It sets up as a something-to-prove test. Because this year’s Whitney, the headliner on a 12-race, three-Grade 1 card at Saratoga, puts its six contenders into a competitive blender to see who is the main challenger to the one older mainstay who isn’t here.

Flightline. The top-ranked older horse in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association poll.

And, barring injury or other mishap, the winner will get that opportunity in November’s Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland. As a “Win and You’re In” race, the Whitney sends its winner to the $6 million Breeders’ Cup flagship.

The Whitney is one you want on the resume

That winner also joins a winner’s roll that includes Knicks Go (2021), Improbable (2020), Gun Runner (2017), Honor Code (2015), Blame (2010), Lawyer Ron (2007), Invasor (2006), Left Bank (2002), Lemon Drop Kid (2000), Victory Gallop (1999), Criminal Type (1990) and Slew o’ Gold (1984). Every one of those horses earned Champion Older Male Horse honors.

And that doesn’t count earlier winners of the 95-year-old race. There, you find Discovery (1934-36), War Admiral (1938), Tom Fool (1953), Kelso (1961, 1963, 1965), Dr. Fager (1968), Alydar (1978) and Easy Goer (1989).

Yes, the Whitney is a kingmaker’s race. It’s Saratoga’s second most prominent race after the Travers. But it’s also a statement race. Win the Whitney and you become first-among-equals in the Older Male Division. You become the horse to beat going into the Breeders’ Cup.

“It’s the premier older horse race at the premier meet in the country. To me, it’s a huge, huge event,” trainer Todd Pletcher told the New York Racing Association.

Pletcher sending the cavalry

Ergo, Pletcher treats it as such, flooding the zone with three of the six Whitney contestants.

Pletcher’s conversation — and any observer’s conversation about this year’s Whitney — starts with Life Is Good, the 6/5 morning line favorite. There are a combined 26 triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures in the Whitney field and Life Is Good owns the top figure — a 112.

That came in his last-out, five-length blitzing of Speaker’s Corner in the John A. Nerud at Belmont Park. That form-resuming victory came after Life Is Good finished fourth in March’s Dubai World Cup — the six-time graded stakes winner’s only off-the-board finish in nine starts.

“He’s got so much natural speed and such a high-cruising speed,” Pletcher said. “His ability to carry it over a distance of ground is what makes him so unique and so successful.”

Here’s your Olympiad-level challenger

Pletcher backs up Life Is Good’s favorite status by putting three-time Saratoga riding champ Irad Ortiz Jr. in the saddle.

It’s not one of his stablemates: Happy Saver or Americanrevolution, who figure as Life Is Good’s main competition. It’s Bill Mott’s Olympiad (2/1). Not a factor in any conversation about the best older horses entering this year, Olympiad forced his way into the discussion by opening his 4-year-old season 5-for-5.

That streak began with a 7 1/4-length dismantling of a Gulfstream Park allowance field. It extended into Grade 3 Mineshaft and Grade 2 New Orleans Classic wins at Fair Grounds. Then, the streak migrated to Kentucky, where Olympiad won two Churchill Downs races: the Alysheba — where he beat Happy Saver — and Stephen Foster.

Olympiad likes this distance thing

All this from a colt who hadn’t run two turns before this year.

“He loves the two turns and it seems like the longer he goes, the better,” said Robert Clay of Grandview Equine Farms, Olympiad’s co-owner with LNJ Foxwoods and Cheyenne Stables. “He sort of has it all, so now we’re running against the gorilla in the room and find out how good he is. I think he’ll run a good race. He’s training really well.”

A victory here gives Olympiad his first Grade 1 win, something Clay and Mott are quite cognizant about. Life Is Good, Hot Rod Charlie, Americanrevolution and Happy Saver all own Grade 1 wins. Olympiad needs one to join them as a legitimate older horse.

“It would be very important. He’s been rewarding in a lot of different ways and just by seeing him run some very good races,” Mott said.

Hot Rod Charlie 1-for-his-last-5

Which brings us to Hot Rod Charlie (9/2). When last we saw him, Hot Rod Charlie was losing the Grade 3 Salvator Mile at Monmouth Park to Mind Control. That came after a runner-up to Country Grammer in the Dubai World Cup.

While Hot Rod Charlie hasn’t missed the exacta in three starts this year (1-2-0), he could use a domestic victory. The last time Hot Rod Charlie won in the States came six starts and 11 months ago: in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby.

When trainer Doug O’Neill put the pieces together, it made sense for him to keep Hot Rod Charlie on the East Coast.

The Whitney pushes Hot Rod Charlie’s gas pedal

“We all huddled up and it looked like the race fit him well on the calendar,” O’Neill said. “With the Breeders’ Cup being at Keeneland, we love the opportunity to be able to train at Keeneland and popping up to New York didnt’ seem like something that was going to be out of line.

“It’s a Grade 1 at Saratoga and it’s such a prestigious race. There’s a lot of reasons to be proud just to have a horse in it. I can only imagine if he won it how grateful we would be. It would just confirm his gutsy, hard-fought efforts all over the world to come together for a Whitney victory. It would really confirm his greatness.”

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And thus, we have the biggest storyline for Saturday’s Saratoga Derby, the second leg of the New York Racing Association’s Turf Triple. It’s also one of three Grade 1s on Saratoga’s Saturday Whitney Day card.

The 11-horse field of 3-year-olds goes 1 3/16 miles on Saratoga’s Mellon Turf Course. They do so with a lot of familiar faces in the starting gate. Seven of the 12 horses from last month’s Grade 1 Belmont Derby — the opening Turf Triple leg — are in the Saratoga Derby field.

That includes the top four finishers: Classic Causeway, Nations Pride, Stone Age and Grand Sonata. It includes fifth-place Royal Patronage and sixth-place Sy Dog. And it includes last-of-12 finisher Stolen Base.

No 26/1 Classic Causeway at Saratoga Derby

That we’re mentioning Classic Causeway’s name first, ahead of European turf standouts Nations Pride and Stone Age, ties back to his 26-1 Belmont Derby shocker. That gate-to-wire score came in his first turf trip. It also came two weeks after Classic Causeway finished third in the Grade 3 Ohio Derby.

“I’m real proud of how he handled himself in the Belmont Derby and I think he’ll rate a little better in his next start,” trainer Kenny McPeek told the New York Racing Association. “He seems to be turning off a little bit and he’s a very strong-willed horse. I’m just really glad to get a Grade 1 out of him.”

Classic Causeway comes in off a 1:01.88 five-furlong breeze on Saratoga’s Oklahoma training track that was third of 31 at that distance July 31. McPeek said he’s working well, strong-willed and all, but he is aware of what awaits his not-so-secret turf stakes winner. That starts with his 8/1 morning line odds.

Belmont Derby came with wild finish

Another reason for that is the Belmont Derby’s cavalry-charge finish. The top six finishers were separated by only 1 1/2 lengths. Seventh-place Limited Liability finished less than four lengths back.

It’s also because Todd Pletcher sends out three hunters for Classic Causeway. There’s Grand Sonata, who won two winter stakes races at Gulfstream Park. But there’s also two strong contenders in Emmanuel and Annapolis.

Emmanuel, a late Belmont Derby scratch, set the precedent table for Classic Causeway. He too, transitioned from a solid dirt horse to a graded stakes turf winner when he won the Grade 2 Pennine Ridge June 4 at Belmont Park.

Emmanuel won’t take Classic Causeway’s bait

“He handled the mile and an eighth well in the Pennine Ridge,” Pletcher said, explaining how Emmanuel’s front-running style diverges from Classic Causeway’s need-the-lead style. “He had the fractions go his way which, with Classic Causeway in here, he’s a pace factor that wasn’t in the Pennine Ridge. But he’s very tractable and doesn’t need the lead. I don’t foresee it being a problem.”

Annapolis too, bypassed the Belmont Derby. Instead, Pletcher sent him out to a 2 3/4-length victory in the July 4 Manila Stakes at Belmont Park. That came with a career-best 91 Beyer Speed Figure and a good response to his shocking runner-up finish to 83/1 Wow Whata Summer in the Grade 2 Penn Mile at Penn National. That’s his only loss in four career races.

“”We were really on the fence between the Manila and the Belmont Derby. But with only one start under his belt, we felt it made sense to come back and get another race into him before stretching him out,” Pletcher said.

Nations Pride, Stone Age back for Saratoga Derby revenge

That brings us to the European contenders: Nations Pride and Stone Age. Both return for more than the smaller pieces they grabbed in the Belmont Derby.

Nations Pride actually gave Classic Causeway a scare, closing from ninth on the backstretch to finish three-quarters of a length behind.

He stayed in New York afterward, training with Charlie Appleby’s traveling assistant Chris Connett. The Irish-bred colt put in four Oklahoma workouts, the most recent being a six-furlong 1:15.21 July 31.

“I just think he needs a trouble-free run this time,” Connett said. “He looked like he was going to make a nice run into the home turn at Belmont and he got checked, but he still rallied and made a big effort. If he can have a clear run through, he should take some beating.”

Stone Age found bronze last time

Stone Age went six-wide down the stretch to grab the bottom portion of the Belmont Derby trifecta by less than a length. He went back to Europe afterward and returned Sunday.

As for Sy Dog, he returns to the Saratoga Derby after that sixth-place finish, one that came by 1 1/2 lengths.

“I can’t give him any excuses,” trainer Graham Motion said, brushing aside the fact Sy Dog went four-wide into the stretch and couldn’t gain any ground. “I thought he ran a really good race. Manny (Franco) loved him and I thought he gave him a great ride. … He got stuck down on the inside, but I can’t give that as an excuse. He wasn’t beaten very much. If he can run back to that race, he should be competitive.”

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That’s due to Matareya, the leader in this class. She brings her 4-for-4 record this year into the first of three Grade 1s on Saratoga’s Whitney Day Saturday card.

Besides the Whitney, Saratoga’s Saturday card also includes the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby, the second leg in the Turf Triple. It also offers the Grade 2 Glens Falls for older fillies and mares.

Those all figure to be more competitive than the Test, a seven-furlong sprint that falls right into Matareya’s wheelhouse. She’s won her 2022 starts by a combined 22 1/4 lengths. That includes winning her first Grade 1 at the Acorn Stakes on the Belmont Stakes undercard. Matareya wired the field as the 3/10 favorite.

Cutting Matareya back sprung her forward

That’s been the latest step in a progression that began when trainer Brad Cox watched the daughter of Pioneerof the Nile in her four 2-year-old races. As a juvenile, Matareya was 1-for-4. She won her debut last August at Ellis Park, before Cox jumped her to the Grade 1 Alcibiades, where Matareya finished fifth.

Two more seconds followed. That prompted Cox to rethink what kind of runner Matareya was.

“We really liked her last year. We thought she was one of our better fillies,” Cox told the New York Racing Association. “I thought originally, she would maybe stretch (out) just based off pedigree and how she trained, But we kind of see in her races that she wasn’t finishing up quite like we were hoping around two turns.”

“We did ask her to run around two turns in two very good races with the Alciabiades and the allowance race at Oaklawn (Park), which had Secret Oath in it. So it was quality fields, but once we cut her back to one turn, she seemed to be a different horse.”

Meticulous climb up the class pyramid

That became apparent the first time Cox turned her loose this year. That produced an easy 5 1/4-length win in a second-level February allowance at Fair Grounds. In her next start, Matareya took apart the Grade 3 Beaumont at Keeneland by 8 1/2 lengths. There, she stalked the pace, before Flavien Prat opened the jets in the stretch. The 94 Beyer Speed Figure became a career-high.

Matareya kept moving up the class pyramid. She won the Grade 2 Eight Belles on the Kentucky Oaks undercard by 2 1/4 lengths. That set the table for her 6 1/4-length romp in the Acorn.

“It was huge. (Owner) Godolphin will add her to their broodmare band and that’s very powerful,” Cox said. “It’s big for us and them to have these fillies with big pedigrees to perform in the afternoon at the graded stakes level.”

Matareya’s quick acceleration helps throughout

Along with Cox’s guidance, what makes Matareya so lethal is two-fold. First, there’s that quick turn of foot that gives her an instant advantage. Second, there’s her versatility.

“She’s very quick from the gate. She could break and show the way or she could break and sit off,” Cox explained. “She’s very versatile and listens to exactly what the rider wants from her. Flavien has done a good job on her in the last three starts and we’re looking for more this time.”

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This first Breeders’ Cup Classic Future Wager pool opens Friday at noon ET. It closes Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET. The wager is available on ADW platforms, racetracks, casinos, simulcast centers and OTB sites.

Bettors can put a $2 minimum win wager on one of 23 individual choices, ranging in odds from Flightline’s 3/1 to the 30/1 price put on nine individual horses and the “All Others” choice.

Flightline ran only once this year: a six-length victory in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap on the Belmont Stakes undercard. The undefeated 4-year-old will run next at the Sept. 3 Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar. That six-length victory was the colt’s closest call in four races.

Life Is Good, Olympiad other single-digit offerings

Behind him on the board is 7/2 Life Is Good and 9/2 Olympiad. Life Is Good won the Pegasus World Cup Invitational in January. Olympiad comes in off a strong victory in the Grade 2 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs. And bettors will be able to see both this weekend. Life Is Good is the 6/5 morning line favorite and Olympiad is the 2/1 second choice for the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga.

That race, which also features Hot Rod Charlie (9/2) and possibly Americanrevolution (5/1), offers a “Win and Your’e In” berth to the $6 million Classic to its winner.

Both Hot Rod Charlie and Americanrevolution open at 20/1 in the Breeders’ Cup Classic Future Wager.

Breeders’ Cup Classic Future Wager-Pool 1

The lowest-priced 3-year-old is Charge It (15/1). You’ll see him next in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes Aug. 27. You last saw him take apart the Dwyer Stakes at Belmont Park a month ago by 23 lengths.

There is one filly on the Breeders’ Cup Classic Future Wager list: Kentucky Oaks and Belmont Stakes runner-up Nest. She’s 20/1, shorter odds than Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (30/1).

The Breeders’ Cup is Nov. 4-5 at Keeneland. The Nov. 4 Classic is the flagship event of the 14-race event.

More information on the Breeders’ Cup Classic Future Wager is here.

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The 1 1/8-mile West Virginia Derby headlines a seven-stakes, nine-race Saturday card. It is not the long-delayed “fourth leg” of the Triple Crown, despite that trio’s presence in this field.

For Simplification, it’s his first race since he finished a disappointing sixth in the Preakness Stakes nearly three months ago. For Skippylongstocking and We the People, they return for the first time in nearly two months, or since their divergent Belmont Stakes finishes.

Skippylongstocking finished fifth in the Preakness, then ran a strong third in the Belmont three weeks later. We the People took the early Belmont lead, but found the 12 furlongs too much. He wound up fourth.

West Virginia Derby conveniently off the beaten path

For all three, the West Virginia Derby provides that perfect landing spot away from the Jim Dandy-Travers spotlight at Saratoga. They’ll run for a $500,000 purse, far removed from the Spa’s white-hot lights. In the process, they’ll compete for a graded stakes title and a confidence boost.

In Simplification’s case, he needs one. One of the sharpest dark horses in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, Simplification went into Churchill Downs off a deceptively strong third in the Florida Derby to White Abarrio and Charge It. That followed his victory in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth.

Simplification avoided that suicidal early Derby speed duel and finished fourth at 35.30/1, only 3 1/2 lengths behind Rich Strike. That sent him to Pimlico for the Preakness as a serious contender, so serious that one publication said he could beat favorite Epicenter.

This is why Simplification stumbled

It didn’t happen. Simplification ran the worst race of his career, finishing 7 1/2 lengths behind Early Voting. There was a good reason for that, however. Trainer Antonio Sano said the Not This Time colt bled during the race.

“He had never bled. This was the first time,” Sano told reporters after the race.

Since Lasix is banned in the Triple Crown races, that anti-bleeding medication wasn’t an option. Sano gave Simplification the next six weeks off, then put him back to work July 2. He’s had four workouts in July, including a July 23 1:00.33 five-furlong outing that was best of 33 that day.

“He has always done well when he ships and so far, he is checking all the boxes,” Sano said.

Gritty Skippylongstocking always in the mix

Skippylongstocking checked one big box when he finished third in the Belmont. He was nowhere close to winner Mo Donegal (6 1/4 lengths), nor runner-up Nest (3 1/4 lengths). But the son of 2016 Preakness winner Exaggerator hit the board for the second time in three graded stakes.

Two starts earlier, Skippylongstocking finished third to Mo Donegal and Early Voting in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial. Those two would win the last two legs of the Triple Crown.

“He has been training well (since the Belmont),” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “This race has been the main target.”

We the People’s goal likely wasn’t here

It probably wasn’t for We the People, who went off as the 3.90/1 post time second choice in the Belmont. A good showing there, especially coming on the heels of a 10-length dissection of the Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park, and We the People would likely be in the Jim Dandy-Travers mix.

Instead, We the People — the 2/1 morning line favorite — led the Belmont for 10 furlongs. Unfortunately, that race is 12 furlongs. The Constitution colt hit the proverbial wall at the 1 1/4-mile mark. He faded to fifth in the last eighth and trainer Rodolphe Brisset admitted after the race that 1 1/2 miles was a bridge too far.

So Brisset sent We the People to the WinStar Training Center in Kentucky. WinStarFarm is one of the colt’s owners. His last of four works, last Saturday, was a 59.20-second five-furlong breeze that was best of eight at that distance.

Expect We the People to set West Virginia Derby pace

And yet, We the People comes into the West Virginia Derby 3-for-5. He figures to be the front-end speed here in the seven-horse field.

Waiting for the Triple Crown ex-pats are two horses more acquainted with these second-tier derbies: Home Brew and King Ottoman.

Home Brew comes in 4-for-6. That includes two consecutive victories in two Listed Stakes: the Oaklawn Stakes and the Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park. That Pegasus score came by 6 1/2 lengths.

King Ottoman finished third in the Grade 3 Indiana Derby. Before that, he won the Texas Derby at 10/1. Here, he’s seeking trainer Steve Asmussen’s record-extending sixth West Virginia Derby win.

The West Virginia Derby shares the spotlight with the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Governor’s Stakes. There, you find 2021 West Virginia Derby winner Mr. Wireless tangling with multiple graded stakes winners Fulsome and Silver Prospector.

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That was eight starts and nearly 17 months ago. It was before he ran in the 2021 Kentucky Derby and before he was gelded. And it provides a great illustration into the problems some trainers have finding good places for their horses to run.

Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse found one for Helium: this Saturday’s R.A. “Cowboy” Jones Overnight Stakes at Ellis Park. Not that a $70,000 race at the bottom of the stakes pyramid is ideal for a Grade 2 winner who finished in the top half of the Kentucky Derby.

But it is. Helium is one of those older horses who is too good for most allowance fields, many of which he can’t run in due to entry conditions. Because Helium has a graded victory and because he finished eighth in the 2021 Kentucky Derby, he’s ineligible for many allowance fields.

Helium finds himself in class limbo

On the flip side, Helium isn’t good enough to run in many of your older-horse Grade 1s or Grade 2s. Never mind Flightline, he’s not in the same class as Life Is Good, Olympiad or Hot Rod Charlie. He’s been competitive; that Derby eighth was the only time he’s missed the board in his 10 career starts (3-3-3). And the Ironicus gelding finished second in three 2022 starts: two allowances he got in and the Listed Michael B. Schaefer Memorial at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

“I mean, there are no easy spots ever. There are just not easy spots,” Casse told Ellis Park. “There are not easy places to run when  you have horses who have achieved like Helium has achieved, because your opportunities are limited. You see that in the entries. It’s a good race, a tough race.”

Casse knows the Jones isn’t a slam-dunk. Because there are other trainers in his same position: looking for a confidence boost off the beaten path and out of the spotlight. Trainers as savvy as Dallas Stewart, Brad Cox and Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas.

And Casse has plenty of company

Stewart sends out Title Ready, the 2021 Grade 3 Louisiana Stakes winner. He’s also on a seven-race skid, although — unlike Helium — he’s waded into the deep end of the class pool. That includes starts in such Grade 1s as the 2021 Dubai World Cup (where he finished 11th) and this year’s Pegasus World Cup Invitational (eighth).

It also includes his last two outings, where he ran into Olympiad. That produced a third in the Grade 2 Alysheba and a fifth in the Grade 2 Stephen Foster. Olympiad, who will run in Saturday’s Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga, won both races.

Lukas sends out former Stewart charge Last Samurai. He finished seventh in the Stephen Foster after winning April’s Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap at 13/1.

Building confidence in a deceptively tough race

Not to be forgotten, Cox saddles Night Ops. If Helium and Title Ready are enduring dry spells, this 6-year-old is stuck in the Sahara. He’s winless in his last 10 starts, dating to his Grade 3 Cornhusker Handicap victory in July 2020. He hasn’t run in seven months, since finishing fourth in an Oaklawn Park allowance Jan. 9.

So Casse has company on the seeking-soft landing front here and he knows it. He also knows what Helium is up against.

“We’re looking for something to get him kick-started and get a confidence builder. But like I said, it’s extremely difficult because there are very few races he can even run in,” Casse said. “It’s a difficulty that we have with older stakes horses. You can see that in the horses (in this field).”

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This particular stop is Friday’s Grade 3 Troy Stakes at Saratoga. It should be no hill for this climber.

Golden Pal is not only going for his third Saratoga stakes victory in as many starts, he’s running for his seventh North American stakes victory. The 4-year-old son of Uncle Mo is unbeaten in six previous North American stakes races, dating to his August 2020 maiden-breaking score in the Black-Type Skidmore at the Spa.

This segued into Golden Pal’s first of two Breeders’ Cup titles: the Juvenile Turf Sprint at Keeneland, site of this year’s Breeders’ Cup.

Golden Pal finds plenty of gold at the Spa

And yes, Saratoga has been very good to Golden Pal. He opened his 3-year-old campaign there last summer winning the Grade 3 Quick Call. That, in turn, springboarded him to victories in the Grade 2 Woodford at Keeneland and his second Breeders’ Cup score: the Turf Sprint at Del Mar. That second Breeders’ Cup win came with one of the most dominant performances of the weekend. Golden Pal wired the field en route to clocking a 107 Beyer Speed Figure and 126 Equibase Speed Figure.

In fact, Golden Pal is 6-for-7 in the US. His only domestic loss came in his debut, when he finished second to Gatsby in an April 2020 Gulfstream Park maiden special weight. That was one of the first races of the year for the 2020 crop of 2-year-olds.

Golden Pal is so dominant that he’s led at every call in all six of his North American victories. He breaks exceptionally well, holds his tactical speed perfectly and does not permit rivals to pass. Trainer Wesley Ward brought out another attribute that explains Golden Pal’s 6-2-0 record in 10 starts and his more than $1.4 million.

Golden Pal has ‘a beautiful mind’

“He’s got a beautiful mind,” Ward told the New York Racing Association. “As we bring these horses up, a lot of them will get a little on edge and a little hot and sweaty. But if you notice him, he’s just really cool and composed and focused. Very few horses are like that. He knows what he’s already going to do. There are a lot of horses that anticipate things, so that’s one thing when you lead a horse over for a big race, a lot of them run part of their race prior to going in the gate. But you’ll never see that with this horse. He’s just dead-on ready to go.”

However, Golden Pal doesn’t have his typical momentum going into the 5 1/2-furlong Troy. Because as invincible as Golden Pal has been on this side of the Atlantic, the British Isles have been Kryptonite to an otherwise dominant sprinter.

We last saw Golden Pal June 14, when he finished last-of-16 as the 15/8 favorite in the Group 1 King’s Stand at Royal Ascot. After the race, Ward said his star sprinter missed the break because jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. turned around to look at a horse who hadn’t loaded in yet. That horse was later scratched.

Run fast, yet finish last

“Irad was looking back at the horse that wouldn’t load. He didn’t realize they scratch horses over here,” Ward told racingpost.com. “He said he almost fell off.”

And yet, Golden Pal still left a mark with his blistering speed. According to At The Races’ sectional timing expert Simon Rowlands, Golden Pal ran the fastest individual furlong in Royal Ascot’s last three meetings. He covered his second furlong in 10.36 seconds.

This is scant consolation for Golden Pal’s record outside the US. Ward sent Golden Pal to England three times for races. The colt is 0-for-3, hitting the board only once in those three excursions. That came in his second start: the Grade 2 Norfolk Stakes at the 2020 Royal Ascot meet, when Golden Pal finished a solid second.

Royal Ascot? What’s Royal Ascot?

Golden Pal comes into the Troy working like he wants to forget Royal Ascot. He’s clocked two bullet workouts at Saratoga: both sub-1-minute five-furlong breezes. His last work, Friday’s 1:01.86 five-furlong breeze, was third of 20 that day.

“His last work was awesome, so we were ready,” Ward said. “With the track the way it was (Friday) morning, the turf with the rain the night before, we couldn’t have asked for anything better than that.”

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“We feel there is something for everyone in this stakes schedule and we are excited to offer it,�Santa Anida Director of Racing and Racing Secretary Chris Merz told Santa Anita’s Mike Willman. “We worked diligently with trainers and other industry stakeholders to create a program that suits out horse population and carters to the needs of our owners and horsemen.�/p>

The Southern California track located 20 miles outside Los Angeles on the base of the San Gabriel Mountains opens on its traditional Dec. 26 date with three of those Grade 1s. Those are the Malibu, the La Brea and the American Oaks.

That Monday, December 26 card headlines one of the biggest days on the crowded Southern California sports calendar. Along with those three Grade 1s, horseplayers get three Grade 2s: the Mathis Mile for 3-year-olds, the 1 1/16-mile San Antonio and the 1 1/8-mile-on-turf San Gabriel. The latter two are for older horses and often feature some of the West Coast’s top older runners.

Santa Anita Big ‘Cap sets the older horse table

Santa Anita resumes its Grade 1s Saturday, March 4 with one of the most storied older horse races in the country: the Santa Anita Handicap. The race won by the likes of Seabiscuit, Affirmed, Spectacular Bid, John Henry and Lava Man headlines offerings that include the Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile and the Grade 2 San Felipe. That is one of the most important Kentucky Derby preps in the country.

The Grade 1 Beholder Mile for fillies and mares runs the following Saturday: March 11. The race is named after the four-time champion and three-time Breeders’ Cup winner who is going into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame this year.

The Santa Anita Derby, one of four Grade 1 Derby preps, is Saturday April 8. That race claims 19 Kentucky Derby winners. Four other stakes are on the undercard, including the Grade 2 Charles Whittingham and the Grade 2 Monrovia.

Santa Anita Park-2022-23 Key Stakes

Santa Anita’s Grade 1 season wraps up with a trio of Memorial Day races: the Hollywood Gold Cup, Shoemaker Mile on the turf and the Gamely.

The season ends June 19. You can find the complete list of Santa Anita’s stakes races here.

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The Hall of Fame trainer moves his 3-year-old multiple graded stakes winner to the grass for Friday’s Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame at Saratoga. That one-mile race for sophomores on Saratoga’s inner turf course also features Wow Whata Summer.

You remember Wow Whata Summer from his 83/1 upset of Pletcher’s previously unbeaten Annapolis two starts ago in the Grade 2 Penn Mile at Penn National. You probably missed his next start, an uninspiring fifth in the July 2 Grade 3 Kent Stakes at Delaware Park.

As for Wit, Pletcher moves him to turf despite a 3-1-1 record in six career starts. He’s hit the board in four of his five graded stakes races (2-1-1), including victories in the Grade 3 Sanford at Saratoga and the Grade 3 Bay Shore earlier this year at Aqueduct. One of the earliest 2022 Kentucky Derby prospects off two career-opening wins, Wit finished second to Gunite in the Grade 1 Hopeful. He later finished a non-threatening third to Jack Christopher by nearly 10 lengths in the Grade 1 Champagne last year.

Did Wit find his dirt ceiling?

This year, Wit has that Bay Shore score, coming when he went three-wide and nosed out Highly Respected. He also has his lone out-of-the-money finish: a last-out fourth in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens on the Belmont Stakes undercard. Not that anyone was beating Jack Christopher that day; he won by 10 lengths. But Wit finished closer to last-place Morello (one length) than to second-place Pappacap (four lengths).

That got Pletcher’s wheels turning. He enjoyed watching Emmanuel make a successful switch from dirt to grass. That 3-year-old finished third in the Grade 1 Blue Grass, which didn’t stop Pletcher from putting him on turf. In turn, Emmanuel rewarded his connections by winning the Grade 2 Pennine Ridge on June 4.

So Pletcher sent Wit off and running on the Oklahoma training turf at Saratoga. His first workout on July 22 produced a bullet 47.95-second half-mile breeze that was best of 63 at that distance. Wit worked alongside graded stakes-placed Scottish Star. A subsequent four-furlong breeze eight days later came in at 50.29.

There’s green in that bloodline

“He seemed to really take to the turf. It seemed pretty clear that he took to it,�Pletcher told the New York Racing Association. “It was a good, strong work and an energetic gallop out. It just seemed that he enjoyed himself out there.�/p>

Finally, Pletcher went to the bloodlines. He pointed out Wit, a Practical Joke colt who went for $575K in the 2020 Keenland September Yearling Sale, came out of Numero d’Oro. The daughter of Medaglia d’Oro carries plenty of green grass in her red bloodlines. Wit’s great-grandsire on his dam’s side, El Prado, won two Group 1 races in Ireland.

“The Medaglia d’Oro bottom side kind of made you think about (turf),�Pletcher said. “It was mainly just about giving him a try on it. There was enough pedigree that suggested it could work.�/p>

If it does, horseplayers have another intriguing turf contender to consider on the deepening New York grass circuit. One who could challenge Chad Brown’s endless barn of grass standouts.

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Put aside for the moment that Epicenter passed the $2 million mark in career earnings with the $330,000 payday. Shelve for an instant that Epicenter won his first race in four months �after finishing second as the post-time favorite in the first two legs of the Triple Crown.

The takeaway from Epicenter’s fifth win in nine races is he’s once again, the 3-year-old to beat when it comes to year-end honors. Yes, there’s a flavor-of-the-month quality to this division; see “Haskell Stakes winner Cyberknife�/a> for an example.

But the fluid nature of this division is further based largely on two factors: the depth this sophomore class shows and the fact that outside of the 20-horse free-for-all known as the Kentucky Derby, none of the top 3-year-olds have run against each other in any significant numbers. The trainers of the various top-shelf 3-year-olds have cherry-picked their spots even more so than usual, especially in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.

The Travers is a demarcation line

That ends now. More accurately, it ends Aug. 27, with the Grade 1 Travers Stakes. That’s the race trainers such as Chad Brown (Zandon, Early Voting), Steve Asmussen (Epicenter), Brad Cox (Cyberknife) and Todd Pletcher (Charge It) circled in red ink. The winner of that race goes into the Breeders’ Cup Classic as first-among-equals in the 3-year-old class.

The plot line here circles back to Epicenter. He’s 5-for-9, with more than $2.2 million in the bank and one missed board in those nine starts. Three of his five victories came in graded stakes and a fourth in a black-type race. He finished second in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness by a combined two lengths.

A Travers victory would make him the 14^th horse in history to pull off the Jim Dandy/Travers double. And yet, the colt considered the best all-around 3-year-old still lacks a Grade 1 victory. Asmussen is acutely aware of this gap in his star colt’s resume. And what the Travers means.

“It’s extremely rewarding off two tough races to bring him back in the winner’s circle where we think he belongs,â€Â?Asmussen said after the race. â€Å?In) a four-horse field, it’s always a lot of mobility. â€Â?What I loved about it is the fact that (there is) another eighth in the Travers. It was his first race ever over Saratoga and we know what’s on the menu next. We want to be as ready as we possibly can for it.â€Â?/p>

Epicenter took advantage of a small Jim Dandy field

Make no mistake. Epicenter won’t have the luxury of a four-horse field in the Travers. He got off to a slow start in the Jim Dandy and had to close in the final furlong. This isn’t Epicenter’s preferred running style and the short Jim Dandy field allowed him and Joel Rosario to adjust accordingly.

The Jim Dandy race dynamic flipped conventional wisdom on its head. Pace-presser Epicenter found himself in last on the backstretch. Closer Zandon found himself near the lead. Front-runner Early Voting found himself on the lead as usual �but was outkicked in the stretch by not only Epicenter, but runner-up Zandon and third-place Tawny Port.

Early Voting held off Epicenter by 1 ¾ lengths en route to the Preakness title.

Brown left to ponder a strange race dynamic

“We sort of inherited the lead and that’s fine,�Brown said after the race. “On paper, most tracks you’d say 12 and change (seconds for the first eighth) is not too bad, but this track has been pretty tiring. Clearly, Early Voting just didn’t handle this track. We’ll see how he comes back.

“As far as Zandon goes, he was a little closer than he probably wants to run. I don’t think (jockey) Flavien (Prat) had any other option. I thought he rode the horse fine. Hopefully, in a bigger field, I can get the horse back.�/p>

Prat echoed those sentiments. He said he thought Epicenter and Early Voting would set a strong pace for Zandon to close into. Instead, Zandon broke well and put himself next to Early Voting.

Epicenter moves to head of the class — for now

“It’s probably not where he wants to be, but it was the natural thing,�Prat said after the race.

There’s a month for Brown to “get his horse back,â€Â?and for him to figure out what happened to Early Voting — who finished last of four. There’s a month for Cox to mull over sending Ohio Derby winner Tawny Port into the deep end of the 3-year-old pool â€â€?the Travers.

And there’s a month remaining for Asmussen to keep his status as the trainer of the best 3-year-old in the country. Even as you hang an asterisk on it with the caption “for now.�/p>

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