SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – There are two key changes to Monday’s Grade 1, $300,000 Hopeful Stakes, the closing-day feature at Saratoga. First, morning-line favorite Muth has been scratched from the race and has been re-routed to the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes on Oct. 7 at Santa Anita, trainer Bob Baffert said Monday. In the Hopeful, Baffert said he would have been running back in three weeks from his second-place finish to stablemate Prince of Monaco in the Grade 2 Best Pal on Aug. 13. “I was coming back a little quick and I looked at that [Hopeful] field and it’s salty,” Baffert said. “I want to run him two turns, I’m going to wait and give him a little more time.” Baffert still had Mission Beach to run in the Hopeful. The second notable change for the Hopeful field is the Beyer Speed Figure of Valentine Candy has been adjusted to 85 from an original figure of 66. The adjustment was made due to subsequent performances by horses who Valentine Candy defeated on July 22, including General Partner, who earned a 92 Beyer Speed Figure winning a maiden race here Saturday. :: Visit the Saratoga Handicapping Store for Past Performances, Clocker Reports, Picks, Betting Strategies, and more. The scratch of Muth could make Timberlake the Hopeful favorite in what is now a field of 10. Timberlake, soundly beaten by Rhyme Schemes – subsequent winner of the Grade 2 Saratoga Special – in a maiden race on June 15 at Ellis Park, came back, with blinkers added, to win his second start by 9 1/2 lengths going the Hopeful distance of seven furlongs on July 21 at Ellis and earning an 85 Beyer Speed Figure. The horse he beat that day, Saratoga West, came back to win his maiden on Aug. 5 with a career-best 79 Beyer. “I don’t know if [blinkers] helped him. I will say this, he doesn’t get overly rank with them, which is a positive. He responds to what the rider is asking and wanting him to do,” said Brad Cox, who trains Timberlake for Siena Farm and WinStar Farm. “I don’t know if they moved him forward or not, but I know the distance moved him forward.” Timberlake has worked four times over Saratoga’s Oklahoma training track, and Cox has loved what he’s seen from the son of Into Mischief. “He’s done great up here. His work tab shows that,” Cox said. “He’s a big, strong, physical horse.” Florent Geroux rides Timberlake from post 5. Valentine Candy, one of two horses in here trained by Steve Asmussen, was a front-running debut winner here July 22. Of five horses to have run back out of that race, fourth-place General Partner won a maiden race here Saturday by four lengths and sixth-place finisher Dancing Groom came back to win his maiden by five lengths in an off-the-turf race here Aug. 19. Good Sweep won the Tremont by nine lengths on June 11 at Belmont. Sent off the 1-5 favorite in the Grade 3 Sanford here July 15, Gold Sweep stumbled at the start, raced in the back of the pack, and was beaten 2 1/4 lengths by 46-1 shot Yo Yo Candy, who also is back in this field. Asmussen said Gold Sweep and Valentine Candy have worked together twice leading up to this race. “Excited about both of them. They’re obviously talented,” he said. “If Candy breaks like he did last time it’ll be pretty easy to know who’ll be on the lead for a jump or two. Very different with those 11 gathered, it’s a very deep field.” Jose Ortiz rides Gold Sweep from post 6. Tyler Gaffalione rides Valentine Candy from post 8. :: DRF's 2023 Saratoga headquarters: Previews, past performances, picks, recaps, news, and more. Todd Pletcher has the pair of Be You and Pirate, who will now break from posts 9 and 10, respectively. Be You was beaten a nose by Just Steel – also in this field – in an Aug. 5 maiden race. Pirate was a three-length debut winner over Just Steel here seven weeks ago. “We were impressed by his maiden win. He trained like he was the type that would go over and perform well in his debut,” Pletcher said. “We’ve been pointing to the Hopeful since. His race looks to be kind of key with the horse that he beat having come back to win.” The depth of this field likely means Yo Yo Candy will be a big price again Monday. He won the Sanford with blinkers added by trainer Danny Velazquez after finishing third to Gold Sweep in the Tremont. Baytown Chatterbox, the 60-1 winner of the Ellis Park Juvenile, and Nutella Fella, a debut winner at Delaware Park, complete the field. The Hopeful goes off as race 10 on an 11-race card that begins at 12:40 p.m. Following Monday’s card, racing on this circuit is dark until Sept. 14, when the Belmont at Aqueduct fall meet begins. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.