{"id":53890,"date":"2020-11-20T19:56:40","date_gmt":"2020-11-20T19:56:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=53890"},"modified":"2020-11-20T19:56:43","modified_gmt":"2020-11-20T19:56:43","slug":"nine-older-new-york-breds-battle-it-out-in-the-100000-esr-saratoga-sensation-stakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=53890","title":{"rendered":"Nine Older New York Breds Battle it Out in the $100,000 ESR Saratoga Sensation Stakes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A filed of Nine Four Year Old\u2019s and Upward enter the Big Apple starting\ngate in the $100,000 ESR Saratoga Sensation Stakes<\/em>.  The race will be run at Seven Furlongs over\nthe Dirt Course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TWO SAWBUCKS \u2013 <\/strong>the first of two from the trotter1<\/em>\nstables, this 4-Year Old Brown Colt by Union Jackson<\/em> has logged a\nlot of racing miles at the Graded Stakes level, seven to be exact, and although\nhe\u2019s never taken top honors, his three third place finishes certainly bolsters\nhis credentials in this field of New York Breds\u2026eight wins in eleven career\nstarts at the Local level and career earnings in excess of $400k make this\nlocal favorite a major player in this week\u2019s ESR<\/em> feature\u2026up to the task<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TOUGH MUDDER \u2013 <\/strong>the francua<\/em> trained 4-Year\nOld Chestnut Colt by Alpha<\/em> has established an impressive career\nat the Local level, winning six of fourteen career starts over Local ovals and boasts\nan overall nine wins  of twenty-one\nlifetime starts with earnings of over $300k\u2026if there is a knock against this\ncolt, it\u2019s that he\u2019s never broken through at the Stakes level, but he\u2019s quick\nfrom the gate, and rarely likes to give up the lead\u2026if this local product can\nestablish himself early, dictate the pace, he just might get that stakes monkey\noff his back\u2026one to catch<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FLAG THE GOLD \u2013 <\/strong>the second of the two from the\ntrotter1<\/em> barn, this 4-Year Old Bay Colt by Laoban<\/em> might\neven be a notch better than his running mate, however choosing between the two\nof them might be like splitting hairs\u2026while his past performances may not have\nthe bells and whistles as his barn mate, he does possess a third place finish\nin the G2 Stephen Woody<\/em>, and when you examine his Local race record you\nwill notice 10 wins in 15 career starts, nine of them coming at today\u2019s\ndistance\u2026dangerous<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NINE MISSIONS \u2013 <\/strong>the first of two from the kingab<\/em>\nstables, this 4 Year Old Light Grey Gelding by Mission<\/em> Impazible<\/em>\ngets some class relief against these having started in nine consecutive Open\nCompany Allowance races, while finishing ITM in all but one of those\nappearances since being Gelded in August of last year\u2026getting the Jacques\nWho<\/a> award for his eight second place finishes in his seventeen career\nstarts, this Big Apple native might have turned a corner in his last start\nwhere he posted a career best 112-speed figure while drawing away from Open Company\nfield of non-winners of three lifetime\u2026learn more today<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TRINNI \u2013 <\/strong>the 7-Year Old Brown Horse by Trinniberg<\/em>\nis an old favorite among the ESR<\/em> Community campaigning in eight ESR<\/em>\nfeature races taking home top honors in two of those appearances\u2026the ace<\/em>\ntrainee, making his 33rd<\/sup> start, might be getting a little long in\nthe tooth, but you can\u2019t tell him that after a gate to wire victory LTO while\nposting a 102-speed figure\u2026I don\u2019t know if he has enough to come away with a\nvictory here on Saturday, but I do know at some point in this race he is going\nto be a thorn in somebody\u2019s side\u2026for old time\u2019s sake<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GHOST OF ALPHA \u2013 <\/strong>the second half of the kingab<\/em>\nentry, this 5-Year Old Roan Gelding by Alpha<\/em> has been established\nas your 8\/5 Morning Line Favorite, and while the thought of an \u201cunderlay\u2019\u201d may\ncross your betting instincts, you might want to take a closer look at the\nfields top money earners last appearance, a second place finish in the Open\nCompany Kris Noia Dirt Challenge<\/em>\u2026yes it was a second place finish, but\nthat field was stacked, and the fields lone New York Bred finished ahead of\nthree Graded winners, two of which were Grade One winners and multiple stakes\nwinners, while posting a 116-speed figure for the Mile, a speed figure that he\nroutinely runs in most his starts and is certainly fast enough to get the job\ndone here on Saturday\u2026one to beat<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CASINO WARCRY \u2013 <\/strong>the first of two from the casino<\/em>\nbarns, this 4-Year Old Bay Colt by Alpha<\/em> has compiled an\nimpressive record at the Local Level winning seven of seventeen starts while\nearning more than $300k\u2026no stranger to ESR<\/em> features, the talented New\nYorker came away with a victory in the ESR<\/em> Hippie Movement Stakes<\/em>\nin March of last year, but while his two and three year old campaign was nothing\nshort of spectacular, his current form pales in comparison\u2026a fifth place finish\nin a Local NW2y in his last start while posting his lowest speed figure, 97, in\nhis last five start raises red flags\u2026must show more<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TOO SHY TO SCREAM \u2013 <\/strong>the sremel<\/em> trained 5-Year\nOld Brown Horse by Hold Me Back<\/em> is making his 32nd career start,\nbut unlike TRINNI<\/strong>, his current form suggests his best racing days are\nbehind him\u2026off the board in his last nine starts dating back to September of\nlast year, to his credit, the one-time promising Turf star has been taking on\nOpen Company rivals and his last start in the Open Company Deliver The Win\nDirt Sprint <\/em>saw him finish ahead six other horses, two of which were stakes\nwinners, but that may not be enough for the Local product, who\u2019s looking to\ncatch lightning in a bottle\u2026not with these<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PROFESSOR MALONEY \u2013 <\/strong>the second from the casino<\/em>\nstables, and a particular favorite of mine, this 4-Year Old Brown Colt\nby Golden Missile<\/em> kicked off his racing career by winning six of his\nfirst eight career starts, however, his 4yo campaign is trending in the\nopposite direction where he\u2019s been winless throughout his 4yo campaign\u2026looking\nto jump start his season, connections are employing a Turf to Dirt angle off a\nrecent freshening for the one-time Local threat, a ploy, if successful, puts\nhim right in the mix here on Saturday\u2026proceed with caution<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Handicapping the Field<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On paper, GHOST OF ALPHA<\/strong>, TWO SAWBUCKS<\/strong>, and FLAG THE\nGOLD<\/strong> appear to have distanced themselves from the rest of the field.  Off his last race, GHOST OF ALPHA <\/strong>appears\nto be the horse to beat.  He\u2019s been\nfacing better, and running faster that his main rivals, but I\u2019m not sure I am\nwilling to take 8\/5 on a horse that\u2019s only won once in the last year.  TWO SAWBUCKS<\/strong> and FLAG THE GOLD <\/strong>appear\nequally as good and therein lies the dilemma, which one do you pick.  I hate those damned if you do, damned if you\ndon\u2019t, betting situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NINE MISSIONS <\/strong>comes in just a notch under the top three, and if\nhe runs back to his last start he could prove much the best in this field, and\nthat\u2019s a big if for a horse that is content on finishing second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TOUGH MUDDER<\/strong> will have to shake loose from this field, a\ntough task to achieve when taking a rise in class. CASINO WARCRY <\/strong>has the\nability, but his last start suggests he\u2019s not in top form.  TOO SHY TO SCREAM <\/strong>might be in over his\nhead with these.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TRINNI <\/strong>and PROFESSOR MALONEY <\/strong>are sentimental\nfavorites, and both capable on their best day. \nThe question is are their best days behind them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Picks <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FLAG THE GOLD \u2013 Seven Furlong specialist might be hard to beat<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

GHOST OF ALPHA \u2013 lot of hidden form here, last a monster start, but can\u2019t\nget past 8\/5 and the one win in a year<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

TWO SAWBUCKS \u2013 never off the board at the Local level, why should this\nbe any different<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A filed of Nine Four Year Old\u2019s and Upward enter the Big Apple starting gate in the $100,000 ESR Saratoga<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":443,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/443"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=53890"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53891,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53890\/revisions\/53891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=53890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=53890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=53890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}