Diana Stakes: Bleecker Street Deserves to Be the Favorite

Check out our predictions and odds for the 2022 Diana Stakes at Saratoga!

Diana Stakes Best Bets & Picks

Here are my plays ($40 in total)

$10 Exacta Box – Creative Flair and Bleecker Street = $20

$10 Exacta Box – Creative Flair and Rougir = $20

If you’re playing only to win, go with my top pick Creative Flair (5/1).

Check out our Horse Racing Calculator to ensure your bets!

Led by the undefeated Bleecker Street, trainer Chad Brown has a loaded hand with four talented turf mares leading the way in Saturday’s Grade 1 Diana on the turf at Saratoga.

A 4-year-old, who at this time last year was still unraced, Bleecker Street has rattled off seven consecutive wins, including four graded stakes.

Most recently, the gray daughter of Quality Road scored a rallying victory in the Grade 1 New York at Belmont Park five weeks ago.

A group 1 winner in her native France, Rougir disappointed last time when fifth behind Bleecker Street in the New York, but was an impressive winner of the Grade 3 Beaugay before that.

Technical Analysis, twice a graded stakes winner at Saratoga last summer, was a strong winner of the Grade 3 Gallorette at Pimlico last time.

In Italian, is the final of the Brown four, and has won half of her six career starts. Third in the Grade 1 Just A Game last time, she won the Grade 3 Honey Fox earlier this year.

If anyone can stop the quartet from Brown, it would likely be the European invader Creative Flair.

From the powerful connections of Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby, she won the  Group 2 Balanchine at Meydan in her last start on February 4.

The Diana Predictions and Race Analysis

Bleecker Street

Until someone beats her, this daughter of Quality Road deserves to be the favorite in a big race like the Diana. It’s really remarkable how far she has come since making her debut just 11 months ago.

Her latest looks like her best race yet, when she scored her first Grade 1 victory, and she did so by rallying into a slow pace. She is likely to get a faster pace set up on Saturday, but she also faces her classiest competition to date.

She is the one to beat and deserves to be the favorite, but something tells me that this will prove to be her toughest test yet.

Rougir

A very expensive purchase last winter after a strong 3-year-old season which saw her defeat top mares in the Group 1 Prix de l’Opera in October, she is 1-for-2 so far this year for her new connections.

At her best, I have a feeling that she can beat just about any turf horse in the world, but the 5-of-16 career record is a bit of a concern, as is her disappointing run last time in the New York.

She should get a much better pace scenario this time as she cuts back to 9 furlongs, and could earn her second U.S. victory on Saturday. She is a big threat.

Technical Analysis

A very consistent stakes performer for Brown, I never got the feeling that this was one of his best. Maybe it was that five-length loss to Shantisara last fall at Keeneland that led me to that belief.

Having said that, she is 2-for-2 at Saratoga and is coming off a very nice front-running win at Pimlico. She is dangerous as always, but until I see her beat true grade 1 fillies and mares, I cannot pick her in a race of this caliber.

Creative Flair

It’s tough to pick against trainer Chad Brown and his fearsome foursome in the Diana, but there is a lot to like about this Irish-bred Godolphin homebred.

Still improving after nine career starts, she did not embarrass herself in top class racing in America last year, while likely running in races a little longer than her best. She returned at 4 with a big performance in Dubai, staying close to the pace and pouncing to the lead early in the stretch.

She looks to get a similar trip here and once again will be running at her preferred 9 furlong trip. She’s been away for a few months, but I trust Appleby to have her ready for this important race. She is the top pick to upset the Brown apple cart.

In Italian

The fourth and final one from the Brown barn, this Dubawi filly has done little wrong in her brief six-race career. Never out of the money, she has moved nicely into graded stakes racing with a first, second and a third in her first three tries.

She also might have the most speed of anyone in the compact field. Still, it does not look to be an easy pace for her and this will be a tough race to carry her speed all the way. Beaten in her last two, I am not on her here, but it would not surprise me if she breaks through in a big one sometime soon.

Dalika

This Al Stall, Jr. trained German-bred mare has been a solid stakes performer the last few years, but still looks like the most unlikely winner in this group. She does have speed to add to the mix and is coming off a solid second in the Grade 3 Mint Julep at Churchill Downs last time.

She hasn’t won in three previous tries at Saratoga, and this looks like a very tough spot. More likely that she is part of the pace rather than a major player in the late going.

How to watch the Diana Stakes