Weekend GamePlan for Aug. 15, 2026: Picks for Christophe Clement, Catch a Glimpse, Solana Beach

What could turn the attention of the American racing world away from tectonic shifts in the sport’s foundational event, the Triple Crown? How about an international betting coup emanating from rural Maryland, branching out to hallowed ground at Saratoga and into English betting shops?

Meanwhile, Weekend Gameplan has been sailing – untroubled, cruising at over 10 knots – right through stormy August waters.

Christophe Clement

Coming into this weekend, Saratoga had run 11 graded turf-route stakes this meet. Eight different Europeans ran in six of them. That’s a lot, and only two of those horses came from Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby. Appleby between 2021-24 won an astounding 38 graded turf stakes in North America. That number dropped to four in 2025, and those two Saratoga starters are Appleby’s only North American runners this year. They each finished seventh, by far the worst performances among the overseas octet.

Absent those two, the Saratoga Euros are 6-4-1-1, and they’re coming from trainers who haven’t typically run many horses over here. To some extent, I trace this influx to trainer George Scott sending Wimbledon Hawkeye from England to win the rich Nashville Derby last year at Kentucky Downs.

:: Get an edge with Saratoga Clocker Reports! View detailed comments and grades for morning workouts, straight from the track. Available every race day.

Glacius, who won the Saratoga Derby last week, had form somewhat reminiscent of Wimbledon Hawkeye’s, and now comes 3-year-old Ancient Egypt to tackle elders in the 1 1/2-mile Christophe Clement. Ancient Egypt, trained in England by Charlie Johnston, who is winless with just two North American runners, rates at least one cut above horses like Glacius and Wimbledon Hawkeye, and I like him quite a bit.

Luis Saez took full advantage of Glacius’s pace last weekend, going wire to wire in the Saratoga Derby, and hopefully David Egan – retained rider for owner Amo Racing – employs the same tactics with Ancient Egypt, rail-drawn and capable of leading all the way.

Ancient Egypt has raced prominently – if not led – in his seven starts. He’s run below form twice: last year, in the Royal Lodge, a dull showing with no apparent excuse, and in the Derby at Epsom, where he struggled over very soft going. He held a lead for nearly the entire homestretch in the King Edward at Royal Ascot, just getting touched off by the good Aidan O’Brien-trained colt Newstead, and turned the tables on Newstead and everyone else save Derby runner-up Maltese Cross in the Grand Prix de Paris, where Ancient Egypt might have been moved a touch early.

Ancient Egypt, baseline, is a better horse than his two overseas Clement rivals, and I don’t think the other potential pace players, Ole Crazy Bone and Fort George, can keep up with him.

Catch a Glimpse

Ghost Me probably goes favored in the Catch a Glimpse, but I’ll guess she still offers value. Don’t know what it is with trainer George Weaver and young turf sprinters – but it’s definitely a thing after several years now. Is Ghost Me in the same league as Cy Fair, Weaver’s standout 2-year-old filly last year? I can’t rule it out after two starts.

Sure, Ghost Me faced but three foes in her debut, but she showed fabulous gate speed in that maiden race and was more dominant than her bare margin of victory.

Ghost Me tried for the lead last out in the My Dear, didn’t get it, and suffered through a miserable middle portion of the race, stuck down at the fence some six lengths from the lead turning for home. It’s tough for an inexperienced horse to rally up the rail, which she did, and win going away. That was synthetic, and this filly will prove better on turf – and too good for the Catch a Glimpse.

Solana Beach

This race has fall-apart potential, and since two of the main pace players, Grand Slam Smile and Can’t Sleep, are two of the shorter prices, things get interesting.

I like Can’t Sleep’s Carla Gaines-trained stablemate Wink and a Grin, a filly who lacks speed and needs the setup she should get Saturday. Wink and a Grin ran one of her best races finishing fourth in the 2025 Solana Beach, where her rider, saving ground around the far turn, got stuck behind horses going nowhere. By the time Wink and a Grin found room to operate, she had no chance to win while finishing fastest. She made a big move into a strong pace and flattened very late while facing Grade 3 rivals last fall, and that sprint comeback last out – excellent gallop-out – served purely as a prep for this start.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.