Thursday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Mo Kreesa has upside for new barn
Saratoga | Race 9 | Post Time 5:44 p.m. (ET)
Five of the nine runners entered for turf in this starter optional claimer are exiting the July 17 race at the same level won by Barnstorming. That race's odds-on favorite Enlighten (#3) figures to be the public choice again here despite losing by a nose. New trainer Tom Morley can certainly win off the claim on both dirt and turf. However, he's been claimed away from Todd Pletcher, and horses claimed from that barn are just 16 for 151 (11%, $0.80 ROI) in their next starts over the last 5 years. Enlighten also got the best trip in that July 17 affair, saving every inch of ground and cutting the corner in upper stretch as the pace fell apart.
That race featured an extremely fast pace which benefited closers. That includes Final Denile (#5), but at least he's a horse who has more tactical speed than he displayed that day. He may be more forward here in a race that features less early speed, and he's still relatively unexposed on turf. Fredo (#8) is the other runner that I would upgrade from that last spot, since he moved earlier than others while never seeing the rail. I would just rather take a couple of horses coming from other directions.
One of those is Hedge the Risk (#9), who just broke his maiden for Chad Brown earlier in the meet. He's another who benefited from a favorable pace setup and an excellent ground-saving ride, but I still think he has some upside. That was just his second turf start, and now he makes his first start off the claim for Joe Sharp, who has been sending out plenty of live runners at the meet.
My top pick is the 3-year-old Mo Kreesa (#6), who might have more upside than anyone else in this field. He, too, races off the claim, picked up out of a low-profile barn by new trainer Mark Hennig, who is 5 for 24 (21%, $2.95 ROI) first off the claim over 5 years. This horse has clearly improved since getting back on turf this year, chasing some talented New York-breds like Rhetorical and Leon Blue. He dropped in class to get the victory against much weaker last time, but he ran well within the context of that race, pressing a fast pace before holding off the closers. His tactical speed makes him capable of better here in a race that features a murky pace scenario.