A massive day at the track is on tap at Saratoga. There are a pair of Grade 1 races and a handful of other graded stakes races as well. Sprinting fillies will run in a "Win and you're in" race for the Breeders' Cup on Saturday at the Test Stakes.
ODDS ANALYSIS
1: Irish Jasper 8/1
2: Cavorting 3/1
3: By the Moon 8/1
4: Take Charge Brandi 7/2
5: Kathballu 30/1
6: Wonder Gal 6/1
7: So You Say 5/1
8: Angela Renee 6/1
9: Bar of Gold 15/1
10: Pleasant Tales 30/1
The sprinters are usually tough to handicap, particularly the fillies, and the Test Stakes provides no exception to the rule. Cavorting is the 3 to 1 choice of the oddsmakers, but there are six others who are all no more than 8 to 1.
The longshots include Bar of Gold, Pleasant Tales and Kathballu, though the argument could be made that the 30 to 1 price on the latter two fillies is worthwhile.
FAVORITE TO FOLLOW
For our money, the only reason Cavorting is the favorite in this race is because of her last run at the Jersey Girl Sprint. She ran a 100 Beyer Speed Rating and was a blur down the stretch against a relatively good field for a non-graded stakes race.
However, Take Charge Brandi is our favorite to watch out for. She has won four straight races which she has entered, including the Grade 1 Starlet Stakes back in December. Her layoff since January is a concern for sure, and she is going to be asked to run a much shorter distance at seven furlongs instead of the mile or mile and a sixteenth she is used to running, but she's still the most talented horse in the field.
UNDERDOG TO WATCH
Wonder Gal is a solid price at 6 to 1 for our money. She was a 7 to 2 favorite at the Mother Goose Stakes in June and finished second best, but to run in a race like that, you have to be a pretty solid three-year old.
This is a filly that's run well in the Grade 1 Frizette Stakes, and she was third best in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last year to Take Charge Brandi. We know this is a filly who can run for days, and our only concern is how she will take to the shorter distance.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
So You Say is the biggest fools' gold in this race. She's going to start out with the lead, but we don't see her hanging on in this one against the toughest field she has ever run against. Angela Renee will likely be up at the pace as well but not last the seven furlongs.
Instead, we really like Take Charge Brandi. She has won five times in nine races and has fantastic breeding roots. The time off is a worry, but she's the most accomplished filly in this field.
Though this field of 10 is tightly knit, there is only one standout horse as we see it. As long as Take Charge Brandi gets back to her strong ways on the track after her six-month layoff, she'll hit the line first in the Test Stakes.
Play Take Charge Brandi to win the Test Stakes
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