Saratoga: How to bet the Lake Placid

Eight sophomore fillies with an affinity for grass will head to the Saratoga starting gate for the $150,000 Lake Placid (G2) on Sunday afternoon.

A case can be made for most if not every runner in this 1 1/8-mile race. Many of them are allowance runners stepping up in class, including morning line favorite #8 Cat’s Pajamas (5-2), who rallied to win a 1 1/16-mile allowance event at Belmont last month. The daughter of Street Sense is 2-for-2 on turf for trainer Graham Motion and warrants respect with Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez in the saddle.

But rather than place too much emphasis on potential over proven form, I’m tempted to side with #6 Stunning Sky (3-1), one of the most experienced fillies in the Lake Placid field. Admittedly, Stunning Sky is a one-dimensional deep closer who will need an ideal pace setup to prevail. But with two-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz aboard, Stunning Sky will have every opportunity to work out the trip she needs.

The most appealing facet of Stunning Sky’s form is her record against stakes company. A former claimer, Stunning Sky has turned in some promising efforts against tough competition for trainer Mike Maker. Three starts back she rallied to finish fourth in the Sanibel Island S.,beaten just 1 1/2 lengths by the accomplished Highland Glory. And on June 27, Stunning Sky closed ground to finish sixth against a deep field in the 1 1/8-mile Regret (G3).

#1 Speaktomeofsummer (5-1) is appealing for many of the same reasons. The daughter of talented turf miler Summer Front won the Chelsey Flower S. at Aqueduct last November and recently returned from a long layoff to finish fourth behind stakes winners Sweet Melanie, Highland Glory, and Antoinette in Belmont’s Wonder Again (G3). She’ll drop her blinkers for the Lake Placid (a 29% winning move for trainer Christophe Clement) while retaining the services of Joel Rosario, who has won at a 22% rate teaming up with Clement over the last 60 days.

Let’s key Stunning Sky and Speaktomeofsummer with “ALL” in the trifecta, counting on both of these stakes-experienced fillies to finish in the top three:

$1 Trifecta: 1,6 with 1,6 with ALL ($12)
$1 Trifecta: 1,6 with ALL with 1,6 ($12)
Total: $24

Good luck!