Sunday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Roagna removes blinkers in search of better trip

Saratoga | Race 7 | Post Time 4:28 p.m. (ET)

It’s hard to know exactly where the public will focus their money in this wide-open New York-bred allowance race. Perhaps Island Fox (#7) will attract support since she’s at least coming out of a victory, albeit against maidens. She’s more lightly raced than most of the other options in this field, and clearly improved with the switch to turf. That performance was flattered when runner-up Summer Whirl came back to break her maiden next time out.

Another 3-year-old with only one prior turf start under her belt is Midnight Concerto (#12), who took to grass pretty well at Aqueduct back in June. She was coming off a layoff that day, and was a little sluggish through the early stages after hitting the gate and getting bumped after the start. Yet she was finishing best of all late once finally asked for her best. Now she gets Lasix for the first time, and she should loom a late danger if Junior Alvarado can get her a little more involved early.

Several runners in this field exit the July 21 race at this level. Lakeside Getaway (#9) achieved the best result of the fillies coming out of that race, checking in second behind subsequent stakes winner Awesome Czech. However, Lakeside Getaway got to set a pretty moderate pace along the inside in a race dominated by horses who rode the rail. Now the TimeformUS Pace Projector is predicting a fast and contested pace, so the 4-year-old could have a tougher trip coming. Busy Morning (#1) probably deserves another chance after encountering some traffic in deep stretch last time, but she had gotten a good trip until that point.

The horse I want out of that July 21 affair is Roagna (#11). She’s been a little disappointing since winning her debut so impressively late last season at Aqueduct. Yet she hasn’t had ideal trips in her three races so far this year, and that was especially true last time. She broke well from the rail and had a chance to go forward, but instead got reined in, causing her to get rank. Javier Castellano angled her off the rail onto the backstretch, accepting a wide trip the rest of the way. She shifted out into the four path for the entire far turn, and understandably flattened out late. Now H. James Bond wisely takes the blinkers off, which should help her settle better. She’s going to get pace to close into, and I think she’s better than her recent results suggest.