Race 6

Two-year-old maidens go six furlongs in the first leg, and the race seems best played going two deep, using Bernin Sensation (7) and Saldamente (6). They are the only two horses who have managed to finish second, with Bernin Sensation doing so in his debut at Del Mar on Aug. 26 and Saldamente running second first out Aug. 6 there before a fourth in the Del Mar Juvenile Turf.

BEAT THE BENCHMARK
Trainer: Chad Brown
Last race: Sept. 18, 8^th
Finish: 3^rd by 4
Beyer: 75

Going from a debut score in a maiden special weight dash at Saratoga to the 14-horse Grade 1 Natalma Stakes at a mile was a tall order, but she ran a winning race. After getting impeded at the break, she was bumped while in tight between rivals in the stretch before closing to finish behind two fillies who enjoyed clear sailing on the outside.

Race 7: The J Y (#4) has run better than it may appear in his last two starts, as he had some trouble getting a clear run in the stretch two back before coming with a game finish, and then ripped off a fast pace to set up the race for closers last time. He drops in class for this and can break through if able to finally pull the right trip.

The major action on the Woodbine card Saturday comes late in the day, the 12-race program closing with the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile, a major prep for the Breeders’ Cup Mile and a race that includes one of the best horses in the world, Tepin. There are two other stakes in a pick five that begins with race 8, and I’ll take a swing at that as well as the late pick four spanning races 9-12. I have one other play earlier on the card.

Despite the fact that our Pick last week just went one-paced and didn’t figure in the finish, it was a very good week for BreezeFigs maidens (14 winners) and stakes winners (three). The maiden winners came at Belmont (three, including a BreezeFigs exacta), Delaware, Golden Gate, Gulfstream (three, including two exactas), Laurel (two, including an exacta), Los Alamitos, Monmouth, Mountaineer, and Remington. The stakes winners came at Arlington, Finger Lakes and Louisiana Downs.

Sept. 10

Arlington

Arlington-Washington Futurity (race 8)

MEGAGRAY
Trainer: Mike Keogh
Last race: Sept. 11, 2^nd
Finish: 1^st by 2 1/4
Beyer: 75
After saving ground until the top of the stretch going 1 1/16 miles, he closed inside a rival who bumped him, and went on to a convincing score over a decent group of maiden 2-year-olds. The son of Langfuhr could be a factor in the important fall stakes at Woodbine.

With a carryover of more than $52,000, Saturday's pick five at Kentucky Downs is certainly worth a look, and a play.

RACE 6: Taking an immediate stand with COCO MON (#9) against morning-line favorite Ghurair, who is in for a tag for the first time off the layoff. We'll need separation at some point, and there's no better time than with a longshot in the first leg.

A's: 9
B's: NONE
C's: NONE

Saturday’s late pick four at Belmont Park intrigues me, mainly because there’s a filly in the nightcap I believe to be a legitimate contender whom I can key most of my wagers around. One thing at a time, though – let’s get through the first three legs of the sequence before worrying about a single in the finale.

RACE 7

A 50-cent pick four with a guaranteed pool of $100,000 that culminates with the Grade 3 Super Derby is among the most appealing wagers at Louisiana Downs on Saturday, so here’s a look at the sequence.

The first leg is the eighth race, the Sunday Silence for 2-year-olds going a mile on grass. There, I recommend using three horses, Keilbasa (11), Hembree (6), and Royal By Nature (9) – all first-out winners on the grass with seemingly the potential to be stakes horses.