Life can be hard for a deep-closing turf sprinter, but Witty has made a career out of aligning stars. The 6-year-old gelding has another strong chance in the $150,000 Van Clief Stakes on Saturday at Colonial Downs as several pacesetters could set the table for him. “I’m hoping that there’s enough speed early for him to make his late run,” trainer Elizabeth Merryman said. “I’m not thrilled about the one hole, but I think he’ll be fine with it. I think that’s better than being squished between a couple.” Merryman may be slightly concerned about Witty’s inside post position on Saturday, but the pace scenario will ultimately determine his fate. Front-runners Nobals, Bear River, and Coppola all ran at Ellis Park last weekend and will likely scratch from the 5 1/2-furlong Van Clief. Even without those runners in the field of 13, longshots like Going Up and Hedwig could ask early questions of speedy contenders like Nothing Better and Isivunguvungu. Any pace at all could be enough for Witty, who came up short by less than a length in this race last year. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Nothing Better, an 8-year-old gelding trained by Jorge Duarte Jr., has not yet run back to his best form from last year, but the front-runner weathered an early duel to finish second in the $100,000 Wolf Hill last time out. “He has that speed and he’s an old-timer,” Duarte said. “He had to rough it out on Haskell Day, put away a couple horses, but he still ran his race.” Isivunguvungu, a 7-year-old gelding trained by Graham Motion, was not quite as sharp in the Wolf Hill, finishing sixth in his first race since returning from the United Arab Emirates. Motion said he expects the gelding to stalk the early pace, and his tactical speed could prove to be an issue for Witty if he kicks away in the stretch, as he did when he won his North American debut at Colonial in the $150,000 Da Hoss. Andy Guest Trainer Miguel Clement has dreams of bringing a horse to the Arlington Million someday, but for now, he will have to settle for a potent chance on the undercard at Colonial Downs, where Bandonarun, a 5-year-old mare, will return from a layoff of nearly three months with winning intentions in the $150,000 Andy Guest Stakes. Though she is more than halfway through her 5-year-old season, Bandonarun has only made seven career starts after missing all of 2024. She made her first start for Christophe Clement in January and improved to win a conditioned allowance at Gulfstream Park in February. The following month, she finished third in the $108,000 Captive Island, her stakes debut. All seemed to be going well until April, when the mare took a noticeable step back in a Keeneland allowance. Since Miguel Clement officially took over her training from his late father in May, she has been on an involuntary layoff. “We were not able to enter because of a strangles outbreak in New York,” Clement said. “So she’s been ticking on go and she’s never had a setback, actually. If you look at the workouts, she’s never missed a beat.“ Bandonarun’s most dangerous rival in the 5 1/2-furlong Andy Guest also has done her best running at Gulfstream, as 4-year-old filly Mrs. Gambolini will make her stakes debut at Colonial for Saffie Joseph Jr. The 3-1 morning-line favorite has run in three straight $70,000 handicaps in Florida, winning one in April and finishing second in May and June. Tyson Gilpin G W’s Girl, a 3-year-old filly trained by Greg Compton, will get some class relief off a short layoff in the $100,000 Tyson Gilpin Stakes. The filly will return to listed stakes company after making two graded stakes attempts for Compton earlier this year. “If she shows up and runs like she did at Oaklawn, this is a very favorable spot for her to get back on track,” Compton said. Over the winter at Oaklawn, G W’s Girl switched to dirt and instantly improved to win a pair of $150,000 stakes races, kicking off her 3-year-old campaign in style. Attempts to ship after those victories proved unsuccessful, however. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  The filly failed to fire on a sloppy track at Keeneland in the Grade 3 Beaumont and has not run since May, when she hustled into a speed duel and faded to fourth in the Grade 3 Miss Preakness. Compton expects her to regain form after taking time off. “She showed at Oaklawn that she can press the pace or come from off,” Compton said. “Coming from the rail, she always breaks pretty sharp, so I expect her to be forwardly placed.” While G W’s Girl takes a step down, Dancing Magic, a filly trained by Mike Campbell, will step back up to stakes company for the first time since February and seems poised to improve. Campbell has taken his time preparing the filly for this start, going so far as to put her in a $74,000 allowance last month with the sole intention of sharpening her after a five-month layoff. A victory in the $82,000 Gasparilla at Tampa Bay Downs in January suggests that she has more to offer. Decadent, an undefeated filly trained by Kenny McPeek, will not make her stakes debut at Colonial on Saturday, as the trainer decided to find another spot for her in Kentucky in the coming weeks. Petramolo Mile After making four straight starts at four different tracks, the 3-year-old gelding Barbadian Runner will return to Colonial Downs as a strong contender in the $100,000 Petramolo Mile Stakes on Saturday. The local runner is unbeaten in two starts at a mile on dirt. “There looks like there’s speed in there and a long stretch,” trainer Henry Walters said. “He just needs to be in contention turning for home and hope for the best from there.” Since Laurel Park, his home track, closed for the summer, Barbadian Runner has traveled to Pimlico, Monmouth, Delaware, and Colonial, competing well on a Mid-Atlantic circuit of Walters’s design. After finishing second in the $200,000 Delaware Derby behind Admiral Dennis in June, he was a less impressive runner-up at Colonial in July, when he picked up the pieces in the $125,000 Star de Naskra. Walters said that he doesn’t blame the seven-furlong distance for his performance against Virginia-certified 3-year-olds that day, but the gelding has always improved at a mile and should benefit again Saturday. Flood Zone, a colt trained by Brad Cox, will enter the Petramolo Mile with a decisive class edge, having won the Grade 3 Gotham with a 98 Beyer Speed Figure in March. The colt has not run back to that race since, however, finishing seventh in the Group 2 U.A.E. Derby in April and delivering a similarly dull effort in the $250,000 Maxfield in June at Churchill Downs. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.