Illman: Pick three plays for Saratoga for Wednesday, Aug. 6

Races 4 and 6 are for 2-year-olds. For all of the pedigree and trainer information, please check out this “Spa Babies” piece.

In the fourth race, I’m going to use the experienced runners as Ticketmaker ‘A’ plays. #4 THIRTYSILVERPIECES ran into a buzz saw in his debut and now gets class relief, dropping into a maiden claimer for Wesley Ward. #6 DINNER TIME didn’t do much running at Belmont but has some pedigree and is expected to take a step forward for an underrated trainer.

As a backup, I’ll include #1 ASTRON, a first-time starter going out for a barn that has sent out some live horses at the meet.

A – Thirtysilverpieces
A – Dinner Time
C – Astron

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I’ve been waiting for #4 QUAY to run back since a solid runner-up performance at this level June 15 at Belmont. She performed very well here last season and might find a pair of pace targets directly to her inside in today’s fifth race. She’s my lone ‘A’ in the heat, but I’ll also use #5 AQUINNAH, the mare who nosed out Quay at Belmont before finishing third in a minor stakes race at Monmouth on July 13, and #11 SUBTLE, a very fast mare who loves this course.

A – Quay
B – Aquinnah
B – Subtle

In the final leg of the sequence, I’m interested to see how #6 BUILDING PERMIT performs in her career debut for trainer Chad Brown. I can’t let these connections knock me out of the play, so I’ll use her as an ‘A’ along with #1 RAZIA SULTANA, a well-bet runner-up in her downstate debut, and #7 SWEETPOLLYPUREBRD, a first-time starter from the suddenly hot Rudy Rodriguez barn.

#3 ACCELEBRATE chased a very talented filly at Belmont, adds blinkers, and deserves consideration as a ‘B’ play, while #5 ZO ZO’s trainer excels with second-time starters. Zo Zo was very green in her debut and can improve with blinkers. I’ll play her as a ‘C’ on my ticket

A – Razia Sultana
A – Building Permit
A – Sweetpollypurebrd
B – Accelebrate
C – Zo Zo

Here are my Ticketmaker Tickets:

All A Entries ($2 base)
4,6 with 4 with 1,6,7 = $12

A’s with One B ($1 base)
4,6 with 5,11, with 1,6,7 = $12
4,6 with 4 with 3 = $2

A’s with Two B’s ($1 base)
4,6 with 5,11 with 3 = $4

A’s with One C ($1 base)
1 with 4 with 1,6,7 = $3
4,6 with 4 with 5 - $2

Total investment = $35