Wednesday's Best Bet: Brocknardini can speed up in P. G. Johnson
Wednesday’s ninth race at Saratoga is the $150,000 P. G. Johnson Stakes for 2-year-old fillies traveling 1 1/16 miles on the inner turf course. The scheduled post time is 5:44 p.m. EDT.
Click here for Saratoga entries and results.
No. 7 Brocknardini (9-2) was strong in her local turf route bow in the New York-bred special weight ranks. She rallied to the lead, took over and kept going all the way to the wire, and the show finisher was a next-out winner. Irad Ortiz Jr. sticks with George Weaver’s promising filly, and she had a decent maintenance move for this on Aug. 23.
No. 2 Gala Brand (7-2) rallied from far back to win her local turf sprint bow for Bill Mott on Aug. 3. She got pace help last time, but it is not easy to win a turf sprint from that far back. She has route influences on the dam side and will try to get involved late under Jose Lezcano.
No. 10 Hard to Justify (4-1) will try to overcome the outside post for Flavien Prat and Chad Brown. She rallied from an inner post to graduate by a head at this course and distance on July 23. They paid $190k for the daughter of Justify, and she has worked three times at Saratoga since her debut victory.
Wagers
No. 7 to win
Exacta 7/2-10
Exacta 2-10/7
Recent Best Bet winners
Aug. 4 – Bus Buzz ($5.80), trifecta ($82.80)
Aug. 5 – Carmelita's Man ($13.60), trifecta ($199.20)
Aug. 6 – Maltese Falcon/Panic Alarm/Agency trifecta ($173.40)
Aug. 17 – Rose Barton/Pegs A. K. Girl quinella ($14.80)
Aug. 20 – Patches O’Houlihan ($6.30)
Friday – Eddie’s New Dream/Rose Maddox/Chancery Way trifecta ($149.80)
Saturday - Echo Zulu ($3.20), exacta ($6)
Sunday - Eda/Kirstenbosch exacta ($14.20)