Jockey Club Gold Cup highlights final Saturday at Saratoga

By NY Hot List Staff | Friday, September 2, 2022

It used to take place at Belmont Park, but now the Jockey Club Gold Cup has become a fixture at Saratoga and will help bring down the curtain on the glorious 40-day meet. The $1 million dollar Grade 1 stakes highlights the final Saturday card and with its conclusion will leave just two days of racing at the Spa. Though there have been plenty of short fields throughout the meet, the JCGC attracted a well-matched field of eight that includes four starters from trainer Todd Pletcher (Dynamic One, Americanrevolution, Untreated and Keepmeinmind) and top contenders from Bill Mott in Olympiad and Shug McGaughey in First Captain.

Here’s the Hot List picks for the 1 ¼ mile Jockey Club Gold Cup:

$1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) Saratoga, Saturday, Race 11

(8) Dynamic One is finally reaching his full potential after flashing so much talent early in his career when he missed winning the Wood Memorial (G2) by a head. This year he won the Blame at Churchill Downs and then the Suburban (G2) going the ten furlongs after battling down the stretch. (6) First Captain is another one who is finally getting to his best form. He began his career with three wins last year. He won the Pimlico Special (G3) and then rallied late in the Suburban but came up second. He lost twice to Dynamic One. (2) Olympiad dominated the division with 5 wins in a row in the late winter and early spring. There were four graded stakes wins but the streak ended when he was fourth in the Whitney (G1). In his other Grade 1 race he was also fourth in the Cigar Mile. (7) Keepmeinmind moved to the barn of Todd Pletcher after racing exclusively in graded stakes on the Derby trail, in the Derby, the Preakness, and the Travers. He ran well in all of those big races. In his 2022 debut he had an impressive allowance victory at Saratoga at the beginning of the meeting.

The rest of the NY Hot List picks and the Special Saturday Pick 3 are available free of charge at this website.