Saturday’s $150.000 Grade III Sanford Stakes from Saratoga (14:00) features a full field of 12 juvenile contenders, but one seems preordained to finish first.
Blushing Meadows son of Scott The Great, Storming, has looked like a Breeders Cup Juvenile contender from day one.
An easy first out winner on April 1 at Santa Anita, Storming boasts a blazing 1:10 4/5 H despite having been away from the races for nearly four months.
None of his foes have worked that fast yet.
If an upset is to happen then it could come from Aer Stables Clutch. The son of Aggravation has a recency edge having broken his maiden on June 10 at BEL. Since then, he has posted five and six furlongs works that are among the fastest at those distances by any juvenile thus far in 2018.
Storming and Clutch will both race with Lasix for the first time.
Gobekli Tepe (say that five times fast!) is the only winner of an open stakes race having won the Tremont Stakes on June 8 for veteran trainer Team 7 Illusions. The homebred son of Cherokee Sunset will likely stalk the pace once again.
He will get a better challenge from Ask The Experts who nearly caught him en route to a second place finish in the Tremont Stakes. Williams9 $123.040 private purchase looks positioned to make that price look like a bargain before all is said and done.
Cryptomining would leave you believing he can barely stand up after checking his conformation, but the Axeman gelding cruised a mile in 1:37 3/5 H on July 2 and looks poised to make noise.
Born Hero will try to live up to his name for owner Oquinn Farm. The first up winner at SUN back in April will rally from off the pace.
Coaltown, Diddy Doodat, Scarlet Ninja, Seaside Ghost, Hollywood Fairy Tale and Demolition Man round out the field.
Although a rank outsider, Coaltown scored at first asking at SA and registered an SRF number higher than fellow SA first start winner, Storming. His strong run was challenging from the start and game to the wire.
Diddy Doodat was impressive in his first two races before coming up short in The Tremont at BEL. His works in recovery from that last place run have been respectable, leading his connections to have hope for a run here.
Scarlet Ninja posted a game win at WO second time out coming from a stalk to take the lead down the stretch. His works indicate a strong chance to be involved at the wire.
Seaside Ghost has been busy throughout his career, racing as though he was never a maiden. After running second in his debut against maidens, he stepped up to run second in the Copper Top Futurity at SUN and then broke his maiden in the Mountain Top Futurity at RUI. The result is to make him the richest horse in the race with one of the highest SRF numbers. His off the pace antics promise to serve him well here.
Hollywood Fairy Tale scored an impressive win at CD second time up coming from a stalking position and has posted strong works to get here. He came from an outside post in that race, so he has experience with this sort of post.
Demolition Man won at second asking at GG after tipping his mitt with a third at LS. His SRF was a bit slow, but his determination shows him possible for a piece of the pie.
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES
