Schuylerville -- e

TRACK BANDIT GRADED PREVIEWS

Saratoga's 36-day meet kicks off Wednesday with the $100,000 Schuylerville S.

(G3) highlighting the 10-race card, and while we hate to reduce handicapping to

a mere numbers game, especially when it concerns two year-old fillies who each

have a license to improve dramatically, the six-furlong feature appears to boil

down to the swift maiden winners COLLEGIATE (Saarland) and OCEAN COLORS

(Orientate).

The slightly less heralded Collegiate is our choice to follow up on her 2

1/4-length maiden triumph at Belmont on June 19, for which she earned a 100 BRIS

Speed rating. The Mark Hennig trainee flashed impressive early speed that day

and pulled away late over Softly Spoken (Greatness), who flattered Collegiate by

breaking her maiden in her very next start at Belmont. We like this pedigree,

too. Collegiate's two known siblings to race were the multiple stakes winner The

Student (Arg), and the Group 3-winning and U.S. Grade 1-placed mare Good Student

(Arg).

Of course, the pedigree of Ocean Colors has been written about extensively

since her 5 1/2-length score at Churchill on June 13, as she is the penultimate

foal out of Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Winning Colors, who passed away earlier

this year. The Steve Asmussen charge, who earned a 103 Speed rating at first

asking, will attempt to follow in her mother's footsteps by entering the

Saratoga winner's circle. Though not officially the two-year-old champion filly

of 1987, Winning Colors won both her starts that season including her Saratoga

debut over Epitome, who wound up being named divisional champion following her

narrow Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) victory.

Another filly with a nice family is JARDIN (Montbrook), also trained by

Asmussen, who is a full sister to Flash S. (G3) winner Beacon Shine. Jardin also

won at first asking over the Churchill strip, though not as swiftly as her

stablemate. Breaking from the far outside post, she will probably have to revert

to a stalking role here.

MINE ALL MINE (Belong to Me), the only maiden in the field, is due for better

luck. She had to endure bumping in both her Keeneland debut and the Kentucky S.

(G3) at Churchill. Last time over the Louisville track, she lost her footing

at the start but lost by only 1 3/4 lengths while facing colts.

While she is likely to be gunning for the lead, one candidate likely to pick up

some of the pieces late is CHARTREUX (Tale of the Cat), who rallied from near

the back to win her debut by a neck over New York-breds despite running greenly.

We don't know how good the Delaware Park maiden winners MANI BHAVEN (Storm

Boot) and BOOM TOWN SALLY (Yes It's True) are, but both drew off to win their

respective races by a wide margin. Calder graduate RENDA (Medaglia d'Oro)

endured a wide trip in the Debutante S. (G3) last out and is probably better

than what she showed that day. OUCHY NIGHT (Cactus Ridge), a dominant winner

against New York-bred company first out, might be rallying from off the pace

this time.

Debutante also-ran CAMERON CRAZIES (Lion Heart) had no major excuse last time,

while GIRLFRIENONTHESIDE (Indian Charlie) exits a distant runner-up finish in

the Astoria S., a race that doesn't appear to have attracted much outside the

winning Bold Union (Dixie Union).