The prospect of rain all over the East Coast and some short fields makes for a limited set of choices this Saturday, when the marquee matchup is Mystic Guide versus Happy Saver in the Suburban at Belmont. I saw video of Mystic Guide’s June 13 team workout at Fair Hill, and the Dubai World Cup winner appeared to be going very well. All credit to Mystic Guide, who could turn out to be the best older dirt-router in North America, but one is struck all over again by the softness of this year’s World Cup. Runner-up Chuwa Wizard is no more than a solid Japanese dirt horse, while third-place Magny Cours never has approached actual Group 1 status. Happy Saver, who beat Mystic Guide with the better trip in the 2020 Jockey Club Gold Cup, took quite some time to make his 4-year-old debut, which was less than flashy. The Suburban has a pace void, the temptation is to forecast chaos, but I can’t get behind any of the other entrants. Instead, three other plays, not exactly high confidence, but hopefully offering some value. Smile Sprint Trainer Patrick Biancone won five stakes in 2020, four in 2019, but so far in 2021 is winless in nine such starts, his overall strike rate down to just 8 percent (5 for 60). Diamond Oops, a 6-year-old now, held onto his better form through last fall, but one wonders if he, like his trainer, has fallen a notch. He did eke out a win June 5 when somewhat dead on the board in a Gulfstream open handicap but likely needs more than that to capture the Smile as the likely favorite. Chance It is going to get first run on the favorite and as a 4-year-old with only eight starts has far more upside on the day than a horse like Diamond Oops. That’s generally speaking, and in particular, Chance It stands a good chance of improving in his second start back from a year-plus layoff. :: DRF Bets players get free Daily Racing Form Past Performances and up to 5% weekly cashback. Click to learn more. He did all the dirty work chasing the leader in his May 23 comeback run, holding well for second behind Smile entrant Double Crown, who picked up the pieces rallying wide from last. Chance It, even facing Florida-bred and -sired foes in 2019, hit a high level, and his 2020 Mucho Macho Man yielded a gritty win at a one-turn-mile trip perhaps longer than ideal. Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. had different options for this race and focused on this horse, putting a pair of bullet drills into him. His appealing mixture of speed and tactical versatility should serve him well here, perhaps even at a fair price. Princess Rooney Estilo Talentoso dead-heated for second in the Grade 1 Madison at Keeneland as a 50-1 shot, but she’s no fluke. She had the rail in the paceless Derby City Distaff and ran creditably in defeat and was a dead-game winner June 4 at Belmont. Still, the Princess Rooney seems like a good spot to take her on at a short price. The filly already has done a lot this season, now ships to Florida – always challenging during summer – and has drawn tricky post 1 again. Really liked Ce Ce on May 22 in the Santa Maria. Suppose one could argue she wants no part of two turns at this point, but I don’t believe that alone accounts for her showing, and it’s perhaps no coincidence the Santa Maria was her first start without Lasix. This is her second. :: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures Thissmytime should be a fair price and looks loose on the lead, and I’ll take her to wire this field. The 4-year-old filly made huge strides through her 3-year-old season, and while she faced lesser competition and raced on a sloppy track, she showed what she can do with a clear lead on Nov. 20. I think chronically underappreciated trainer Kathleen O’Connell has her ready to fire fresh, and the price should be square. Kent Rain could move this sophomore grass fixture to dirt, but on turf I’ll take 5-1 or higher on Be Here, a lightly raced son of the fabulous racemare Informed Decision. It’s an odd racehorse who can make the lead in a Keeneland dirt sprint one race and fall 13 lengths off the pace next out in a turf route, but that’s what we’ve seen from Be Here. He showed signs of life closing encouragingly behind a gate-to-wire older-horse winner last out in his turf debut and now races for the first time as a gelding.