fame Stakes. The 3-year-old colt is going to need his fastest speed figure to date to take this one, but with the right turf surface (firm) and a solid ride by Joel Rosario, it’s more than likely. Up the Ante for Christophe Clement shouldn’t be far behind, and I’ll pair the two for a $20 exacta box.