TDN's Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato will give their best bet of the day for every Friday, Saturday and Sunday card of the Saratoga meet, and bet $50 Win/Place on their selection. In the case of a scratch, an alternate pick will be posted on twitter. The handicapper who has accrued the biggest bankroll through Sept. 3 wins.
SS: Saturday's Result – Isabella Sings had little left in the tank after setting a fast pace in the Diana. Total: $410.
Sunday Race 6, MSW – With knocks against the horses that have the experience edge in this big field (the 3-1 morning-line favorite has burned her share of money in eight career attempts), it's hard to pass up on first-time starter Bluegrass Sunset. The Dell Ridge homebred, trained by the always dangerous Chad Brown, has plenty of pedigree in her corner–her half-sister Partisan Politics graduated in Saratoga's grassy P.G. Johnson S. after finishing a close third on debut and her Dynaformer dam Bluegrass Princess also did her best running on the grass/synthetic. A steady worktab at the Spa dating back to mid-May adds to Bluegrass Sunset's appeal. Hard to imagine that she goes off anywhere near her morning-line quote. Selection: #5 Bluegrass Sunset (8-1)
BD: Saturday's Result – Oscar Performance took some tote action at 5-1 and looked good on the track, but never really threatened and only got going much too late. Hopefully today's 2-year-old turf firster fares better. Total: $0.
Sunday Race 2, MSW – For the first 3/4 of the inaugural Showdown at the Spa in 2012, I couldn't come close to picking a horse that would even lift a hoof. I'd basically conceded the thing to Steve (now every time he has a lead in one of these I do the same thing to try and jinx him), until a George Weaver-trained, Bona Venture Stables-owned juvenile filly named Summer of Fun came along and broke her maiden on the grass at 11-1. I stumbled on a couple more winners before the meet came to an end, and completed what can only be described as one of the greatest comebacks in head-to-head handicapping contest history. I'd prefer to not need to employ the same late-in-the-meet heroics this year, but I will be trying to score again with a horse representing Summer of Fun's connections. Majestic Bonnie, a $125,000 OBS April grad off a solid enough :21 1/5 breeze, is out of Fancy Point, who switched to turf to break her maiden in a stakes race second out at two here in 2010. Deeper in her pedigree are names like Grade I-winning turfer Joyeux Danseur, European and American champion 2-year-old Arazi and British highweight Noverre. Weaver and Bona Venture scored with another juvenile filly first out on the grass here in 2011, and the conditioner's success at the Spa in recent years is well-documented. Selection: #9 Majestic Bonnie (6-1)
Tune in each race day from 4:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. for Saratoga Live, available on Fox Sports 2 (channel finder), MSG+ (channel finder) and Altitude (channel finder).
For the complete broadcast schedule, visit NYRA.com
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