Friday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Lady Beth should appreciate added ground in Winter Memories

Belmont at the Big A | Race 8 | Post Time 4:49 p.m. (ET)

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This Winter Memories seems fairly wide open with no standouts. Liguria (#1) and Tax Implications (#8) might vie for favoritism going out for the Chad Brown barn after finishing first and second in the Wild Applause going this distance at Belmont in June. I thought Liguria got the better trip that day, waiting to make the last run in a race that fell apart. They met again in the Lake George after that, and Tax Implications clearly put in the stronger performance as Liguria delivered an inexplicably dull effort. She has to rebound here, but she does get Irad Ortiz Jr. back aboard.

Tax Implications followed up those pair of runner-up finishes with a slightly disappointing effort as the favorite in the Lake Placid last time. She’s probably a little better going a mile, but I still didn’t like the way she came off the bridle so early last time. She was run down in the late stages by Soviet Excess (#7), who also is back in this spot. That filly got completely ignored on the tote board, but held her own coming with a nice late run. She also had run deceptively well in the Wild Applause, but won’t be as big of a price this time.

The wild card in this field is Sacred Wish (#3). She’s perhaps the most talented runner in the field, but she’s never raced on turf. There’s a bit of pedigree for her to handle grass on the dam’s side, and sire Not This Time can get any type of runner. She’s trained pretty well on the grass at Saratoga, but that’s not quite the same as racing over it in the afternoon. I think she’s dangerous here, but just wouldn’t want to take too short a price on her.

My top pick is the biggest price of the Chad Brown entrants. Lady Beth (#10) was pretty impressive in her debut victory at Gulfstream back in February. That came over the Tapeta surface, but she beat a solid field in decisive fashion, drawing off to a convincing score. It took her a while to get back to the races after that, though she was rained off the turf once between that start and the Soaring Softly. Brown opted to cut her back in distance for that stakes debut, and she just seemed to lack the speed for that affair. She got outrun at the quarter pole, but was staying on best of all at the end before galloping out ahead of the field. She now returns from another layoff, but I like the way she’s training and I don’t think we’ve yet seen the best she has to offer.