This August 21st Monmouth Park and Saratoga will host three races the Philip H Iselin S, the Alabama Stakes for 3yo F&M, and Lake Placid Stakes and Horse Racing Tote bring you the previews, take a look and pick your favorite!
Alabama Stakes Odds
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the third episode of the Maracuja & Malathaat Show, the hit series starring two crazy three-year-old fillies, the Odd Couple who just can’t stay away from each other.
This is Maracuja (4-1). She’s trained by Rob Atras, who you may not have heard of, but he’s a real up-and-comer who keeps a goat called Gilbert at his barn. Maracuja gave Atras his first Grade 1 win when pouncing late to win the Coaching Club American Oaks at the Spa – and guess who she beat? Yep, that’s right. Malathaat.
Pipped her by ahead. Here’s Malathaat (8-5). She’s trained by Todd Pletcher and owned by Shadwell Stable, who between them have won more Grade 1s than you’ve had hot dinners. Before she got tripped up in the CCA Oaks she was unbeaten in five starts, notably the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks, in which – guess who? – Maracuja finished seventh. Wowsers!
Now, these two game gals meet again in the $600,000 Grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga on Saturday, a mile-and-a-quarter showdown which may – or may not – settle the pecking order in the three-year-old filly division. So who wins the rubber? The head says Malathaat. She was harassed on the lead by Clairiere (8-1) in the CCA Oaks, put away her pesky rival, but then had nothing left with which to withstand the challenge of Maracuja, whose late-show style of racing is likely to be suited by the extra furlong here.
And even the best of them get beat sometimes. The heart says Maracuja. She is improving, did everything right last time, has a soft spot for Saratoga, and if you’re only as good as your last race, she’s good enough. Who do you like, head or heart? Tune in on Saturday to find out, racefans! Don’t touch that dial!
| Horse | Jockey | Horse Racing Odds courtesy of Jazzsports |
| CRAZY BEAUTIFUL | Jose L. Ortiz | +600 |
| WILL’S SECRET | Jon Kenton | +1500 |
| CLAIRIERE | Irad Ortiz. Jr | +600 |
| MARACUJA | Ricardo Santana. Jr | +350 |
| PLAYED HARD | Luis Saez | +1500 |
| MALATHAAT | Jhon R. Velazquez | +100 |
| ARMY WIFE | Tyler Gaffalione | +600 |
Lake Placid Stakes Odds
There are more three-year-old fillies on show in the $200,000 Grade 2 Lake Placid Stakes over a mile and one-sixteenth on turf, a word that immediately draws the eye to the Chad Brown trainee. He sends Technical Analysis, who stamped her credentials when winning the Grade 3 Lake George at the Spa last month (Runaway Rumour fourth, the first defeat of her career). Lovestruck turned in a stinker on her only start of 2021, losing her unbeaten record when plumb last behind Runaway Rumour at Belmont. She must be better than that, but you’d want proof before rushing to the windows, and Technical Analysis is the overwhelming choice despite her conceding weight all around.
| Horse | Jockey | Horse Racing Odds courtesy of Jazzsports |
| ILLIOGAMI | Manuel Franco | +1500 |
| TECHNICAL ANALYSIS | Jose L. Ortiz | +120 |
| EGO TRIP | Tyler Gaffalione | +600 |
| RUNAWAY RUMOUR | Jose Lezcano | +350 |
| LOVESTRUCK | Jhon R. Velazquez | +600 |
| SPANISH LOVEAFFAIR | Ricardo Santana Jr | +300 |
Philip H. Iselin Stakes Odds
Over at Monmouth Park, Code Of Honor returns to the track in the $250,000 Grade 3 Philip H Iselin Stakes, for three-year-olds and up over a mile-sixteenth, and if he is even 80 percent straight then this is a cakewalk. The Travers and Jockey Club Gold Cup winner hasn’t been seen since the Pegasus World Cup in January, in which he was fifth behind Knicks Go, who isn’t a bad runner. Shug McGaughey is certainly using this for a tune-up for the fall’s big races, so take that into account, but Code Of Honor is a world apart from his rivals, of whom Phat Man is the only one to have won Graded stakes. Brice has won four straight at Monmouth, all claimers, and will bring the speed if not the class.
| Horse | Jockey | Horse Racing Odds courtesy of Jazzsports |
| WEST WILL POWER | Nik Juarez | +400 |
| CROATIAN | Heriberto Figueroa | +2000 |
| I’M A G SIX | Romero Ramsay | +1500 |
| MAGIC MICHAEL | Ruben Silvera | +500 |
| CODE OF HONOR | Paco Lopez | +120 |
| PHAT MAN | Jose C. Ferrer | +300 |
| BRICE | Isaac Castillo | +600 |
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