It’s one of the busiest Saturdays of horse racing across the country with it being Travers Day at Saratoga, the Del Mar meet continuing and even those lofty purses at Kentucky Downs thrown into the mix. While I’m physically present in upstate NY with my annual pilgrimage to the Spa, that didn’t prevent me from penciling a few thoughts on the card at Colonial Downs.
Follow me on Twitter: @mdomhokie
Selections
- Race 1: 5-8-3-2
- Race 2: 4-5-3-6
- Race 3: 2-1-5-3
- Race 4: 3-7-8-5
- Race 5: 9-6-8-2
- Race 6: 8-6-1-7
- Race 7: 8-1-5-7
- Race 8: 8-5-3-10
- Race 9: 11-7-10-5
Colonial Downs Race 1: Daniel Sun (#5) at 10-1 or higher
I’m willing to take on the Jamie Ness pair in the Saturday lid-lifter as Bodecream (#4) has disappointed at short prices at this level three times already at this meet and Mo Rewards (#7) had his three race win streak snapped when he finally faced a decent group similar to the quality of this field. Italian Symphony (#2) and Fightertown (#3) both make some sense in this spot as the former had trouble last time, but this barn is 0/18 off the claim. The latter could take them a long way on the front end, but I’m just not sure he’s a turf horse. I really liked Arjay (#8) heading into his last race and while I’d still use him prominently in this spot, his lack of finish last out left me wanting to go elsewhere as my top pick. I landed on 20-1 ML Daniel Sun (#5) as the top choice hoping to start the day off with a bang. He’s second off a nearly yearlong layoff and I actually thought there were some good moments in his last race which came against #25k claimers. While he tired late, he did at least get some fitness out of that race by challenging for the lead entering the far turn. Now he drops in a more reasonable spot for a $10k tag and should move forward off that effort.
Colonial Downs Race 6: Steel Golden (#8) at 4-1 or higher
It’s clear that Executive (#6) is the horse to beat in this event as he’d been facing tougher at larger circuits like NYRA & Churchill. However, for as hot as the Horacio DePaz barn has been at Saratoga this summer, the charges that he shipped down to Colonial have underperformed. His chief rival on the morning line is first-time starter Souper Cha Ching (#2). His dam Unbridled Humor was a rock solid turf router winning a G3 on the grass and producing multiple six-figure progeny. However, it’s tough to debut going 8.5f and obviously getting him started this late in his 3YO season couldn’t have been plan A. There’s things to like about other rivals like Mister Landry (#1) and Hoss N Boss (#7). The former has a cozy inside draw and gets a slight cutback in distance, but I still was left wanting after watching back her last effort over this course. The latter is an Ethan West trainee that ships in from Indiana after a decent third place finish in a maiden event there, but I don’t think the favorite will let him walk on the lead. I landed on his stablemate Steel Golden (#8) as the top pick hoping he can sit right in behind the favorite and Hoss N Boss and take over in the lane. We’ll see if a late jockey change comes through but I find it very interesting that Fernando De La Cruz is named to ride given he’s not based here and this would be his only mount on the card. Maybe that is a precursor to him being scratched, but this spot makes a ton of sense for his turf debut given his dam Zia’s Song raced exclusively on grass and synthetic. The fields he’s been facing in those other maiden special weight events are significantly tougher than what he’s up against this afternoon.
Colonial Downs Race 7: Do the Right Thing (#8) at 7-2 or higher
The co-feature on this card is the Jamestown Stakes for VA Restricted juveniles. Fission (#5) was ultra impressive over this course and distance earlier in the meet drawing off to win by 2+ lengths back in July. I don’t blame the connections for trying the dirt in the Hickory Tree and I’m willing to draw a line through that race as they now return to the sod. However, he’s going to have to deal with a real pace rival in Harewood (#1) who is now drawn to his inside and is certain to push the tempo under Sheldon Russell. I think those two could soften each other up and set it up for my top pick Do the Right Thing (#8). While this gelding is still a maiden, I like the confidence that the Motion barn is showing by bringing him back in a stakes rather than a maiden special weight that also has a decent purse. While he didn’t have a major excuse when trounced by the favorite in their common race, this barn’s runners often move forward with racing and he can get a better pace setup in this event with more speed to challenge Fission early.
#TheCheatSheet
2026 Summer Meet Statistics (thru 8/27)
All
Top Picks: 130-29-21-26 (22%, $1.71); Featured Horses: 42-8-5-56 (19%, $2.11)
Fair Odds Met
Top Picks: 98-20-11-22 (20%, $1.98); Featured Horses: 35-6-3-6 (17%, $2.29)
Grid
Percent of Races Won By: A’s: 52%; B’s: 32%; C’s: 13%; X’s: 3%
