Sunday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Sassetti due for better trip
Saratoga | Race 1 | Post Time 1:10 p.m. (ET)
This is an interesting race where I could have made cases for a lot of different horses. The two likely favorites appear solid enough. Hello Beauty (#5) is obviously logical as she drops in against New York-breds for the first time in her career. She was supposed to run in a spot like this earlier in the meet before a shoeing issue forced her to be scratched. She was rerouted to another open company race where she got a wide trip to nowhere. This is the right level for her.
Off Script (#3) spent the early part of her career on dirt, but seemed to appreciate the transition to grass last time. She lacked early speed and did get a fair pace ahead of her. Yet I still liked the way she rallied through traffic in the final quarter mile to just miss. The form was flattered when winner Nonna Lynne returned to finish second in a stakes. Both of those contenders make sense, but there are others to consider.
I wish either Amazing Gracer (#7) or Starship Pegasus (#10) had gotten either rider changes or better post positions. The former hopped at the start and then was hung wide every step of the way on debut. She's clearly better than that, but it's hard to trust her to get a much better trip here. Starship Pegasus would be easier to back if she hadn't gotten stuck out in post 10, since the excuse for her debut was a wide trip.
I'm going in a different direction with Sassetti (#1). This filly showed some ability on debut, just flattening out late for a barn that typically doesn't have them cranked up first time out. She may have been ready to show improvement in her second start, but she got completely blocked in traffic through the late stages of that race. She undoubtedly took a step forwardly last time, earning a highly competitive 97 TimeformUS Speed Figure for her third-place finish behind Off Script. She might have run the better race that day, since she was chasing the fast pace that fell apart and was the only pace player still around at the end. I like that Jose Ortiz stays aboard, and she may get somewhat overlooked for a barn that has had a pretty quiet meet.