Saratoga Racing Tips: Mark Milligan is kicking off his new column with a pair of selections

Switch to turf could be the key for Afjan

Saratoga 19:49: Afjan 1pt win at minimum 5.59/2

The well-bred Afjan started life under the ownership of Al Shaqab Racing, whilst in the care of Todd Pletcher, and he showed plenty of ability on dirt, finishing in the frame in a trio of maidens at Tampa Bay Downs and Keeneland.

Presumably sold privately after the third of those, he now races in different colours and has joined the excellent Mike Maker, who also kept him to dirt for the first two starts under his stewardship.

Afjan showed next to nothing in both those outings, but he intrigues me now as he steps up in trip while switching to turf for the very first time.

Maker has had lots of success with his turf horses over the years and this one is sired by strong turf influence Uncle Mo, while his dam was also a winner on the grass.

He's also a half-brother to Toro Strike, a four-time turf winner for Richard Fahey, which included a success in the Group 3 Supreme Stakes at Goodwood.

Class dropper could be the one in first-time headgear

Saratoga 20:21: Tommy Gun 1pt win at minimum 3.02/1

The key to finding the winners of maiden claimers on the dirt is often to concentrate on class droppers who have plenty of speed in their locker, and Tommy Gun fits that bill to a tee in this $40k content.

He made a promising debut in maiden special weight company at Aqueduct in March, setting a pressured pace before fading to finish fourth in the end.

His next run is easily forgiven as he had some trouble at the start and ended up poorly positioned in a relatively strong stakes race.

He showed his customary speed back in special weight company last time, though ended up well beaten in the end.

He now gets what appears to be a much-needed drop in grade, while he's also been gelded since that last run and is donning first-time blinkers.

Tommy Gun's trainer George Weaver has an excellent record when putting headgear on one for the first time and it looks significant that leading Jockey Irad Ortiz is sticking with this one when he would presumably have been in high demand elsewhere.