Sunday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Limes Don't Lie should improve second off a layoff

Saratoga | Race 3 | Post Time 1:11 p.m. (ET)

Scottish Lassie (#3) is the proven class of this allowance/optional-claimer, but she might not be cranked up to produce her best effort off the layoff. She needed her career debut at Saratoga in 2024, and then again wasn't fit to run her "A" race off the bench when she launched her 3-year-old season. She also isn't the most reliable sort in general, and she's achieved both of her Grade 1 victories over longer distances than this. She's clearly the horse to beat, but I have some reservations at a likely short price.

Autumn Evening (#6) is the other runner with recent stakes form, but she was totally overmatched when she tried Grade 1 company in the Derby City Distaff last time. This is the drop in class that she probably needs, but I still don’t have a strong sense of her current form given the lengthy layoff into the last race.

The speed of this compact field could be Roman Grace (#2), who now makes her first start off the claim for Linda Rice. She's stepping up in class, and has to carry her speed carry furlongs but she does appear to be in strong form at the moment.

My top pick is Limes Don't Lie (#1), another filly who doesn't usually run her best races off layoffs. The good news is that she got a race under her belt last time, chasing home the superior Munnings Express. She figures to benefit from that fitness builder, as she had to use herself late in the race after losing some ground in upper stretch. I liked the way she kept coming in the final furlong to just miss second. She was an impressive winner up here last summer, and she can upset the favorite if able to build on that form now as a 4-year-old.