The Belmont Stakes Festival in a couple weeks should be awesome. The $2 million (!) Stephen Foster is coming up gangbusters. This Saturday in May? Not much more than the sound of crickets coast to coast. We’ll look at three grass races, two of which could be affected by rain. Crystal Water I had a cute and complimentary little opening composed for this space comparing the way the veteran trainer Dean Pederson handled his retired California-bred stakes stalwart Carmelita’s Man with his current Cal-bred version of that horse, On the Whim. And then remembered I’d already done that. In January 2025, this appeared in Weekend GamePlan: “And if you followed the way Pederson guided another California-bred turf stakes runner, Carmelita’s Man, through the peak of his career, you figured out that this was a trainer who knew how to get a horse to peak at the right time.” On a Whim two Januarys ago got hooked into a quick tempo, put way his pace rivals, but got run down by two others while finishing a respectable third in the Unusual Heat Turf Classic. :: Santa Anita Classic Meet! Get DRF Past Performances, Clocker Reports, and more. Looking back, that 1 1/8-mile race was too far for him. Looking forward, the bit about Pederson’s deft touch still applies, and I like On the Whim to get the job done Saturday in the one-mile Crystal Water. On the Whim ran back a couple of months after the Turf Classic but then didn’t start again for the better part of 11 months. His comeback race in an open first-level allowance, a two-turn mile, showed On the Whim undiminished after his layoff. One might not believe that looking only at his most recent start, but I’m treating that turf sprint as a means to this end. I think Pederson as much as anything used the February mile to get On a Whim to the $100,000 Sensational Star on March 22. There, On the Whim caught traffic while gearing up for his stretch run, and while he hunted for room, front-running winner (and Crystal River morning-line favorite) Flyover dashed away to an insurmountable lead. On the Whim got into more trouble turf-sprinting April 25 in another open allowance race. Watch what happens when he finds room – I would not call the actions of his rider electrically urgent. I go back to the “peaking for stakes” piece previously mentioned. Twice, On the Whim has gone sprint to route, improved, and won. For that matter, he’s gone route to sprint and landed a Cal-bred stakes. On the Whim’s well meant again Saturday. Keertana Ayra Stark might prove the controlling speed here, but that didn’t get her home in the Christophe Clement two starts ago. I think someone catches her, and I’ll guess that someone – even if the course comes up soft – is Golden Sunshine. In a phone interview, trainer Eoin Harty told me that Golden Sunshine had “improved from Day 1.” Despite some evidence to the contrary, I can see where Harty’s coming from. Golden Sunshine, just 4, never has run a bad race, and to step back and look at the wider arc of her career, she has steadily improved. That was never more true than last month in the Bewitch, which also marked her first start in a long-distance grass race and her first try around three turns. I have a lot of respect for the Bewitch winner, Speed Shopper, who got first run; Golden Sunshine gained good ground on her from the furlong pole to the wire, and galloped out in front. I think there’s more of that coming, and something like the 4-1 morning-line odds would feel fair. :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports Paradise Creek Intricate Spirit wins this even if he just gets back to his winning course-and-distance form last fall in the Grade 3 Futurity. I don’t think that’s happening. Not much doing in the three races since. The “blinkers on” sample for this barn is small enough to look at all the examples; not encouraging. Twilight Delight’s the one with upside. He ran quite well in two of his three races at 2, and the other one came at Kentucky Downs, an excuse unto itself. Twilight Delight’s been working steadily since March 13. Connections passed the William Walker at Churchill in favor of this easier spot. The race lacks a lot of pace, and while Twilight Delight looked comfortable sitting off the leaders in the Speakeasy, I’d love to see him show his speed Saturday. The course could come up wet, but I have no real sense of how that would affect anyone. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.