Saratoga Day 15: Alydar Stakes

By Rick Francis —-

Race 3) Alydar Stakes 4YO & UP 1&1/th Miles Post Time 2:07 EDT

Mohaymen (1), McLaughlin/Alvarado; very pricey Tapit colt gets first time blinkers, a solid training angle for McLaughlin. Once promising gray hasn’t been right since his Florida Derby beat down in 2016; hard to get a handle on this one.

Red Rifle (2), Pletcher/Ortiz, J; 7-year-old heads back to the main track following four consecutive turf starts. The surface switch play for Pletcher next outs are a strong 22 percent, but this gelding has but one second and third from his last ten starts, hard to endorse.

Mo Tom (3), Amoss/Castellano; Uncle Mo colt showed some sign of life recently, missing by a neck last out against Indiana stakes company; however his most recent work here was less than inspiring, but he does get the services of a newly minted Hall of Fame jockey in Castellano.

Conquest Windycity (4), Walsh/Saez; after posting three straight solid efforts including a game third two back in the G3 Pimlico Special, Tiznow colt blew his skids last out in the Grade 3 Cornhusker at Prairie Meadows, not exactly Saratoga; another who knows.

Breaking Lucky (5) scratched, ran in Whitney

Rally Cry (6), Pletcher/Velasquez; this Uncle Mo also exits a disappointing try, but his was in the Grade 1 Met Mile; his four previous starts were board finishes with two wins; give him the nod here.

Selections : 6, 1, 3,