Thursday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Regalton returns on short rest in Galway
Saratoga | Race 7 | Post Time 4:36 p.m. (ET)
There is no shortage of speed in this Galway, which attracted a full field of 12 runners entered for turf. A few of the key players have done their best work racing up toward the front end. The quickest of them all through the early stages may be Luna Louska (#9), who is shown leading in a hotly contested pace scenario on the TimeformUS Pace Projector. This filly has been a revelation since switching from dirt. She improved to break her maiden on synthetic, but then took her game to the next level when moved to turf in her last couple of starts. This filly possesses so much early speed, running some incredibly fast TimeformUS Pace Figures in those recent starts. If she can clear those to her inside and get over to the rail, she could be tough to reel in. Her presence could also put some other pace players in an uncomfortable position.
With so much pace in the race, it's natural to look for closers, and there really aren't that many of those in this field. The strongest of that group appears to be Love Cervere (#11), who comes in with some of the strongest form regardless of her running style. She has won all three of her starts in one-turn sprints, including two stakes in her last couple of starts. She rallied from far back in the Take the A Train, but showed better tactical speed last time. That versatility should give Joel Rosario some options. The other intriguing closer is Abientot (#12), but she got a perfect pace setup last time and still couldn't get the job done in the Coronation Cup. This is a tougher spot.
George Weaver has entered four fillies for the turf, plus one MTO, in this Galway, so he certainly has his bases covered. The one of those that I prefer is Regalton (#2), who just broke her maiden here 18 days ago. She had shown some promise on debut, rallying for second behind today's rival Luna Louska on synthetic. Yet both of them have since proven to be better turf horses, and Regalton showed some nice versatility breaking her maiden over this course and distance last time. She broke on top, but then was rated off the pace before being produced outside to produce a strong stretch kick. That 109 TimeformUS Speed Figure suggests she belongs at this level, and she may not get the respect she deserves in such a competitive field with so many options.