Check out my Saturday (7-4-26) Saratoga Race Course Race 4 analysis below.
SAR 4 (Alw-1x, NY-bred, 6.5f) – Post Time 2:19 PM ET
Primary – #1 LIGHTNING STRIKE, #8 Grace and Grit
Secondary – #3 Princess Wadadli, #4 Angel Gift
Horse Comments:
#1 Lightning Strike (9-5) was the favorite in her dirt sprint bow March 2025 and she aired by 9 1/4 lengths. She switched to turf second time out and lunged at the start, stalked, moved up to second, and weakened to 5th of 11 as my top choice June 3. She is back in a dirt sprint and might rebound for the productive Manny Franco/Miguel Clement team.
#8 Grace and Grit (7-2) is 2-for-4 with a a pair of seconds since March 14. She added blinkers and broke through with a sharp win at 7f on May 8, and rallied to finish a clear second in a local extended sprint June 5. She is sharp and a stalking trip is expected.
#3 Princess Wadadli (8-1) scratched out of a similar local affair June 5 (Race 13 – Alw-1x, NY-bred, 7f), and she shows three local moves since defecting from that heat. She won two of three starts this year. She wired the field in her 6.5f bow under Saturday’s rider Flavien Prat, and she pressed and scored at 4.5f last time.
#4 Angel Gift (12-1) smartly won her local bow last June and was up the track in her next three stakes starts. She returned from a layoff and did not have the best start when chasing from the inside post Jun3 5 (5th of 8 – beaten 9.5 lengths). She adds blinkers for Todd Pletcher and John Velazquez is her new rider.
Wagers:
#1 to win
Exacta 1-3-4/8
Trifecta 1-8/1-3-4-8/1-3-4-8
Recent 2026 Bettor Bet$ Free Pick Winners
June 18 – Lady Rose ($2.86)
June 19 – Watch Over Us/Cammy’s Girl Exacta ($12.00)
June 20 – Twisted Humor/Perfect Smile Exacta ($5.60)
June 24 – Movie Night/Wrong Shoes/Highgrove Trifecta ($24.28)
June 26 – Supernal ($5.40), Exacta ($43.60)
June 27 – Bring the Smoke ($6.42)
June 30 – Margin of Air/Elusive Target Exacta ($7.80)
July 1 – Kappa Kappa ($2.20)
July 3 – Anyway ($5.34)
*All winning wagers based on $2 payoffs unless noted otherwise.
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