ANALYSIS

BEST BET: RACE 6, ALWAYS VENEZUELA

FIRST RACE

Final card of a 5-day race week starts at 1:15 ET and with Dave Fawkes slapping some blinkers on WINNING GAME in the hopes the Thayer homebred will improve as much as she did in her 2nd try when finishing a respectable 4th in this same kind of mdn.-$12.5k turf mile; that’d sure do it. Right alongside, PASSION FOR HOPE was a legit runnerup in that same Aug. 4 key race; comes the one to beat. EXCLUSIVELY EMMA has been away 10 weeks since getting beat a zop when closing with a rush at this same level; that’s been her only start in 4 months-plus.

SECOND RACE

Tough-to-gauge 7-furlong starter could find STARSHIP APOLLO prominent from the opening bell; grizzled veteran with 9 lifetime wins has traded hands a bunch this year while competing at shorter distances; might well find the slightly slower tempo to his liking. OVER SENSUAL finally lived up to favoritism in that overdue mdn. score earlier in the month; can press the issue from his outer box. OH MY WARRIOR is usually there or thereabouts.

THIRD RACE

The hills are alive with the news that BARONESS VONTRAPPE is back in action for Ralph after getting another couple of months off; semi-regular work pattern suggests she could be sufficiently ready to break her maiden after a couple of decent efforts in both April and June. STRIKE MY FANCY ran respectably despite facing winners in a minor stakes 7 weekends ago; trainer Kurtinecz is better than her summer-meet stats suggest. JANET B DOESIT ALL has been competitive at the level and shows more recency than the other contenders.

FOURTH RACE

Decent effort from the rail by LITTLE DIRTY GIRL in her Aug. 11 return might be enough to catapult her to victory in this bottom-level mdn.-claiming mile; finds about as soft a spot as you’d expect. AWESOME CLUE improved somewhat when being moved over to the dirt by O’Connell for her 2nd start; fits the company. TAJELIHA sustained a bid in her 13th start when going turf-to-dirt late last month before yielding late; obvious player here.

FIFTH RACE

Another crack at this $10k level affords SOBER ON SUNDAY and Juarez a chance to make amends for that last debacle, when they hooked up early and had nothing in the tank as a 7-5 favorite; careful early rating is on order. Closer to the hedge, RAIN IN SPAIN and Zayas can sit a trip while the pace unfolds; stands to benefit noticeably from her last start, which was her first in nearly 4 months. VINYARDNINA, third or fourth in each of her last 4, once again figures a vertical-filler.

SIXTH RACE

Going to assume Camacho will send ALWAYS VENEZUELA straight into contention from the favorable open-air outside box as the filly makes her 2nd start with a solid debut under her; gets no excuses as the day’s best. VALLEY GIRL flashed some foot in the same 7/22 contested by the top pick; Brei homebred won’t be such a long price today. MARY LEE AND ME suddenly came alive in her 2nd try when earning a paltry Beyer; form to improve upon.

SEVENTH RACE

Put a big red squiggly line through that awful 7/29 off-the-turf performance by MOTHERWELL, and suddenly she’s a major threat dropping back in