Saturday's notable 2-year-old maidens: 1st & 3rd races at Saratoga

Part of the mystique of the Saratoga and Del Mar summers is the appearance of promising juveniles. In addition to the Sanford (G3), Saturday offers no fewer than four potentially informative maidens for the two-year-old set.

In this and the next couple of posts, we'll take a look at the intriguing pedigrees on offer (in order of scheduled post time - all EDT).

Saratoga's 1ST race, 5 1/2 furlongs (1 p.m.)

Metal Magic was just denied by Sanford entrant Twirling Cinnamon in their mutual debut at Churchill, with a further 6 1/2 lengths back to third. Trained by Eddie Kenneally, whose runners win 27% second time out, the Yes It's True colt is showing the early speed you'd expect. His second dam, though, is a full sister to Hall of Famer Tiznow. Boalt Hall is bred to be precocious, as a son of Scat Daddy out of a Yonaguska mare. A $360,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase by Stonestreet, he figures to be ready to go first time out for Todd Pletcher. Moon King, a $675,000 OBS March juvenile, makes his debut for Mark Casse. By Malibu Moon and out of a Seeking the Gold mare from the family of champion two-year-old filly Countess Diana, he is inbred 3x3 to Mr. Prospector.

The Steve Asmussen-trained Hundred Years, from the first crop of Misremembered, is out of a half-sister to Grade 3-winning sprinter Everyday Heroes from the family of Hall of Famer Ghostzapper and past Saratoga juvenile star City Zip. Totally Discreet is a nicely bred son of Discreet Cat (himself a smashing debut winner here in 2005) who is out of a half-sister to three graded performers, led by Grade 2 winner Spring Waltz. Yet as a Nick Zito trainee, he'll improve on this first career start. The same goes for Realm, a son of freshman sire Haynesfield and multiple Grade 3 victress Shawnee Country, who hails from the Barclay Tagg barn.

Saratoga's 3RD race, 1 1/16 miles on turf (2:06 p.m.)

Life Imitates Art is by internationally successful sire More Than Ready and out of a multiple Grade 2-placed half-sister to Street Boss, from a productive European family. The $175,000 yearling could be the next to emerge from the Chad Brown academy. As his name suggests, Smarty Kitten is by turf champ and leading sire Kitten's Joy, and sure to do better on the stretch-out and switch to turf. The Ramsey homebred is out of a Smart Strike mare from the productive family of Questing, Switch and French highweight Mukaddamah. Pletcher sends out Jungle Jumble, a Candy Ride colt out of Grade 3-winning dirt sprinter Reunited, who appears to be training forwardly on turf, and Dissident, a $250,000 three-quarter brother to Plum Pretty who is poorly drawn in post 10.

Crafty Colonel is by Colonel John and out of a half-sister to multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire Octave, from a family laced with turf influences. Bombadier is an Unbridled's Song half-brother to current Huxley (G3) hero Maverick Wave, so it's too soon to discount him off a troubled debut. Little Schmo closed for second to Sanford entrant Magna Light in their off-the-turf debut. The main-track only Big Paul has a pedigree ripped from the headlines: by freshman sire Drosselmeyer, he is a half-brother to Canadian stakes scorer Conquest Top Gun from the family of Friday's Schuylerville (G3) heroine Off the Tracks.