Summer Bird went out for another run this past weekend and wasn’t really pushed at all with Kent Desormeaux piloting him to a 1:02.37 five furlongs. Bird had been clocked at 59.99 earlier over five furlongs and that was apparently a bit fast for for Ice, whom ESPN quoted as saying “WE just wanted to slow him down… Today was more getting him to relax and let him finish.”

Quality Road has been training in Elmont as well and looks set to take a spot in the race, which should feature a total of six horses. This will be Summer Bird’s first go at older colts and we’ll see if he can match up against Woodward runner-up Macho Again- who put in a hell of a late charge against Rachel Alexandra.

Macho Again is owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and is a really quality runner.

My early tip was Gozzip Girl and I also stand by that. He’s at 2/1 in the morning line and I expect him to take a bit of a dip. I think this is good value on one of the country’s best fillies- although we should acknowlegde that the words “best” and “filly” have taken on a bit of a different meaning during the 2009 summer session. I think Gozzip Girl just has so much working in her favour that you can’t pass her up, especially with Kent Desmormeaux on top.

The only real competition I see comes from Maram at 3/1 and Graham Motion’s Shared Account at 4/1. Shared Account bested Keertana, who runs in this race, at the Grade 2 Lake Placid at Saratoga in late August. That was her only victory of the season, but she did put in a tough 2nd place to Blind Date in the Grade 3 Virginia Oaks. They will have Ramon Dominguez aboard for the first time and that’s an interesting variable.

Maram is a classy competitor who is 3 from 3 lifetime with wins at Santa Anita in the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf Race, the Miss Grillo Stakes at Belmont and scored in her first race which was a maiden claimer at Saratoga. The only thing keeping me from backing this horse is that she hasn’t run this season and I don’t think she’s helped by the long layoff against quality competition.

Pull Dancer is an interesting selection and the 6/1 price is still a bit short for my likings. This horse isn’t out of the question for a win, but it will take her best to pull this one off. This could be an each-way for the adventurous.

Other notables include Keertana and Miss World at 10/1. Katara sits at 12/1 with Many Kisses the long shot at 30/1.

My selection for the 2009 Garden City Stakes at Belmont Park is Gozzip Girl.
Exacta: Gozzip Girl/Shared Account
Triactor: Gozzip Girl/Shared Account/Maram
Superfecta: Gozzip Girl/Shared Account/Maram/Miss World

In terms of the highlight of Friday’s program, we have Americain, Colony, and Up To No Good all pointed towards the race. Up To No Good being my pick from those three following a very solid outing at Presque Isle Downs and several very credible allowance wins from last year. He may not be the most glamorous, but I like his gritty style of grinding out victories on surfaces of all kinds. I think he’s a real September/October kind of horse if you get my meaning.

Other notables include Thabazimbi, Solitaire and General Chester all appear to still have question marks, but none of those are out of the question. It would be an impressive line-up and it’s nice to see some of the regional runners taking on the Kentucky-breds. It will be interesting to see how that all plays out at the end of the meet.

We are especially interested in a pair of Grade 1 races for the ladies, with the $300,000 Garden City boasting 3 year-old fillies on the turf followed by the Ruffian Handicap for fillies and mares, which will run for the same stakes.

Gozzip Girl is probably the flashiest name on offer with the winner of the $700,000 American Oaks set to take on a very competitive field. The partnership with Kent Desmormeaux looks set to continue and this could be another major statement for Stonestreet Stables, who have been on an absolute tear at the highest level. This horse has won all over the place and with plenty of success on turf, I’m confident she’ll be attracting most of the money. If she avoids complications, I’m backing Gozzip Girl to put together a very classy victory.

Keertana, Katara, Miss World and Pull Dancer are all being floated as competition.

I expect the first Grade 1 of Saturday to have plenty of excitement but the second race, for fillies and mares, is a one-way ticket to the Breeders Cup Ladies Classic and is the most valuable long-term prize. Exotic Indy and Seventh Street are floated as the earlier contenders, but we’ll have another post bringing more detail to that race in the coming days, but of the two we’d side with Saeed Bin Suroor’s Seventh Street any day of the week. A quinella featuring the two could be a popular option against a slower field.

For the Ashley T. COle Stakes on Sunday, I expect a lot of the early money will be on Banrock considering he took the West Point Handicap and the Kingston Stakes (both on turf) and is 1-2-5-1 for the year coming into this one. He did score in this race at this distance in 2008 and that definitely offers up some food for thought.

I think Banrock is a solid favourite, but I’m going to back Extra Zip for a show bet if he’s priced-favourably. He only seems to run against Banrock and finished 3rd in the West Point Handicap. If he’s at 8 or above, I think he’s good money on a place if you think he’s willing to step up a bit in the face of what looks to be a very intriguing handicap race.

Pennington, Get Serious and Hangingbyathread are all regulars on the north east allowance circuit and look set to step into this one as well.

It should be a very interesting opening weekend to the Belmont meet, but we think it could be a good weekend for the headline acts.

Our Early Selections

Up To No Good
Gozzip Girl
Seventh Street
Banrock

Keep in mind it’s like a feed off the guys computer, so the quality isn’t 100% but its watchable. If you don’t want to miss the widely anticipated race with Rachel Alexandra then click the link below! All other Saratoga races will be shown!

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CLICK HERE TO WATCH FREE LIVE STREAMING FROM SARATOGA FOR THE 2009 WOODWARD STAKES!

Rachel Alexandra has been installed as the 1/2 favourite to pull off a historic victory against the older colts in the 2009 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga. This truly is a filly for the ages and she’s brought a mainstream media spotlight to the racing world that we haven’t seen in a long time. Confidence in Rachel is high, and some are already predicting a victory by a two digit margin. I think that might be a little ambitious, but I firmly agree that Rachel is a solid price at 1/2.

I expect her price at the off to be even shorter, especially if we get any scratches from the quality competition lining up alongside her. Another big factor is the wicked fractions that Rachel is putting in during training at Saratoga. They aren’t pushing her very hard this week, but her numbers in the two previous weeks have been very very impressive.

Steve Asmussen commented that Rachel is a bit of a red carpet horse and is thoroughly enjoying the limelight and attention she’s receiving from fans. Calvin Borel has been confirmed for the ride.

As it currently stands, there is a seven horse field for this race and Rachel will be looking for her fifth consecutive Grade 1 victory. One of the standouts is It’s a Bird (10/1), who many would mistake for another high-profile offspring of Birdstone, but he’s actually a son of Birdonawire.  He finished a disappointing 7th in the Grade 2 Suburban Handicap at Belmont but has managed to pull off three victories from 6 so far this year when he struck in the OBS Sunshine Millions Classic at Gulfstream as well as the Lone Star Park Handicap (Grade 3) and the Oaklawn Handicap (Grade 2).

Bulls Bay (6/1) is an interesting proposition and he’ll have Jeremy Rose on top for this run. He’s had some success at Saratoga so far this year and he struck in the $750,000 Whitney Handicap on August 8th. He also took the Alysheba Stakes (Grade 3) at Churchill Downs. He only has one victory to his name when he steps up to the highest Grade so I get the feeling this one may be a bit beyond him. He could make an appearance on the bottom end of your exotics.

Macho Again (8/1) is a gorgeous grey 4 year-old who finished second in the Whitney at Saratoga. He pulled off a very big upset when he bested Einstein and Asiatic Boy in the $600,000 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill back in mid-June. He’s last year’s Jim Dandy winner and, when he gets a good start and the conditions suit him, he’s a force to be reckoned with. I’m not sure if I see him playing spoiler but he will be a part of your superfectas. He was also runner up in last year’s Preakness.

Asiatic Boy (10/1) comes out of the Al Maktoum system and boasts American and Argentinian roots. This six year-old has a lifetime earnings of nearly $2,500,000 so he’s certainly nothing to sneeze at. My big issue is that he’s been without a win since he won on what is effectively his home turf- Nad Al Sheba in Dubai. He triumphed in the Group 2 Al Maktoum Challenge where he bested a field of 16. His runs on American soil haven’t been so hot and he’s got 2 second place finishes so far this season, runner up in both the Suburban and the Stephen Foster. He’s a classy veteran, who’s raced on three continents, but I don’t think he has the quality to stand up to the young and ambitious Rachel Alexandra.

Past the Point (15/1) will have Edgar Prado piloting but looks a long-shot in this field. This horse is still winless, but has run against some of the best including Curlin and Going Ballistic. I don’t see it happening for Past the Point, despite a talented rider.

The last mention goes to a coupling of Da’Tara (12/1) and Cool Coal Man (12/1), both out of Nick Zito’s system. Cool Coal Man is another quality horse who doens’t seem to win very often and his last victory came in February 2008 when he scored in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream with Kent Desmoreaux on top. He finished third in last year’s Haskell to Big Brown but has not had a 2009 to write home about with his best results being the runner-up slot in the Grade 3 Excelsior Stakes at Aqueduct and the Grade 3 Alysheba Stakes where he lost out to Bullsbay.

Da’Tara is the better entry, for my cash anyways, and his sole victory was last year’s Belmont Stakes when he had Alan Garcia aboard for an impressive ride. This will be his first run of the 2009 season and without the practice against quality opposition, I think it will take a lot for Da’Tara to get a result.

My early selection is Rachel Alexandra with exactas using It’s a Bird, Bulls Bay and Macho Again on the bottom end. I see these four making up the superfecta but you may want to sub in Asiatic Boy in that 4th slot in place of It’s a Bird.