Chad Brown looks to have the favorite in this race with first time starter Digital Footprint (8). While he doesn’t possess overwhelming turf pedigree, he is by Giant’s Causeway out of a half-sister to Unrivaled Belle, so he’s bred to be classy. You can generally trust this barn to have them ready in spots like this. The other first time starters are not quite as convincing. I’m instead interested in a few runners with experience.

Each of the four horses with experience trying turf for the first time has some pedigree for grass, but the one that I want to bet is SIR WINSTON (1). This horse was very sluggish through the early stages of his debut, but was actually running on well at the end in a race that finished up quickly. While his pedigree doesn’t scream turf at first glance, there is plenty of evidence that he will handle it on his dam’s side. The dam herself handled turf but ran primarily on synthetic surfaces, earning over $300,000 in her career. Going back to the second generation, it’s apparent that this is a family of turf horses, as her second dam was a stakes winner on grass. I don’t mind the rail draw in these two-turn juvenile races.

The others I’ll consider are Johny’s Bobby, whose dam was a talented turf/synthetic runner; and Seanow, who wasn’t terribly professional in his debut and may like the grass.