Uncle Mojo (4) may go favored here as he drops out of the Grade 1 Stephen Foster. He was clearly overmatched that day and actually didn’t run badly to hang on for fifth. He obviously handles the distance, and it’s a feather in his cap that he owns a win over the track, but I have trouble accepting a short price on this runner. Aside from that runaway win in the slop at Pimlico, his efforts just don’t make him particularly formidable against this salty field. Flowers for Lisa (7) and Virtual Machine (8) exit the same race at Monmouth Park. The former, who is in for the tag this time, ran well to hang on for the win that day, but I’m somewhat skeptical about him bringing that form to New York. Virtual Machine is more appealing to me since he has run well at NYRA tracks before, and I think he’s well suited by this demanding nine-furlong distance.

I’m using them, but my top selection is SIR BALLANTINE (1). Ever since this horse joined Danny Gargan’s barn, I’ve been waiting for him to stretch out around two turns. When this horse was trained by Ken McPeek, he wanted to run all day, as he had to stretch out to 1 1/4 miles to win his maiden. He has clearly improved for the new barn, and I think he will be awfully tough here if he can repeat his effort two back, where he ran down Exulting and Ekhtibaar despite not getting much pace to close into. Last time, I thought his rider placed him too close to a fast pace, which is not really his best style. This time, Kendrick Carmouche can sit back and make one run since horses like All About Ashley, Uncle Mojo, and Flowers for Lisa should ensure an honest early tempo. Furthermore, a ton of rain has fallen in the past hour or so, and this horse has handled a wet track in the past.