PICKS

Race 1:   6 - 7 - 3 - 1
Race 2:   7 - 5 - 3 - 1
Race 3:   3 - 2 - 1 - 5
Race 4:   4 - 1A - 5 - 3
Race 5:   7 - 4 - 6 - 5
Race 6:   7 - 2 - 11 - 1A
Race 7:   8 - 2 - 1X - 4
Race 8:   8 - 5 - 3 - 7
Race 9:   9 - 5 - 1 - 7

TOP PLAYS

RACE 2: HIT THE DIAMOND (#7)
Of the runners with U.S. turf form, Le Pin is probably the horse to beat. He was unwisely rated three wide in his last start and was not able to overcome that trip while going a distance that may be too far for him. If he runs back to his prior sprint at Belmont, he'll be formidable. Sethary also has a right to show more speed after getting rated too aggressively last time. I'll use both of them, but I'm interested in some new faces. One interesting runner is Christophe Clement's other entrant, Charnley River. Over the past five years, Clement is 4 for 14 ($2.44 ROI) with foreign shippers in turf sprints, but this runner would probably need to improve on his most recent form. I'm taking a shot with Hit the Diamond, who makes his turf debut while returning from a lengthy layoff. This horse faced some tough fields on the dirt and is bred for this surface switch since his dam was a synthetic stakes winner who hails from a family of primarily turf horses in the second generation. Over the past five years, trainer Brian Lynch is 5 for 16 ($6.35 ROI) with horses coming off layoffs of 120 to 240 days in turf sprints.

Win/Place: 7
Exacta Key Box: 7 with 1,2,3,5

RACE 4: DEVINE UNION (#4)
Tapella is clearly the horse to beat off her pair of solid efforts during the Saratoga meet. I didn't think she did that much running in her debut sprinting, but she did improve in a solid effort last time, chasing a fast pace before tiring late. She finished well ahead of the runner who was setting that taxing pace and earned a respectable speed figure. However, she's going to be an awfully short price once again, and I think one of her rivals has room for improvement. Devine Union returned from an extended break last time at Saratoga and didn't run nearly as badly as her fourth-place finish would indicate. The pace of that seven-furlong sprint was fast (indicated by red color-coding in the PPs), and the top few finishers closed from off the pace. Devine Union earned the same TimeformUS Speed Figure as Tapella did in her last race, and she has a right to move forward now. She ran well when stretched out in distance as a 2-year-old, so she should have no problem with the trip here.

Win: 4
Exacta Key Box: 4 with 1,3,5

RACE 6: AMANDA LANE (#7)
A few runners in this field are exiting the Aug. 10 maiden race at this level. Andretta beat Amanda Lane that day, but I thought the latter filly put in a strong effort. She was used to gain early command from the outside post position and did well to hang on late in a desperate finish. This time, there is not much speed signed on, and Amanda Lane appears to be in a position to control the early pace under the typically aggressive Kendrick Carmouche. I'll use her with first-time starter Something Joyful, who has a ton of turf pedigree as a full sister to Bitty Kitty and Zandar, among others. I'll also throw in Unspoken Mission, who had a nightmare trip while racing greenly in her debut last summer. However, Ralph Nicks has relatively poor numbers with turf sprinters coming off layoffs.

Win: 7
Exacta Box: 2,7,11
Exacta: 7 with 1,3,5,10

RACE 8: RACHEL’S TEMPER (#8)
I don't fully trust the favorites in this race. Going for Broke looked like two completely different horses in her pair of Saratoga starts. She looked like she had returned in the best form of her career when finishing a game second behind Grade 1 winner Carina Mia in the Shine Again around one turn. However, she then barely made it through seven furlongs of the Personal Ensign before getting eased. The other runner likely to attract play is Girl Talk, but she is going to need to improve off her prior form and be ready to go off the layoff. She has a right to do it, but I don't want to take a short price on her. I'll try to beat them both with Rachel's Temper. She hasn't found herself in ideal circumstances in either of her starts since coming back from the layoff. She was against a very slow pace two back at Belmont and then was slightly overmatched while going a distance that is a little far for her last time. I love the return to one turn for her, and she figures to get an honest pace to close into.

Win/Place: 8
Exacta Key Box: 8 with 3,5,7