Prospect Watch: Lea's sibling set for Saratoga unveiling

As July winds down and racing settles into a rhythm at Saratoga and Del Mar, a handful of expensive and well-bred two-year-olds are ready to debut.

But as if to prove spending big money at auctions isn’t the only way to acquire classy youngsters, there will also be promising homebreds in action, including a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Lea.

Which juveniles should you keep your eyes on this week? Here are a few names worth adding to your watch list…

Friday, July 26

Saratoga Race 2: Maiden Special Weight (8.5 furlongs on turf)

#1A Mo Ready

Mo Ready is a Repole Stable runner through and through, and he’s seemingly bred for success at Saratoga. His sire, champion Uncle Mo, broke his maiden at the Spa for Mike Repole and trainer Todd Pletcher, while Mo Ready’s dam — Ready and Good — finished second at Saratoga in her lone run for Repole and Pletcher. As a broodmare, Ready and Good has already reaped rewards for her team by producing Sudden Surprise, who gave Repole and Pletcher a victory in the 2015 Funny Cide Stakes at Saratoga. Mo Ready himself finished fourth in his debut on dirt at Belmont Park behind future stakes winner Sky of Hook, and while he’s not particularly bred for turf, Mo Ready might have the necessary class to succeed in this maiden special weight for New York-breds.

Saturday, July 27

Del Mar Race 1: Maiden Special Weight (6 furlongs)

#2 Wrecking Crew

Wrecking Crew doesn’t have the most fashionable pedigree — his sire, Sky Kingdom, stands for just $5,000 — but after breezing an eighth of a mile in :09 4/5 at Fasig Tipton’s The Gulfstream Sale in March, he sold for a hefty $875,000. Now conditioned by Peter Miller, Wrecking Crew has posted a sharp series of workouts in preparation for his debut and figures to be the hype horse on Saturday, especially with Del Mar’s leading jockey Flavien Prat in the saddle.

#5 Fredericktown

Keith Desormeaux conditions this unraced son of young stallion Constitution, a two-time Grade 1 winner. Fredericktown’s dam, the stakes winner Burg Berg, has already produced the Kentucky Derby starter Gray Magician and the 2018 Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) winner Lombo, so from a pedigree perspective there’s a lot to like about Fredericktown. Six furlongs might be a little short for this stoutly-bred colt, who sold for $200,000 as a yearling, but look for him to show improvement when stretching out in distance down the road.

Saratoga Race 4: Maiden Special Weight (5 ½ furlongs)

#3 Acre

A homebred racing for Claiborne Farm and Adele B. Dilschneider, Acre is a son of 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner Blame out of the stakes-placed Galileo mare Greenery, already renowned as the dam of 2014 Donn Handicap (G1) winner and 2015 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile runner-up Lea. Considering Lea was a multi-surface threat capable of winning graded stakes races on both dirt and turf, Acre could have a bright future on either surface, but one thing seems certain — the 5 ½-furlong distance of Saturday’s maiden race is probably shorter than his best. Acre should improve when stretched out around two turns.

#5 Shoplifted

After fetching $800,000 at the Gulfstream sale, where the above-mentioned Wrecking Crew was sold, Shoplifted was turned over to Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, who has used eight workouts at Keeneland and Saratoga to prep the son of Into Mischief for his debut. Most notably, Shoplifted worked five furlongs from the Saratoga starting gate in a bullet :59 4/5 on July 14, a move that figures to attract plenty of wagering support. All four of Shoplifted’s half-siblings have won races, so a sharp debut could be in the offing for this expensive colt.

#7 Soviet

Trainer Todd Pletcher will send out this son of Super Saver, who sold for $425,000 as a yearling. Pletcher is known for his success training juveniles on dirt, but keep in mind, Soviet’s dam — Ruthenia — was a graded stakes winner on turf. Furthermore, Ruthenia’s first two foals have both done their best running on turf, and that includes the two-time grass stakes winner Pubilius Syrus. With this pedigree behind him, Soviet might ultimately be more successful on turf than dirt.