I found this to be the most interesting race on the card. Altea (7) is obviously the horse to beat as she finally gets some class relief. She’s been campaigned in a series of graded stakes events since coming to this country despite the fact that she’s still eligible for this N1X allowance condition. She’s run admirably in a number of those races, but has proven that she’s just not quite up to the task of beating rivals like La Signare, Significant Form, and Daddy Is a Legend. If she runs her race, she’s supposed to win today, but I am somewhat concerned about her propensity to hang in the late stages of her races. I’m certainly using her prominently, but there are many others to consider in this fascinating affair.

A couple of European imports make their U.S. debuts in this spot, and both have some appeal. Katie Cruel (3) goes out for Graham Motion, who has a fantastic record with these types. Over the past five years, he is 17 for 55 (31 percent, $3.27 ROI) first off a trainer switch with foreign imports on turf getting Lasix. This filly has only gone six furlongs twice so far in her career, but she beat 20 rivals to break her maiden back in March, and the Timeform Foreign Comments in TimeformUS PPs indicate that she “offers hope she’ll stay further so could be worth a try in a Guineas trial now,” suggesting that stakes could yet be in her future.

While Katie Cruel is more of a guess based on form, there’s no guessing about the class that Quivery (6) showed in England last year. She won her first couple of starts before finishing a good fourth in a Group 3 last August, which was won by eventual Group 1 One Thousand Guineas winner Billesdon Brook. She fell apart in her final start of the season against the best fillies in her division, and now resurfaces for a U.S. campaign. She has apparently worked very well over the Saratoga training track in recent weeks and has always been cut out to be a good horse given her expensive purchase price and solid pedigree (she is a close relative to stakes winner Mrs. McDougal). I’m using both of these fillies, but I’m concerned about the pace in this race.

There is not much early speed in this field, and that could make COOL BEANS (9) very dangerous. This filly has never actually crossed the wire first in any of her starts, but she has nevertheless run well every time she’s been led over. She ran arguably the best race of her career when making her 3-year-old debut at Keeneland in April, as she set a legitimate pace before just succumbing to next-out graded stakes winners Toinette and La Signare. They tried dirt with her a couple of times, but she proved last time at Arlington that she’s more effective racing over grass. She needs to take a step forward to beat this field, but that seems highly possible given the favorable set of circumstances today. She appeared to be a happy, thriving horse in her recent fast drill over the Oklahoma turf course, and I believe she’ll be difficult to run down.