PREVIEW - King's Bishop Stakes (Grade 1)

9:33 Saratoga - King's Bishop Stakes (Grade 1) - Seven furlongs do bring often different types of horses together. Sprinters that try to stretch their stamina, and those with a bit more stamina who try to come down in trip. 7f is such a diffiult trip, yet that makes it quite an interesting test here today. Favourite Coup De Grace won the Grade 2 Amsterdam Stakes over 6 1/2 furlongs in fine style last month here at Saratoga. He needs a strong place as is usually hold up far off the speed. It seems likely that this race won't end in a crawl, and he gets 7f as he proved in the past. Solid favourite, seeking a first success on the highest level. Well fancied is the very reliable and consistent Wildcat Red. Third in the G1 Haskell recently, albeit a long way beaten by the winner, drops in trip and will try to be right up with the pace ensuring it's a stamina test, as one would think, despite some form over shorter in the book, that 8-9f is his optimum. He has obvious claims, but might found one or another too speedy in the finish.

Lightly raced The Big Beast has earned himself a place in this field thanks to two impressive performances in the last couple of weeks. he followed up on his maiden success with a wide margin victory in allowance company here at Saratoga, earning a very high Beyer figure, suggesting he is very much up to pattern class. He'll have learned plenty from that run against older horses, as connections are certainly hoping. They opted against a run in the Amsterdam and decided to give him an easier run to gain more experience. The Big Beast is stepping up in trip, but on pedigree he should have no issues with that whatsoever. Receiving a bit of weight from the other well fancied runners must give him a chance to be competitive. He worked impressively at the track last week too. Fast Anna is another lightly raced runner. The colt was a 13 lengths winner on her second only start last month. It remains to be seen if she is good to enough to contest in a Grade 1 though. 

Verdict: Plenty of pace in this race with three or four usually ridden on the lead. Will be interesting to see how that pans out and there won't be any hiding place if it comes to staying the trip. That should ensure that Wildcat Red has a good chance to run a big race, bringing his stamina into play. The likely quick race will certainly suit Coup De Grace's hold-up running style. While The Big Beast might be able to settle behind the pace, switching off and using his raw power when it matters at the tight time. He's a very interesting runner and has loads of potential to improve. It's a big step up in class, but he could be quite a big price when he is able to run to the level of lass he hinted to potentially have in his last two. 

The Big Beast @ 4/1 Betfair (SB) - 3pts win