The Adirondack Grade 3

6 1/2 Furlongs on Dirt
Purse $225.00 For Fillies Two Years Old
Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Springs, New York

-There is nothing quite like handicapping two year old stakes races early, when you look down at the form in front of you and just about every horse has the same basic look. Brings me back to the days of cutting my teeth when I was a young man writing for the old Herald Examiner in southern California and in charge of the Los Alamitos Quarter Horse races, where horses were often separated by a mere head bob, time after time. However, I have a job to do, so let’s attempt to give some guidance and come up with a few plays for Sunday afternoon in upstate New York. This particular rendition of The Adirondack comes with a touch more tension than usual, when you start looking at the purchase price of some of the entrants. In the horse racing world a barn with a dozen home-breds can be stabled right next to a barn with thousands of dollars of stock and plenty more on the farm, ready to get into action.

The competition is fierce and of course everybody wants to be right. As these young horses start to separate themselves on the race track, the hopes of ownership will rise and fall like the stock market. No more tension on the line Sunday than over at Serenity Stables as they send out Sassette, a $925 purchase in April of this year. The filly went wire-to-wire in Arcadia to break her maiden at first asking before the big purchase. She then showed speed in the KY Juvenile against males and the possible favorite here, Whispering Pines, before fading to run sixth. Her next start was the Debutante over at Churchill Downs, back in with fillies only, where she ran second. She now ends up here, draws well and is near the top of the charting. Win-lose or draw, she will have to be reckoned with and must be considered. Its Yesterdays from Blazin D looks for win number three here, has won from just off the pace and from a mid-pack position, so she is tractable regardless of what ensues. She is also near the top, numbers wise. For most in attendance, taking a stance that she is the horse to beat probably can’t be argued with and the fact that the last race was a stakes over this track only solidifies that perspective. Sunset Sur La Mer from Nakamura Stables will appreciate a pace war in front of her and it appears that is not out of the question. She closed well in the last quarter-mile in the Debutante to dead-heat for third. Looks like a must use in all exotic wagers to me. Whispering Pines from Mb Stables has been the public choice in all three lifetime starts, wining her first two and running fourth last time in the Schuylerville. She is the chart topper with her 96 earned when she beat males, and Sassette, in the KY Juvenile. She took a little time off and then regressed five points while running third in the Schuylerville against Its Yesterdays. She could go off favored and if she runs back to that 96 number she will be awfully hard to beat, but that’s why it’s called gambling…

Of The Rest;

Death Certificate from John Henry is probably a must use in all of your exotics. Any pace casualties should be picked off by this guy as the race progresses. He ran a big race in Canada and now has more ground to work with. More food for thought.

Will Name You Later, also from Serenity Stables, finished right behind possible favorite Whispering Pines last time, the first start for the barn after a $250 purchase in late April of this year. Hard to gauge at this point whether or not the added distance will help or hinder her chances.

Zuzus Petals from Big Jd Racing draws in from the also eligible list. She has gas but gets a brutal post to try a wire-to-wire job. She should have an impact on the race regardless of where she ends up finishing.

Grand And Lucky from Greyhound is the bomb here and should be used on all spread tickets. “Hound” has basically wired two dirt fields, a maiden breaker and an allowance cast, with a nose loss on turf between those two starts in a stakes. Should be a big price and if she breaks on top she should give a good sight for quite a while. You have been warned.

Miss Wicked from TwinTowers Racing may have just broke her maiden, but her running style fits here, as she can sit or lay close and close up ground. If she steps forward here, she could easily get a piece.

Runningfortheroses from Aer Stables draws the rail Sunday and runs the serious risk of getting covered up early. The $425 March purchase gets a tough draw and faces some stiff competition to try and make the Maiden-to-Stakes move here.

Pot Pon Fire from Night Rider Stables draws a tough post and will need a possible double-digit improvement, numbers wise, to strike gold here. Not for me this time.

Hand Carved from Pan Farms made a gear change while trying stakes company in the Schuylerville, but drew the parking lot in post twelve and got crushed in the process, finishing tenth. More room to work with here, but doubtful it will help enough for a paycheck.

-Trackman

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES