Saratoga, Race 1 & 2 – Saturday, August 17, 2024
By The 2YO EdgeMan
SAR1:081724 – Six Furlongs on the Dirt. Nine colts are entered, including one entry. The number of FTSers = four, those with one start = two, and three have previously raced twice.
#1 – Sansone (7/5) – This FTS colt by Uncle Mo (All = 16.5%; FTS = 14.1%) hammered for a whopping $1.35 million as a yearling (3/75) and is trained by the wise hand of Shug McGaughey (M = 14.6%; FTS = 14.6%). His mama is by Repent and she won nearly half of her 17 races (eight) and cashed for $300K in purse money. She captured her fifth start as a baby, although it was in a Maiden Claiming event at Calder. Shug has sent her out for a total of 14 morning drills (53 furlongs) – the first eight coming at Fair Hill and the last five here in upstate NY. Two works back, he went four furlongs from the gate in 47.83 seconds (1/27). Jose gets the mount.
#1A – Moment’s Notice (7/5) – Christophe Clement (M = 23.7%, ROI = $2.32; 2nd Time Starter = 15.4%) will saddle the other half of the entry. This colt is by the late More Than Ready and sold as a 2YO for $300K after bringing $160K in 2023 when he was a yearling. He’ll be making his second start here at SAR today after running third on 7/13/24, beaten by 2 ¼ lengths. Manny Franco will get the return ridding assignment.
#6 – Jonathan’s Way (4/1) – His Freshman Sire – Vekoma – is looking for his 15th winner with this Ohio-bred colt who will be his 36th starter. Conditioner Phil Bauer has only started seven babies in these MSW races here at The Spa over the previous five years and has one trip to the Winner’s Circle. However, he is 13 for 53 (24.5%) over the same period at all tracks. This guy demanded $290K as a Weanling in the fall of 2022 – that was the highest amount in his class of 27 that sold. He started his workouts at Churchill Downs where he drilled twice, then he shipped up here to The Spa for five more for a total of 28 furlongs. His work three back on 7/27/24 was an excellent five furlong bullet move of 59.8 seconds from the gate (1/26). Joel will be his reinsman.
Final Analysis – My pick is #6 Jonathan’s Way. The bullet work was not only impressive from a time perspective, it was visually impressive. Vekoma is off to an incredible start and I like that two of his last three works have covered 5/8th of a mile. The entry is formidable, but this guy may go off at a reasonable price. And, his mama won at first asking while at baby at Belmont Park.
SAR2:081724 – One mile and 1/16th on the Turf. 16 colts have been entered, but there’s only room for 12 in the starting gate. Ten will be First-Time starters and two have competed one time previously.
#1 – Asbury Park (5/1) – The first of two in this field conditioned by Chad Brown is by the amazing Frankel. $318,576 was the dollar equivalent given for this fella last October at Tattersalles when this colt was a yearling. Irad accepts the call to guide him.
#5 – Concord Green (8/1) – This FTS colt is by War Front and trained by Shug. He’s a homebred from Stuart Janney and Dylan Davis will climb into the saddle.
#7 – Royal’s Pride (8/1) – HOFer Bill Mott will saddle this English-bred colt by Dubawi who is a homebred from Besilu Stables. Mom is by world-class sire – Galileo – and this dude will be making his first ever start. Jose Lezcano will get the leg up.
#9 – Valuation Metric (5/2 ML fav) – Munnings (All = 14.0%; FTS 13.2%) is the daddy of this colt who was thrown by a Medaglia d’Oro mare who was two for 12 and won $33,000. Mike Ryan was the agent who signed the ticket for this gal last year when she was a yearling for $185K (39/92). Trainer Chad Brown (M = 17.7%; FTS = 15.2%) has put 11 works into this guy – 41 furlongs – none terribly fast. Flavien will be entrusted on this Klaravich Stables runner.
Final Analysis – My pick is #9 Valuation Metric. Brown is the best that there is getting babies ready for a route on the grass. In reviewing this guy’s lone work on the lawn, it appeared that he relished the surface, and his work on 7/14/24, although not overly fast (48.05 seconds for a half mile from the gate), was visually impressive.
