Sunday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Bramito deserves another chance stretching out in distance

Saratoga | Race 2 | Post Time 12:44 p.m. (ET)

I find it hard to trust any of the favorites in this allowance optional claimer. Digital Ops (#1) is arguably the most trustworthy option among the main players, but even he is coming off a layoff in this race, adding some uncertainty as to whether he can repeat his last effort. That most recent performance was a good one, chasing home stablemate Alexander Helios, who would return to win a graded stakes at Oaklawn. His early speed makes him dangerous, but he figures to get some pressure from Castle Island (#2) to his outside.

What do we get from the top two finishers in the 2024 Wood Memorial, who both are trying to get back on track in this spot? Resilience (#5) and Society Man (#6) are coming off pretty disappointing efforts earlier this year. The latter finished far behind Digital Ops in January without an apparent excuse. I'm a little more interested in Resilience, who got involved in a fast pace that fell apart going a mile last time. He probably needed such a taxing return effort, and should move forward here. It just remains to be seen if he's still the same horse we saw last spring.

My top pick is Bramito (#4). This horse has been a sprinter for much of his career, but he was originally intended for longer races. He won his debut going 7 furlongs at Ellis Park in 2023, and then was immediately stretched out by former trainer Steve Asmussen. He's had limited dirt route chances since then, but I think he deserves another chance to go longer now that he's back in top form. Gustavo Rodriguez is 11 for 40 (28%, $2.94 ROI) first off the claim in dirt routes over 5 years. This horse also has a stride length and cadence to suggest that he should possess the versatility to stretch out around two turns.