The thoroughbred action continues Friday afternoon in Saratoga Springs with a ten-race card that kicks off at 1:10 PM eastern. The slate is headlined by the $150k De La Rose conducted at one mile over the Inner Turf. Here are a few horses I am most interested in on the day as I try to find my footing in upstate New York after a couple of poor handicapping weeks to get the summer meeting started.


Race 1:
The opener is a 5.5-furlong turf sprint for MSW foes where #2 Red Square was made the 8-5-ML favorite by oddsmaker David Aragona. The Lael Stables gelding debuted at Churchill Downs in late June and put in a solid late run after getting out of the gate a bit slow. He was beaten that day by #3 Beijing who was making his second career start and saved ground throughout on a day where the inside was preferrable over the Churchill lawn. Both Kentucky based shippers are in with significant shots in the Friday lid lifter, but I prefer the value of #7 Frenchquarter Note. The son of City of Light showed solid speed between rivals in his debut at Aqueduct last month, but was forced to battle along the inside through the early stages before tiring in the lane. He has to run better in his second career start to find the wire first, but the move to an outside post against a field that for the most part has lacked speed out of the gate thus far gives him a shot for big improvement. Trainer George Weaver is off to a great start to the summer at the Spa winning with 3 of 13 for a $5.70 ROI. Hopefully, hot riding Ricardo Santana Jr. can find the front and set a more moderate pace than he was involved in on debut.

Play: #7 Frenchquarter Note (6-1 ML)
Picks: 7-2-5


Race 6:
This second-level allowance at 1 3/8-miles over the Inner Turf appears wide-open. Trainer Chad Brown brings a strong 1-2-punch in with #2 Right to Vote and #3 Arkhipov, but his barn is 0 for 22 at the Spa dating back to July 9 making him tough to endorse for the moment. The top four from a second-level allowance at Aqueduct on June 18 are also entered, but that race was underwhelming with four noses essentially hitting the wire together. That opens things up for long shot #8 The Hidden Chamber. The Nbs Stable colt returned to the grass after racing over the Turfway Park all-weather surface this winter on May 14 in a similar spot at Churchill Downs. The son of American Pharoah was in the process of making a run up the inside in that race won by Soleil Volant before Axel Concepcion was ejected from the saddle. Trainer Kelsey Danner brought the colt back in the Chorleywood in June where he raced against the flow and against significantly better competition than he encounters in this spot. Hopefully, the pace on paper leads to an honest early tempo. If so, I expect The Hidden Chamber to come with a strong late run at a big price.

Play: #8 The Hidden Chamber (12-1 ML)
Picks: 8-6-2


Race 9: De La Rose
This restricted stakes event for fillies and mares 4YO+ at one-mile over the Inner Turf likely goes through one of those exiting the Just A Game (G1) last month. #3 And One More Time and #4 Sandtrap both had excuses when failing to hit the board against better competition last month. Sandtrap failed to relax in the early stages, which led to a lack of energy late when the real running started. And One More Time was caught three-wide throughout in her first start since mid-April and understandably tired in the lane. I prefer And One More Time in this spot. The Live Oak Plantation runner wired out a field of lesser competition in a non-graded stakes event at Aqueduct in mid-April and should find herself in a far better spot than she was in early on during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. Hopefully she gets a much more favorable overall experience with Johnny V. taking over for the injured Javier Castellano.

Play: #3 And One More Time (4-1 ML)
Picks: 3-4-7