Player Quick Pick: Saratoga Late Pick Four for 9/1/14
September 1st, 2014
By Andrew Champagne
It's finally here: Closing day at Saratoga. Another great meet has come to a close, and we'll try to go out with a bang in today's late Pick Four. Here's how I'll play it.
RACE #7: We start off with the meet's final 2-year-old race at 5 1/2 furlongs on dirt. I think there's a chance we see one of the meet's best 2-year-old performances, as I've singled #1 Carpe Diem (8/5).
Carpe Diem was a $1.6 million auction purchase and is regally-bred. A colt by Giant's Causeway out of an Unbridled's Song mare, the Todd Pletcher trainee has two very strong gate works at The Spa. He looks ready to fire at first asking, and he's my best bet of the day.
RACE #8: The next two legs, however, are much more wide-open. Here we have a two-turn allowance race for older horses on dirt, and I'm going five-deep, using #1 Wizardly (8-1), #5 Classic Sense (10-1), #7 Grand Strand (15-1), #8 C J's Awesome (6-1), and #10 Successful Runner (7/2).
Successful Runner has never run a bad race. He's 1-for-7, but has been in the money in all seven starts. His last two races were particularly good, as he ran second behind a decent horse in Bay of Biscay before graduating last out over a next-out winner. Successful Runner sports a series of strong works over the surface, and I think he's very logical.
RACE #9: The final graded race of the meet is the Grade 3 Saranac for 3-year-olds going long on the turf. I'm going five-deep here as well, using #1 Ring Weekend (8/5), #4 Cabo Cat (4-1), #5 Storm (5-1), #8 Bashart (10-1), and #10 Wallyanna (7/2).
Storm probably won't be 5-1 when the field goes postward. He's 4-for-4 on turf, and his win earlier this meet was pretty impressive. Javier Castellano stays on for Todd Pletcher, and the New York-bred has enough tactical speed to sit an excellent trip in here.
RACE #10: We close out the met with a $16,000 claimer for older horses going seven furlongs. I'm going two-deep here, using #8 Moe Man (7/2) and #10 Shankopotamus (5/2).
They both figure about the same, but Moe Man cuts back to what should be a better distance here. He isn't a two-turn horse, yet he ran very well in defeat last out. This isn't a field of world-beaters, and while Shankopotamus is certainly logical and loves this surface, the outside post certainly makes him beatable.
We close out the meet with an affordable ticket. This one checks in at $25, and with a little luck, we'll wind up with some cash to take into the upcoming meet at Belmont Park.
It's been a lot of fun doing these tickets every day, and I hope you've enjoyed reading my analysis as much as I've enjoyed providing it. Best of luck today!
It's finally here: Closing day at Saratoga. Another great meet has come to a close, and we'll try to go out with a bang in today's late Pick Four. Here's how I'll play it.
RACE #7: We start off with the meet's final 2-year-old race at 5 1/2 furlongs on dirt. I think there's a chance we see one of the meet's best 2-year-old performances, as I've singled #1 Carpe Diem (8/5).
Carpe Diem was a $1.6 million auction purchase and is regally-bred. A colt by Giant's Causeway out of an Unbridled's Song mare, the Todd Pletcher trainee has two very strong gate works at The Spa. He looks ready to fire at first asking, and he's my best bet of the day.
RACE #8: The next two legs, however, are much more wide-open. Here we have a two-turn allowance race for older horses on dirt, and I'm going five-deep, using #1 Wizardly (8-1), #5 Classic Sense (10-1), #7 Grand Strand (15-1), #8 C J's Awesome (6-1), and #10 Successful Runner (7/2).
Successful Runner has never run a bad race. He's 1-for-7, but has been in the money in all seven starts. His last two races were particularly good, as he ran second behind a decent horse in Bay of Biscay before graduating last out over a next-out winner. Successful Runner sports a series of strong works over the surface, and I think he's very logical.
RACE #9: The final graded race of the meet is the Grade 3 Saranac for 3-year-olds going long on the turf. I'm going five-deep here as well, using #1 Ring Weekend (8/5), #4 Cabo Cat (4-1), #5 Storm (5-1), #8 Bashart (10-1), and #10 Wallyanna (7/2).
Storm probably won't be 5-1 when the field goes postward. He's 4-for-4 on turf, and his win earlier this meet was pretty impressive. Javier Castellano stays on for Todd Pletcher, and the New York-bred has enough tactical speed to sit an excellent trip in here.
RACE #10: We close out the met with a $16,000 claimer for older horses going seven furlongs. I'm going two-deep here, using #8 Moe Man (7/2) and #10 Shankopotamus (5/2).
They both figure about the same, but Moe Man cuts back to what should be a better distance here. He isn't a two-turn horse, yet he ran very well in defeat last out. This isn't a field of world-beaters, and while Shankopotamus is certainly logical and loves this surface, the outside post certainly makes him beatable.
We close out the meet with an affordable ticket. This one checks in at $25, and with a little luck, we'll wind up with some cash to take into the upcoming meet at Belmont Park.
It's been a lot of fun doing these tickets every day, and I hope you've enjoyed reading my analysis as much as I've enjoyed providing it. Best of luck today!
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