Friday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Spa Treatment deserves another chance on turf

Belmont Park | Race 7 | Post Time 6:18 p.m. (ET) | Go to the TimeformUS PPs

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Two of the main contenders in this race are shipping in from Monmouth Park. Summer Sweet (#1) put in a solid effort against open allowance foes last time out and now makes her first start against New York-breds for Mike Stidham. While her prior New York form is pretty discouraging, it does appear that she has significantly improved as a 4-year-old for this barn, and I think she has to be taken seriously.

Wantagh Queen (#2) exits a win at the Jersey Shore. While that did come against weaker company, this mare has proven that she can compete at this class level in the past, and she is the only multiple turf winner in the field. It’s also worth noting that Mike Dini’s horses have been performing very well at this meet. I’m using both of these contenders, but I’m interested in a higher-priced alternative.

SPA TREATMENT (#3) intrigues me on the switch back to turf. Going back to last year, she had run her best races sprinting on grass and presented herself as a horse with a preference for this surface. However, all of that changed last winter when Tom Albertrani added blinkers, which allowed her to run two of the best races of her career on dirt. She didn’t handle a sloppy track last time, but I’m not going to hold that against her since she’s never liked a wet dirt surface. I tend to think that she has improved simply due to the addition of blinkers rather than the switch to dirt, and I like that her connections are giving her another shot on grass.

The other logical contenders to consider are Citizen Matzo (#4), who has plenty of pedigree to move up on this surface, and Saratoga Treasure (#6), who has a right to step forward in her third start off the layoff.

THE PLAY

Win/Place: 3

Exacta Key Box: 3 with 1, 2, 4, 6