TDN's Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato will give their best bet of the day for every Friday, Saturday and Sunday card of the Saratoga meet, and bet $50 Win/Place on their selection. In the case of a scratch, an alternate pick will be posted on twitter. The handicapper who has accrued the biggest bankroll through Sept. 3 wins.
SS: Sunday's Result – Thought Toughest 'Ombre would be very difficult to beat after rain forced this one to the main track (and so did a lot of others sending him off as the slight 2-1 favorite), but he offered little resistance in the stretch after setting the early pace to finish a very disappointing fifth… DiDonato giving me every chance to catch up–time to pick some more winners. Total: $890.
Friday, Race 10, GII Adirondack S. – While the jury may still be out on the field that Ever So Clever defeated on debut at Churchill Downs July 1, she couldn't have been much more impressive. Off to a tardy beginning from her rail draw, she rushed up with a bold move on the inside entering the far turn, was guided out two deep to split horses shortly thereafter, and took off like a good thing in the stretch when asked to score by 7 1/4 lengths. The dark bay shows a typical Steve Asmussen worktab since and the extra half of a furlong should work to her advantage here as well. The newly minted Hall of Famer has done quite well in this race of late, saddling 2015 heroine Just Wicked as well as 2011 winner My Miss Aurelia. Ever So Clever should be well-spotted just behind the early speed and ready to strike on the far turn. Selection: #5 Ever So Clever (3-1).
BD: Sunday's Result – Replacement pick Torrent got bet off the board–which I probably should've expected–and chased a hot pace before fading to fourth. Total: $1350.
Friday, Race 8, Alw – There's not a ton of speed signed on for this New York-bred turf sprint, which I'm hoping will work to the advantage of rail-drawn Lakeside Sunset. After a very solid sophomore season last year, she appears on paper to have not really trained forward at four, but the Bruce Brown pupil was part of quick paces in both of her tries in 2016. She also lacks significant turf sprint experience, but her two grass starts last term are much better than they look: she was third in a New York-bred allowance at Belmont behind two horses who have done well in open company; and finished fifth, beaten nine lengths by none other than Lady Shipman, the best female turf sprinter in recent memory, in last year's Coronation Cup here. That effort is more than enough to put Lakeside Sunset right there in this spot, and with two very swift works over the Oklahoma turf course since her last outing, she looks to be sitting on a big one. Selection: #1 Lakeside Sunset (15-1).
Tune in each race day from 4:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. for Saratoga Live, available on Fox Sports 2 (channel finder), MSG+ (channel finder) and Altitude (channel finder).
For the complete broadcast schedule, visit NYRA.com
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