Top pick: #7 (COLMONT KID) (3-1) - One of two entered by Hall of Famer Jonathan Sheppard and the pair race uncoupled. This home bred has been freshened up since July 17th when he finished second here when facing a bit better. That earned him his best figure to date and he meets a weak field on paper. The horse to beat.
2nd pick: #12 (Post Pattern) (5-1) - New York bred is on the also-eligible list and needs one scratch in the main body to compete. Long time maiden takes a big drop in class and has been competitive in the past when facing much tougher. A strong win candidate if he gets to run.
3rd pick: #1 (West Ender) (10-1) - The second of the Sheppard pair, he makes his debut off a series of local works and is bred to like both the grass and this distance. Gelding need not be much to factor against these.
4th pick: #8 (Lovers Quay) (5-1) - The probable main speed, ships down from Monmouth where he showed nothing on a good track in a race that was switched off the turf. Lightly-raced and he displayed fine early speed before weakening in his only grass race to date. Dangerous if left alone for the first half-mile.
5th pick: #2 (Silent Patience) (12-1) - Canadian bred ships in from Penn National where he rallied strongly to finish a close up fourth on July 24th. A solid effort and he's a stretch threat if the pace is fast and/or contested.