Wednesday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Stowaway confidently placed for return from extended layoff
Saratoga | Race 4 | Post Time 2:52 p.m. (ET)
I'm not really against likely favorite Gun Party (#5), but he does figure to be a pretty short price as he attempts to win his second start in a row. This $1.7 million purchase went 1 for 9 to start his career, but he did steadily improve once stepped up against winners. He caught a tough rival in El Magnifico two back, and last time seemed to put it all together. He was more engaged in the early stages, stalking a moderate pace before taking over. He now has to cut back to a mile, which probably doesn't do him any favors. Yet this isn't the toughest field for the level, and he has to be considered the most reliable option.
Main rival Drake's Passage (#1) is pretty hard to trust given his spotty form going back to last summer. He showed some signs of life in the Commentator two back, but then was no match for a talented duo from the Chad Brown barn at this level last time. I don't like that he's broken slowly at the start of each of those recent races, and doing so from the rail out of the Wilson Chute could put him in a difficult early position.
My top pick is Stowaway (#6), who returns from a lengthy layoff for trainer Whit Beckman. This barn can be successful off extended layoffs, compiling a record of 16-3-3-2 (19%, $5.09 ROI) off layoffs of 180 days or more. This gelding has been away from the races for 443 days since his victory in May 2024. That's a lot to overcome, but he has come back from layoffs in the past, even winning off a break in that last start. The 112 TimeformUS Speed Figure he earned would make him highly competitive here. He got back to dirt for the first time in three years on that occasion, and he made it clear that he prefers this surface. He's now a 6-year-old, but his dam is notorious for producing late-developing horses. It's a good sign that he's returning without a drop in class after all this time away, especially considering that he was purchased for just $40k by these connections. He appears to be training well for his return, and it's a very good sign that Irad Ortiz Jr. takes the mount.