A longshot to consider in the Bowling Green Stakes

New York turf races are known for their lack of pace, but the minimal speed entered in Saturday’s $250,000 Bowling Green Stakes (G2) at Saratoga is truly extraordinary.

Just check out the Brisnet past performances for this 1 3/8-mile race. A total of 112 North American running lines are listed for the 13 entrants, yet among these dozens and dozens of performances, only three pace-setting efforts can be found.

One of those elusive frontrunning efforts came from longshot #7 Argonne, who would seem overmatched in the Bowling Green if not for the fact that his tactical speed could be dangerous in this paceless race. Trained by H. James Bond, who has won with two of his first nine runners at Saratoga, Argonne required five starts to break his maiden, but boasts a three-race win streak against easier company.

Argonne has been particularly effective since he stretched out in distance. Two starts back he won a 1 1/4-mile allowance race at Belmont Park with a rally from just off the pace, and last time out he led from start to finish in a 1 3/8-mile optional-claiming allowance at Belmont, where he sprinted the final three furlongs in :34.52 to win by two lengths.

The only runner who seems remotely possible to challenge Argonne for the early lead in the Bowling Green is #5 Channel Maker, the gate-to-wire winner of the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (G1) in September. But most of the time, Channel Maker (who can be rank at times) is wrestled back into a stalking position by his jockey, so I don’t expect Channel Maker to get aggressive and challenge Argonne for early supremacy.

I’ll be the first to admit Argonne needs to step up his game in terms of speed figures, but since he’s coming out of some slow-paced races, I’m not sure how pertinent his recent speed figures are. He certainly displayed a sharp turn of foot last time out, and if he waltzes along on an uncontested lead in the Bowling Green, Argonne might take this field a long, long way on the front end. Possibly all the way?

Since Argonne will be a big price in the betting, let’s take a shot playing him to win and place. If he cracks the top two, we’ll make a nice score, regardless of which runners round out the order of finish.

$10 to win on #7 Argonne $10 to place on #7 Argonne

Good luck!