Wednesday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: St Andrews can do better over fair track

Saratoga | Race 7 | Post Time 4:34 p.m. (ET)

This $50k claimer is easily the most competitive race on the card. Nine were entered and no one is higher than 8-1 on my morning line. The likely favorite is Runnin’ Ray (#2), takes a significant drop in class after facing tougher allowance optional claiming fields at Churchill. I don’t care much about the turf race last time, but he ran well off an extended layoff two back behind graded stakes winner Everso Mischievous. I’m a little concerned about his ability to hold his form now as an 8-year-old, but he makes sense in this spot.

Suerte (#5) is another getting class relief as he drops in for a tag for the first time since his 3-year-old season. He’s another making the switch from turf to dirt, but I wish his dirt race two back had been a little stronger. He was coming off a layoff that day and perhaps he’s racing back into fitness. There isn’t a ton of speed signed on here, and he figures to be forward with the addition of blinkers.

I considered Midnight Trouble (#9), who makes his first start off the claim for Jeremiah Englehart. He earned a competitive speed figure going a mile two back, and he didn’t get the best trips in a few of his starts going two turns earlier this year. He appears to be working well since the claim. Complete Agenda (#8) finished behind him on May 26, but rebounded against starter allowance foes in his next, getting elevated to the victory via disqualification.

I prefer a different horse from that Aug. 1 affair. Whereas Complete Agenda was riding an extreme rail bias, staying inside throughout, St Andrews (#6) was relegated to a 4-wide trip around the track. Most horses who raced on outside on that Aug. 1 card were basically eased in the stretch, such was the strength of that track bias. Yet St Andrew ranged up wide to challenge for the lead in upper stretch before hanging on well to just miss holding third at the wire. He faced a better field than it might appear three back in that May 5 allowance at Oaklawn, and the 110 TimeformUS Speed Figure he earned for that effort fits well with this group. It’s also possible that he improved for Orlando Noda, whose horses have run well lately. He has the tactical speed to work out the right trip.