Whitney and Personal Ensign Analysis Featuring Tom's d'Etat and Midnight Bisou.

Today, we. will watch some of the most talented horses come to Saratoga for races such as the Allen H. Jerkens, Personal Ensign, and the Whitney Stakes, where these races will give us early peeks into some of the top Breeders Cup contenders. Today, we will be doing a full analysis of the Personal Ensign and the Whitney Stakes, both Grade 1 races. 

The Personal Ensign (G1): This race is a race that Midnight Bisou, the best mare in the country, and one of the best horses in the world, will hope to dominate the competition here at 2-5. There is no doubt that she is the best horse in this field, as she made Serengeti Empress, winner of the Kentucky Oaks last year, look like a pony. Motion Emotion or Vexatious will look to challenge her, along with Point of Honor, but if you want any value in this race, you will need to pair Midnight Bisou with a longer shot like Vexatious or Motion Emotion. Vexatious nearly beat Blue Prize last year in the Summer Colony, only loosing by a neck, and has run decently since that outing, but just is not up to par to win this race. Motion Emotion finished second to Midnight Bisou last time out int he Fleur de Lis (G2) and she has run decently in the past. She seems to be a solid second choice here to give this race some value. Point of Honor has run very well in the past, but her speed figures just are not up to par with the rest of the contenders, even if she has run fairly well in races such as the Ogden Phillips (2nd)(G1) and the Apple Blossom (3rd)(G1).

The Whitney (G1): The biggest and most important race on the card, as whoever wins this race will go on as a possible favorite in the Breeders Cup Classic, plus a free ticket to the Classic in November. By My Standards will look to rebound off a solid 2nd place in. the Stephen Foster (G2), against rival Tom's d'Etat. Before that, he had won 3 straight races, including the Oaklawn Handicap and the New Orleans Classic. Improbable is coming off an impressive 3 length win in the Gold Cup (G1) at Santa Anita. Before that, the City Zip colt had struggled, with a 5th in the breeders Cup Mile, and his lone win being a 98k stakes at Del Mar. Code of Honor, who came to Saratoga last year for the Travers, will return back to try and make another run at the Classic. He is coming off a close third to Vekoma in the Metropolitan, and the race seemed too short for his liking. Today, he will have more distance, and he seems to be in solid form for this race. Mr. Buff has dominated at the NY bred stakes ranks, but he has struggled in graded company and this race just seems to be way out of his ability. Tom's d'Etat, one of the best horses in the US, will look to stamp his ticket to the Classic with a win here.  He is the best horse in the race, coming of 4 straight wins of 100+ Beyer figures, but the speed has not been working at Saratoga recently.  Though, I think he might just be way better than any bias, he will still have a very tough test coming from By My Standards, Improbable, and Code of Honor. Even Mr. Buff could give him pace problems today which could affect his chances in this race.