Quality Road Headliner on Saturday’s Saratoga Card

The Saratoga summer meeting is winding down, with just three racing days left, and the New York track will go out with a bang over the Labor Day weekend with plenty of stakes action.

On Saturday, horseplayers will see four stakes on the eleven race card, with the Edward Evans owned Quality Road in action as the heavy favorite in the $750,000 Woodward (G1).

After acting up at the gate and scratched out of the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) last fall, the colt is nearly perfect.

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Victories in the Hal’s Hope (G3), Donn Handicap (G1), and Metropolitan Handicap (G1) sent the colt to the Whitney Handicap (G1) earlier at the Saratoga meeting as the heavy favorite.

The colt set the early fractions and looked as if he would run his record to a perfect four for four, only to be run down in the final strides by Blame.

“We were a half-a-head short of [being unbeaten] this year,” said trainer Todd Pletcher of his 4-year-old campaign. “Every race is paramount; they’re all important. If you lose, you regroup and try again, to regain his confidence, and regain our confidence.”

The Woodward, which was won by Curlin and Rachel Alexandra the past two years, appears to be the perfect spot as a confidence builder for Quality Road, as he looks on paper to have his six foes overmatched.

The colt is the 1/4 morning line favorite, with only second choice Convocation (6/1) less than double-digit odds.

Quality Road figures to be such a heavy favorite that the bridge jumpers may be out in full force, and there may not be much room on the ledge if the colt fails to crack the top three.

Can we see an upset?

Here are the six rivals that will line up to attempt to pull off one of the biggest upsets of the year, in post position order:

Convocation (6/1): The second choice on the morning line, the Jimmy Jerkens runner finished seven lengths behind Quality Road in the Met Mile (G1) back in May. The colt followed that up with a good second in the Suburban (G2) behind a talented runner in Haynesfield, then was all out to beat second level allowance foes in his tune up for the Woodward. His 103 Beyer he earned in his last start is second highest in the field behind the chalk.

Mine That Bird (10/1): The 2009 Kentucky Derby winner is winless in seven starts since taking the Run for the Roses last year. The gelding ran well in the Belmont (G1) and West Virginia Derby (G3), both third place finishes, but things have spiraled downward since. The hall of fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas took over as trainer this year, and the gelding has managed just an eighth place finish in the Firecracker (G2) and most recently a fifth place finish in the Whitney Handicap (G1). Today the gelding gets a jockey switch to Rajiv Maragh and blinkers, which indicate the strategy today is to have the gelding closer to the pace.

Arcodoro (30/1): This colt made his first start on a fast conventional dirt in his most recent start, a victory over the Spa main track against first level allowance foes. The colt brings some speed to the race, but he would have to run a career top just to be close to the favorite in here. He does have a win over the surface, and in just his second start over a fast main track, perhaps he still has some upside, but it would be a major upset if he lands in the exacta here.

Indian Dance (30/1): This four-year-old gelding ships in from Maryland for the Larry Murray barn. The gelding does have a stakes win at nine furlongs, taking the Johnson Memorial at Laurel Park back in March. However, since that win he has gone zero for three, most recently a fourth place finish in the Majestic Light at Monmouth Park.

Tranquil Manner (15/1): The Kiaran McLaughlin trainee is making just his second start in stakes company. His first was a fifth place finish in the Brooklyn Handicap (G2) two back at Belmont Park going 1 ½ miles. He followed that up with a career best effort in his most recent start beating third level allowance company. The colt has a very nice pedigree, by A.P. Indy out of the stakes winner Composure, and he appears to be sitting on another top effort here. That should put him in the mix, but most likely in the bottom half of the exacta.

Mythical Power (12/1): This well travelled Bob Baffert trainee has lost three in a row since taking the Texas Mile (G3) in April at Lone Star. The colt raced evenly last out over the polytrack at Del Mar in a fifth place finish in the San Diego Handicap (G2), beaten 3 ¼ lengths for the top spot. The third place finisher in that race was Enriched, who came back to win the Del Mar Mile (G2) in his next start on Aug. 28. The colt is a logical play in the bottom half of the exacta, but note his top two figures were both earned at Lone Star.  

The bottom line is Quality Road looks like a free square in the Pick 4 and Pick 6, but there are ten other races on an outstanding card at the Spa, so there are plenty of other opportunities to pad your bankroll.