It’s just a Grade 2, but the Jim Dandy will draw the most eyes Saturday among North American race offerings. Essential Quality, as he readies for the second half of his 3-year-old season, has a claim on being the Breeders’ Cup Classic favorite, and his Jim Dandy start, first race since his powerhouse Belmont Stakes, ought to provide guidance. If Essential Quality really is a star performer, he should thump this bunch, be this a Travers prep or not. Without making too much of moderate-looking recent drills with company of questionable quality, I can’t shake the sense that the Jim Dandy isn’t going to unfold for him quite as planned. Weyburn tempted as a price play, but I couldn’t quite get there and instead will look to two other Saratoga stakes and a nice renewal of the Bing Crosby. Vanderbilt Handicap This hardly rates as an epic Grade 1, but hey, that’s been the long-term state of the American dirt-sprint division. The shortest prices here carry questions. Favored Mischevious Alex might really suit this six-furlong trip, but the horses he beat in his pair of wins at the distance were, frankly, cupcakes. Cutting back, this inside draw could put him in a tricky spot, and any horse that wears an extension cup blinker is less than straightforward in his racing behavior. The 109 Beyer remains a stark outlier that’s hard to trust, and hoping he can worm his way between horses at 9-5 or some such price lacks appeal. Firenze Fire, face it, is a Belmont horse who struggles to show his very best at Saratoga. He, too, trips out difficultly in a race where I see Strike Power making the front, Special Reserve lapped on his flank through a strong pace. :: Visit DRF's Saratoga shop for all your handicapping needs: Past performances, picks, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more The Iowa Sprint has yielded strong Vanderbilt performances in the not-distant past, but the horse behind Special Reserve at Prairie Meadows, to me, lacks real substance. At 9-2, the morning-line price, Special Reserve would offer fair value, but I don’t care for either his action or his head carriage and wonder how long this form peak can persist. Can’t say a single bad thing about Whitmore. The gelding is 8 and appeared to have lost a half-step in the spring. If he wins another Grade 1, no one loses, really. Granted, Three Technique simply might not be good enough, but at double-digit win odds, he’s worth a play for me. Still just a 4-year-old, Three Technique mainly was a lost soul at age 3, and I’m drawing a line through nearly everything he did last year. At 2, he sharply won a Saratoga maiden-special-weight sprint, and I find intriguing the combination of cutting back to six furlongs and adding blinkers. My guess is Three Technique has been racing farther than ideal, and that he will really enjoy stalking a strong pace and finishing into it. He has a potent three-sixteenths move at his best, as evidenced from his turn move in the May 1 Belmont win. Couldn’t find video of his works but suspect the July 16 bullet came with blinkers. He gets seven pounds from the favorite and meaningful weight from the other logical contenders and would not need a huge leap forward to win. Bowling Green If Channel Maker really is going to be favored in this, his prep for the Sword Dancer, it creates value on everyone else in the race. I considered both Chad Brown entrants, especially Breakpoint, who got his final half mile in 45.83 seconds winning a 10-furlong Group 1 in Chile and probably has more tactical pace than he showed in his U.S. debut. :: Join DRF Bets and play the races with a $250 First Deposit Bonus. Click to learn more. Ultimately, Channel Cat looks like the controlling speed from the rail; he went wire to wire in this race two years ago and can do it again Saturday. Channel Cat was in chase mode as Tribhuvan opened up on a hot Manhattan pace, and I can’t really fault him for fading off the scene. Subsequent works are notably lively, and if he can clear Channel Maker, he’ll be tough to run down. Bing Crosby Dr. Schivel ought to get a sweet stalking trip, appears to relish the Del Mar surface, stands to improve second time back from a long break, and looked like a colt coming into the peak of his powers in his July 24 team workout. He’s already won without Lasix, while that’s the great unknown for deserving favorite C Z Rocket, who also stands to get a favorable trip.