Arguably, this Saturday is the date on the racing calendar with the most high-level racing cards across the country. It’s Pacific Classic Day @ Del Mar, Saratoga has a 13-race card with three stakes, and Kentucky Downs is doling out purses like Monopoly money. Colonial Downs could easily get lost in that shuffle, but I’ve found a few spots worthy of a few minutes of your attention throughout this busy day.
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Selections
- Race 1: 7-8-2-1
- Race 2: 2-8-1-5
- Race 3: 3-1-6-7
- Race 4: 1-5-3-6
- Race 5: 2-4-5-1
- Race 6: 3-1-10-2
- Race 7: 3-5-2-8
- Race 8: 8-10-7-1
- Race 9: 3-6-5-9
Colonial Downs Race 1: Wunderkind (#7) at 2-1 or higher
My play of the day comes in the lid-lifter of this Colonial card as it’s not too often the filly you view as the most likely winner is offered at 8-1 on the morning line. I doubt she’ll go off at that juicy of a price, but anything above 2-1 would be fair on this Robb trainee. Wunderkind (#7) was a spotlight play of mine in her first local start on Opening Day and nearly pulled off a 17-1 upset on the dirt. She disappointed in her turf debut, but I’m willing to forgive that effort given the bump she took at the break. Speed is her most dangerous weapon and with a clean break, she should be able to clear off benefiting from the fact this race is only 5f. Let Thesunshine In (#8) is the horse to beat and the main danger to my top pick as the maiden events she’s exiting are probably stronger overall than this field. I like her to run well here, but might be left with too much to do if outrun early by Wunderkind.
Colonial Downs Race 3: American Tapit (#3) at 8-5 or higher
This is a pretty solid maiden special weight event with the presence of a couple fillies that might turn out to be pretty good. One of those is Cooperation (#1) who was heavily favored in her debut, but lost her best chance after a poor start as those are tough to recover from going a flat 5f. She should appreciate the stretch-out to a mile here and draws a cozy inside post for dangerous connections as Centeno/Delacour hit at 24% together. However, I landed on her main rival who should be offered at a better price. American Tapit (#3) also took a ton of money on debut to be sent off at 2-1 for a barn in Nacho Correas that doesn’t specialize in having them ready to win first out. I’m excited to see this gal get to the grass as American Pharoah progeny have proven to be more adept on that surface. Correas & Karamanos are also a potent combination hitting at 25% together over the last year.
Colonial Downs Race 7: Cavalier Cupid (#3) at 7-1 or higher and/or Sugar Bee (#5) at 12-1 or higher
I have no disillusions and agree Hollywood Walk (#2) is way the horse to beat in this VA Restricted event given she is coming off a facile victory in the open Andy Guest Stakes on the Arlington Million undercard. However, my concern is that she’s a classic “last time was the time” horse as she paid $19 last out and should be close to even money today. She’s also coming off a dream trip cutting the corner and rallying stoutly along the inside. If I’m going to take her on, I want to get paid and have two crazy longshots worth trying. There’s a few runners in here coming out of the same Aug 8th allowance event and while Chichahominy (#9) finished best in there, I’d argue Cavalier Cupid (#3) ran the best race given how she was wide around the track. This mare really seems to like it at Colonial given how the lightbulb came back on two back. That was an excellent effort making this hug 4-wide sweep to just miss all the money at 29-1. It’s worth noting she’s always had potential as she won twice at Colonial as a juvenile including a state-bred stakes. She’s my top pick, but I’ll also lose a few bucks on Sugar Bee (#5). I find it notable that Toledo jumps off Cavalier Cupid and lands here. I can make excuses for her last few efforts as she’s caught a couple of soft turf courses and was in too tough in that stakes at Aqueduct. Similar to my top pick, she’s shown potential as she won both the first two starts of her career turf sprinting in fine fashion including a win at Aqueduct.
#TheCheatSheet
2025 Summer Meet Statistics (thru 8/23)
All
Top Picks: 155-40-33-24 (26%, $1.77); Featured Horses: 48-10-7-13 (21%, $2.32)
Fair Odds Met
Top Picks: 96-18-23-13 (19%, $1.75); Featured Horses: 37-8-6-9 (22%, $2.66)
Grid
Percent of Races Won By: A’s: 41%; B’s: 36%; C’s: 19%; X’s: 4%
