When Saudi Crown is good, he is very, very good. And when he is bad – that’s happened twice – it has been exceedingly so. Saudi Crown, with no obvious excuse, was all but eased as the heavy favorite in the Godolphin Mile this past spring. His other clunker came in the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic, though his 10th-place finish there came after setting a fast pace at a 1 1/4-mile distance beyond his best.

Disarm scraped into the 2023 Kentucky Derby, earning enough qualifying points three weeks before in the Lexington Stakes to make the race, then finished an encouraging fourth. A little less than four months later his 3-year-old campaign ended with a fine second in the Travers Stakes, and Disarm looked like the sort of colt who’d be even faster as a 4-year-old.

So far, that has not been the case. The attempt to get Disarm a Grade 1 win is on hold, with the colt set to line up Saturday at Churchill Downs in the Grade 2, $500,000 Lukas Classic.

Since Weekend GamePlan returns after sojourning overseas, it’s only fitting these races, coast to coast, will be contested on turf.

City of Hope Mile

We start with the City of Hope Mile because Trikari rates as one of the more interesting horses racing this weekend. He has star potential.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Before they part ways in separate Breeders’ Cup races at Del Mar, National Treasure and Muth will head the same direction on Saturday at Santa Anita – toward the lead in the Grade 1 California Crown Stakes.

The day’s richest race, the $1 million California Crown was renamed and rejuvenated this year. The purse was tripled by Santa Anita owner 1/ST Racing, which hopes to make the California Crown program the West Coast equivalent of the Pegasus World Cup winter program in Florida.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Bill Mott has won the last two runnings of the Vosburgh Stakes with horses who would go on to win a Breeders’ Cup race and become champions.

It remains to be seen if Scotland can attain the lofty accomplishments his former stablemates Cody’s Wish and Elite Power did, but Saturday he will be given the opportunity to become a graded stakes winner in the $250,000 Vosburgh at Aqueduct.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Shug McGaughey believes Concord Green will ultimately show his best when he’s a little older and gets to run longer distances.

But, the son of War Front was pretty darn good last month at Saratoga, when he overcame a slow start and some traffic to rally from 11 lengths back and win his debut by three-quarters of a length going 1 1/16 miles. He’ll take that experience and some additional training into his second start when he meets stakes winner Zulu Kingdom and six others in the Grade 2, $200,000 Pilgrim Stakes at Aqueduct.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A trio of juveniles who have run their best races at Colonial Downs – Ghostly Rose, Lazio, and Moon Factor – will try the Gulfstream Park turf for the first time on Saturday, weather permitting, when they figure to be among the leading contenders in the $95,000 Hollywood Beach Stakes.

The local area was under a Tropical Storm warning and was expected to feel some of the effects of the outer bands from Hurricane Helene on Friday, which could put the availability of the grass course in jeopardy over the weekend.

A marquee promoting big days at Del Mar or Santa Anita should have the following in bright lights: Also starring Gold Phoenix.

Gold Phoenix has won the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap on Pacific Classic Day at Del Mar the last three summers. He won the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita on Big Cap Day in 2023, and was fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita last November.

With a stakes victory and a Grade 3-placing on dirt at Saratoga, Studlydoright is the most accomplished horse in Saturday’s $150,000 Laurel Futurity.

The question is whether the Maryland-bred will transfer his main-track form to turf in the $150,000 stakes for 2-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles.

Studlydoright’s pedigree indicates he should do fine. His dam was a stakes winner and Grade 3-placed on grass. His second dam was restricted stakes-placed on turf.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. is taking a different approach to prepare Skippylongstocking for a potential Breeders’ Cup bid.

Last year, after Skippylongstocking won the Charles Town Classic, Joseph opted not to run the horse in the ensuing 10 weeks. Skippylongstocking finished third in the Dirt Mile, 3 3/4 lengths behind Cody’s Wish and National Treasure.