Each week, TimeformUS Chief Figure Maker Craig Milkowski takes a look back at the weekend’s graded stakes and releases the TimeformUS Speed Figures for these races.

Saratoga

Grade 1 Travers

1/2    134

1m    129

Fin    133

Top 3: West Coast 132, Gunnevera 129, Irap 127

Navajo
Trainer: Anthony Dutrow
Last race: Aug. 27, 5th
Finish: 2nd by 3/4
Beyer: 65
Well-bred 2-year-old filly came wide in her debut and was gamely second-best to an experienced rival who worked out a better trip toward the inside. Expect her to be tough when she next shows up in the entries for a trainer who excels with maidens after a race. 

Saratoga | Race 8 | Post Time 5:02 p.m. (ET) | Go to the FREE TimeformUS PPs 

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August 26

Saratoga
Personal Ensign (race 6)

VERBOTEN
Trainer: Malcolm Pierce
Last race: Aug. 25, 5^th
Finish: 1^st by 1 3/4
Beyer: 72
He blew by the well-regarded Silent Poet under a hand ride to win his debut in a six-furlong maiden special on the grass going away. The son of Elusive Quality looks like a contender for next month’s Grade 2 Summer Stakes.

MIDNIGHT SWINGER
Trainer: Mark Glatt
Last race: Aug. 14, 7th
Finish: 3^rd by 2 1/4
Beyer: 74
This front-running turf filly making her first start of the year was perhaps compromised by the closers-friendly course profile. She set the pace to deep stretch and tired. Good prep, she will be fitter next out.

Sunday's Del Mar card features the return of Santa Anita Oaks winner Paradise Woods. She's likely to be a heavy favorite in the Torrey Pines, so I'll look to be alive with her in a daily double, linking races five and six.

Race 5

Race 3:
Bancroft Hall (#2)
The Pace Projector is predicting that he will be on the lead in a situation favoring the front-runner.
Was compromised by a speed-favoring sloppy surface that he didn’t care for last time.
Can beat the favorite Portfolio Manager if he runs back to his April 8 effort.
9-2 on ML
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Race 6:
Forever Unbridled (#4)
Ran better than it appears in her prep for this, as she closed into a slow pace that was dominated by the front-runner.
Possesses the tactical speed to sit closer to the front in a situation lacking much early pace.
Catches a vulnerable Songbird at the right time.
7-2 on ML

DEL MAR, Calif. – There is plenty of racing entertainment on Saturday, even before Del Mar’s first race at 2 p.m. Pacific.

It will be fun to watch the California-based Songbird crush the Personal Ensign at Saratoga (race 6, 2:23 p.m. Eastern). Songbird is 2-5 in a small field, and value is nonexistent. But it will be fun to watch, no wagers necessary.