The final Saturday of the Del Mar summer meet is highlighted by the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante, which features three of the top five juvenile fillies in the country. As fascinating as that race is, I’m more interested in watching how the race plays out as opposed to wagering on it. But there are a couple other horses throughout the afternoon that have piqued my interest:
RACE 6 – N1X
The final Play of the Day for summer 2018 addresses a dilemma – how to wager on a longshot when the longshot has little chance to win.
Meal Ticket is a 20-1 outsider, in over her head in the Grade 2 John C. Mabee Stakes on Saturday at Del Mar. Meal Ticket has never run in a stakes race, while Mabee favorite Cambodia is a multiple graded winner. Second choice Vasilika has won five straight races.
Race 5:
Plainsman (#7)
The Pace Projector is predicting he will get a fast pace to close into.
Gets a positive trainer switch to Brad Cox.
Should appreciate the stretch-out to 9 furlongs.
7-2 on ML
:: Get TimeformUS PPs for these races at Saratoga
Race 9:
Up the Ante (#1)
Our Pix last week were a little of this and a little of that. The juveniles, Greyes Creek and Lucid Dream, got caught up in a bit of traffic in a short field and True Yankee, the 3-year-old, got rolling late to just miss show but looks like a good bet next time. Overall, it was a really bizarre week in terms of the numbers, especially the 3-year-olds where 12 of them broke their maidens, almost unheard of this late in the year.
Race 8:
Naples Princess (#7)
The Pace Projector is predicting that she will get a fast pace to close into.
Showed good improvement in her second start off the layoff last time, closing encouragingly into a slow pace.
Appears to have returned as an improved 4-year-old this year.
6-1 on ML
Race 1:
Gypsy Jo (#4)
Got the wrong trip last time out, as she was shuffled back early, raced in tight quarters, and had to steady at the quarter pole.
This time, the TimeformUS Pace Projector is predicting that she will be on the lead in a situation favoring the front-runner.
Proved that she’s good enough to compete with these when earning a 104 TimeformUS Speed Figure for her maiden win.
8-1 on ML
Instagrand, the recent winner of the Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes at Del Mar, has been made the 4-1 morning-line favorite for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Future Pool, which will open on Friday and close on Sunday evening, according to Breeders’ Cup.
As the dirt races came and went on Saturday’s Travers Day card at Saratoga, the track variant was taking shape nicely. Then they ran the Personal Ensign, an epic race between Abel Tasman and Elate that was aesthetically pleasing but a dilemma for makers of speed figures.
Race 5
More Mischief (#3)
Appeared to dislike the sloppy track in her debut, as she came up totally empty at the quarter pole.
Showed a ton of speed in her Fasig-Tipton sales work earlier this year.
Has reportedly continued to train like a talented runner since the debut.
3-1 on ML
The pick six has survived two straight cards at Saratoga, leading to a double carryover of $291,756 when racing resumes on Wednesday.
The sequence begins in Race 5, which has an approximate post time of 3:14 p.m. Eastern.
