First Look: 6 graded stakes & Canada classic are at 4 tracks

Thorpedo Anna’s date with the boys is another 12 days away. Without her, the 3-year-old fillies division will soldier on with a pair of Grade 1 races this week on opposite coasts.

The Alabama at Saratoga will provide a 1 1/4-mile test that could reveal Thorpedo Anna’s nearest rival among her peers. The Del Mar Oaks could be a similar steppingstone in the turf division, especially if Iscreamuscream builds on her undefeated record.

Four tracks host six graded stakes and the first jewel of Canada’s Triple Crown this weekend.

Saturday

Alabama (G1), Saratoga, 1 1/4 miles, 3-year-old fillies

With Thorpedo Anna out of the mix, this race could be seen as deciding the best of the rest among sophomore fillies. Trainer Todd Pletcher has Grade 1 winner Candied and stakes victor Miss Justify entered. Candied, who finished first last fall in the Alcibiades (G1) at Keeneland, placed second to Thorpedo Anna last out in the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) on July 20 at Saratoga. Miss Justify steps up and stretches out from her one-mile triumph in the Wilton, a restricted stakes July 12 at Saratoga.

Lake Placid (G2), Saratoga, 1 1/16 miles (turf), 3-year-old fillies

Ireland-bred Beautiful Love comes off the bench to make her U.S. debut for Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby against three Chad Brown entrants in the Lake Placid. In her most recent start in February, chestnut was last seen winning by six lengths going one mile in conditions company Feb. 16 at Meydan. Brown, who has trained a record five triumphs in the Lake Placid, will saddle Grade 2 winner Dynamic Pricing, Monmouth Park stakes victor Spaliday and maiden winner Grayosh.

Philip H. Iselin (G3), Monmouth Park, 1 1/16 miles, 3-year-olds and up

Il Miracolo, who was a troubled third in the May 3 Alysheba (G2) at Churchill Downs, gets off Antonio Sano’s bench to try for his third graded-stakes victory in the last 12 months. Now 4, the Gun Runner colt scored last August in the Smarty Jones (G3) at Parx. He hit the board in four of his next five starts before winning March 30 in the Ghostzapper (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

King’s Plate, Woodbine, 1 1/4 miles (synthetic), Canada-bred 3-year-olds

Mark Casse, whose three Plate triumphs include last year’s with Paramount Prince, has three of the leading contenders this week to take the first jewel in the Canadian Triple Crown. Essex Serpent won the Marine (G3) on June 29 to earn an 89 Beyer Speed Figure, according to Daily Racing Form. Midnight Mascot was impressive rallying wide to go from last to third in the Marine. My Boy Prince won the Plate Trial on July 20 to run his winning streak to three stakes and his Woodbine record to 8: 6-2-0.

King Edward (G2), Woodbine, 1 mile (turf), 3-year-olds and up

Even though the track racing office does not routinely provide possible starters, racing and workout patterns suggest 2023 winner Filo Di Arianna and Cruden Bay could be the top entrants coming off Grade 2 wins in their most recent starts. Filo Di Arianna, an 8-year-old gelding trained by Casse, finished first June 29 in the six-furlong Highlander at Woodbine. Cruden Bay, a 6-year-old gelding from Donald MacRae’s stable, closed from last place to take the seven-furlong Connaught Cup on July 20, also over the same turf course that will host the King Edward.

Bold Venture (G3), Woodbine, 6 1/2 furlongs (synthetic), 3-year-olds and up

Two-time stakes winner Candy Overload and 2023 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint runner-up Big Invasion could be the main betting lures in this race. Trained by Casse, 6-year-old gelding Candy Overload would be stretching back out after finishing a close fifth in the Jacques Cartier (G3) going six furlongs June 1 at Woodbine. Big Invasion, a 5-year-old horse in Christophe Clément’s stable, has not won since the Oct. 8 Nearctic (G2) on yielding turf at Woodbine. In a class drop from a pair of 10th-place disappointments in graded stakes, he was a close second in a July 4 turf-sprint allowance race at Saratoga.

Del Mar Oaks (G1), Del Mar, 1 1/8 miles (turf), 3-year-old fillies

Listed by the track racing office as a possible entrant, Iscreamuscream would carry a 3-for-3 record into her first Grade 1 assignment. Trainer Phil D’Amato, who won this race three years ago with Going Global, has had three different jockeys ride the daughter of Twirling Candy. In six-furlong races at Santa Anita, Iscreamuscream won with Ramón Vázquez in her six-furlong debut and with Antonio Fresu in an allowance race. Last month she carried Héctor Berrios to victory going two turns in the one-mile San Clemente Handicap (G2) at Del Mar.