The $175,000, Grade 3 Sanford Stakes is the start of the 2-year-old stakes season at historic Saratoga Race Course and features a field of 10, of which nine won their most recent races. None in the field has run this six-furlong distance to date and only one has won a stakes race. That one is Gold Sweep, who drew off by nine lengths in the Tremont Stakes last month. Yo Yo Candy finished third in the Tremont after winning one month earlier in his debut. Seven of the 10 won their only starts and some of those efforts were quite impressive. That group consists of Call the Cavalry, Dickens, Factor U and Me In, His Rights, Jive, Market Street and Triple Trea. The other horse which has raced two times is Ramming Speed, who powered off to a 4 1/4-length win just 12 days ago in his second career start.

Top contenders:

Although Gold Sweep has a stakes win under his belt I am going to start instead with Triple Trea as the top contender in this year’s Sanford Stakes. A Kentucky bred son of Bolt d’ Oro, Triple Trea won his only start on the all-weather track at Woodbine but I think he has what it takes to run good enough to win on the conventional dirt surface at Saratoga. That win on June 4 was impressive on two counts. First, Triple Trea ran in his debut as if he had run before, showing a lot of ability to relax and respond to his jockey by sitting in sixth of eight early then rolling by the field late after going five paths wide on the far turn. The effort earned a pretty decent 80 Equibase Speed Figure, which can be improved upon off the experience of a race. The second reason that June 4 race was indicative of a competitive effort in the Sanford is it has already turned out to be a productive “Key” race by virtue of the fact both the runner-up and fifth-place finishers came back to win their next starts, and the third-place finisher came in second in his next outing. Top jockey Luis Saez gets the mount, and with a number of horses in this race likely to want the lead from the start, perhaps running too fast early to have the staying power late to hold off a closer, I think Triple Trea can pass the tiring pacesetters late to win.

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Gold Sweep lost in his May debut by a neck and showed enough ability that trainer Steve Asmussen entered him in the Tremont Stakes for his second career start on June 11. Gold Sweep did not disappoint in the Tremont as he rallied three paths wide on the turn before drawing off by nine lengths in handy fashion. His sire, Speightstown, is known for producing 2-year-old stakes winners, such as Andiamo a Firenze, who was third in the 2022 Sanford and who won the Funny Cide Stakes later in the season at Saratoga. Demonstrating how 2-year-olds can improve from one start to the next, Gold Sweep went from an 88 figure in his debut to a 94 figure in the Tremont and an even better effort could be forthcoming in this situation.

Ramming Speed may come in under the radar for most bettors because he’s been running at Presque Isle Downs and on an all-weather surface, but based on his most recent race just 12 days ago he has the potential to post the slight upset. In his debut on June 14, Ramming Speed rallied four paths wise for second then just 19 days later he improved markedly to win by 4 1/4 lengths. In that race, Ramming Speed showed good maturity because after breaking sharply jockey Gaddiel Martinez allowed the horse to drop back to third and relax, before going around horses on the turn to draw off to an easy win. The 65 figure was much lower than most of the rest of the Sanford field earned recently, but the effort was impressive. Furthermore, the turnaround in racing just 12 days after his most recent race seems not to be a problem as his win on July 3 came just 19 days after his debut.

The rest of the field, with their best representative Equibase Speed Figures, is Call the Cavalry (86), Dickens (82), Factor U and Me In (77), His Rights (74), Jive (80), Market Street (78) and Yo Yo Candy (76).

Win Contenders:

Triple Trea

Gold Sweep

Ramming Speed