A field of 10 will line up in the $500,000 Diana (G1) at Saratoga on Saturday. (© Cheryl Quigley | Dreamstime.com)
The first Grade 1 of the Saratoga meeting is on tap on Saturday afternoon as a field of 10 fillies and mares will line up to go 1 1/8 miles on the inner turf in the $500,000 Diana.
The Chad Brown trained Alterite is the 3-1 morning line favorite despite making her first start off an eight-month layoff. The filly as last seen checking in third in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) at Santa Anita on Nov. 2.
The filly won the Garden City (G1) in her U.S. debut at Belmont Park in September and was beaten just a neck in the Queen Elizabeth II at Keeneland. Brown will give a leg up to Javier Castellano, last year’s leading jockey at the Spa.
The filly will need to be cranked up to beat a stellar field that includes four other Grade 1 winners.
The co-feature on the card is the $150,000 Sanford (G3) for two-year-olds that will go six furlongs on the main track. Trainer Todd Pletcher will look for his sixth win in the race with Nonna’s Boy (5-2), who went gate to wire to break his maiden in his debut in the mud at Belmont Park on June 13.
His main foe will likely be Cinco Charlie (2-1), winner of the Bashford Manor (G2) at Churchill Downs for trainer Steve Asmussen.
Bashford Manor runner up Silverhill (6-1) could be in the mix as well as Tremont victor Bessie’s Boy (5-1) who will be sent out by Wesley Ward.
First post for the 11-race card is 1:00 pm ET.
Let’s head out to Saratoga for Saturday’s featured race of the day:
Saratoga Race 10 The Diana G1 (5:46 ET)
10 Tannery 6-1
2 Abaco 12-1
9 Stephanie’s Kitten 6-1
8 Alterite 3-1
Analysis: Tannery gets the call at a decent price here in a wide-open edition of the Diana. Our top pick stalked the early pace and could not get to the sharp winner in the stretch in a runner up finish in the New York (G2). The mare makes her third start off the bench and while she won just 2 of 7 last year one of those wins came in the E.P. Taylor (G1) at Woodbine. She looks as if she is sitting on a good one here and is in good hands with the Goldberg barn.
Abaco returns off nearly a two month break after running a good second in the Sheepshead Bay (G2) behind repeat winner Riposte, who came back to win the New York (G2) in her next start, beating our top pick. She came off a two-month break two back and ran a close up third in the Jenny Wiley (G1) at Keeneland. She is 0 for 4 this year but each start has been a move forward. She is getting six pounds form our top pick.
Stephanie’s Kitten was outrun in the early going and made a mild late run to finish fifth last out in the Just a Game (G1), a race she won last year. This is just her third start since running third in this race last year and just her 16th career start, having won seven times. Her regular rider Johnny V. lands on the Motion runner but we get a suitable replacement with Detorri.
Wagering
WIN: #10 to win at 4-1 or better.
EX: 2,10 / 2,8,9,10
TRI: 2,10 / 2,8,9,10 / 2,4,8,9,10
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