For the second consecutive week, horseplayers will be treated to a six-figure Pick 6 carryover on Wednesday afternoon after a couple of dark days at Saratoga. This time the carryover sits at $132,233 for the sequence that kicks off in Race 4 at 2:58 PM eastern and is headlined by the Johnstone S. for NY-bred fillies and mares set to go as Race 8 on the 9-race card. Hopefully, we can get the week off to a better start than the previous one.

Grade Descriptions: Grade A=Highest degree of confidence; Grade B=Solid Play. Grade C=Least preferred or pass; Grade X=probable winner but likely at odds too short to play.

Race 4:
Grade: X
Main Ticket: 6 Corruption
Backups: None

Forecast: Like many, I will lean on #6 Corruption to kick things off. The 7-5 ML favorite drops back into the allowance ranks after a solid fourth in the Manhattan (G1) during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. The Mark Casse trainee did not make the lead that day, but should have no issue making the front in this spot if jockey Jose Ortiz wants it. Whether he goes right to the front or opts to stalk just off the early pace, the 4YO gelding should get the right trip as the best horse making him a single I trust to get things rolling.


Race 5:
Grade: C+
Main Ticket: 5 White Whale; 4 Fleeting Free; 6 Fiddling Felix; 3 V Cruizer
Backups: None

Forecast: Things get a lot more challenging in leg 2 with this six-figure maiden claimer for 3YOs and up. 5-2-ML favorite #6 Fiddling Felix posted a big number in his first start against maiden claimers thirteen days ago, but was unable to get the job done against lesser. On the surface, he appears potentially vulnerable moving up in class, but was claimed out of the $20k maiden claimer by trainer Fernando Abreu. Abreu has clicked with 3 of 8 first off the claim runners over the last two years when wheeling back them back on 15 days rest or less making this one tough to toss off of his last. #5 White Whale is likely to take plenty of support too dropping in for a tag for the first time for the team of Rusty Arnold and Luis Saez. Arnold and Saez have won 3 of 8 together over the last 60 days.

Of the price options, I will use first-time starter #3 V Cruizer and second-timer #4 Fleeting Free. V Cruizer comes in off a bullet drill over this surface for Linda Rice, while Fleeting Free adds blinkers in his first start for hot training Melanie Giddings. Both have upside still at this point and would provide solid separation from the public in leg two.


Race 6:
Grade: B-
Main Ticket: 4 Snow Face Princess; 9 Street Sue; 1 Santina; 11 Keto Drink (AE)
Backups: 5 Actis; 8 Lima Lima

Forecast: A lot in this race from a wagering perspective will change if #11 Keto Drink draws in off the also-eligible list. Oddsmaker David Aragona has the Twirling Candy filly listed as the 2-1-ML choice after breaking slowly, but finishing well in her debut effort on July 10. Perhaps, she plays a little bigger in the Pick 6 than she does in the Win pool, but either way she is likely to get over bet despite a promising debut. #10 Sharp Mindset is also likely to take public support for trainer Joe Sharp. Sharp is white-hot to start the summer in Saratoga and this gal’s dam won on debut in 2017, but Sharp is just 1 for 26 over the last two years with 2YOs making their first start in a turf sprint. I am also not in love with the far outside draw if there are no scratches in the body of the field.

I will use several in here with #4 Snow Face Princess being my lukewarm top choice. The Midshipman filly was bet down to favoritism on debut at Aqueduct in late May in a 5-furlong race over the mud. The Todd Pletcher trainee flashed speed, but finished an underwhelming fourth. Pletcher adds the blinkers and legs up Irad Ortiz Jr. on a filly that is a half-sister to first out turf sprint winner Strutsherstuff. She still has plenty of upside.


Race 7:
Grade: B-
Main Ticket: 6 Cognoscenti
Backups: 1 Brigade Commander

Forecast: #1 Brigade Commander and #6 Cognoscenti exit the same race on July 6 when it was Brigade Commander winning going away with Cognoscenti settling for a disappointing fourth as the 3-2-public choice. Brigade Commander moves inside and has shown an affinity for this surface, but his 2 for 28 career record makes him tough to trust in back-to-back races. On the other hand, Cognoscenti’s trainer Miguel Clement is an eye-popping 9 for 25 with a $3.82 ROI over the last 14 days. This gelding did not fire big in his first start under Clement earlier this month, but has a big shot to turn the tables on the stretch out to 1 3/8-miles.


Race 8:
Grade: B-
Main Ticket: 9 Bernietakescharge; 2 Dolomite
Backups: None

Forecast: I am going to take a swing against the ML favorites in the Wednesday feature where #8 Sterling Silver and #5 My Mane Squeeze are likely to take a lot of public support. Sterling Silver has earned over $1M and My Mane Squeeze has taken on some of the best female sprinters in the country, but both are not without warts. Sterling Silver has earned her share of wins, but also has lost at 1-5, 3-1, 4-5, and 3-5 dating back to last fall. My Mane Squeeze is a bit scarier because she gets the big class drop, but her last couple of efforts have been well below her best. She can win, but probably as an underlay.

#2 Dolomite is logical if you are against the favorites, but #9 Bernietakescharge might get overlooked despite a career best effort holding off Sterling Silver in the Critical Eye on June 4. The Take Charge Indy showed grit that day and has plenty of proven form at one-turn as well. Hopefully, she can sit just off #1 Majestic Return and prove her win last out was no fluke.


Race 9:
Grade: C+
Main Ticket: 5 Fifi La Fume; 1A Gattatiz
Backups: 2 Kyla’s Kause

Forecast: On paper #2 Kyla’s Kause looms large in this state-bred maiden claimer over the lawn to close the day and the sequence. The Daredevil filly wins this going away if she runs back to her effort last October, but one has to wonder where the $170k Saratoga August 2023 purchase has been and why the need to drop her in for a tag off the bench. She will not have to be that much to earn her first trip to the winner’s circle, but I struggle to get excited about wagering on her in any capacity. I will try to beat her with #5 Fifi La Fume and #1A Gattatiz. Fifi La Fume broke slow and was buried on the rail in a tight spot much of the way last out and gets a massive rider upgrade to Irad Ortiz Jr. Gattatiz makes her second start off the bench after racing against the flow in a similar spot on June 19.

Best of luck!