How to bet the 2026 Coronation Cup Stakes

A talented cast of six three-year-old fillies are entered for the grass in Saturday’s $225,000 Coronation Cup (G3) at Saratoga. I feel that Three Diamonds Farm’s #3 Sapphire Beach (5-2) has found her niche as a turf sprinter, and I will back her to pick up her first stakes trophy in the 5 1/2 furlong dash on the green. Trained by Rusty Arnold, the No Nay Never filly was a $57,000 yearling purchase who flashed potential as a two-year-old for a conditioner who is often better with experienced runners, and she has improved as a three-year-old. 

Coronation Cup Wagers

• $20 win #3 Sapphire Beach ($20)
• $10 exacta box 2,3 ($20)
• $5 trifecta 2,3 with 2,3 with 4 ($10)

The Irish-bred filly went 3 1/2 lengths clear under the wire to graduate on the Gulfstream Park sod in her 2026 unveiling, and two races later she just missed behind the impressive Slay the Day at Keeneland in the Limestone (G3). She most recently dominated allowance runners on the Churchill Downs green on May 31 and has produced four productive morning moves in preparation for her Saratoga debut. The red-hot Jose Ortiz will once again pilot Sapphire Beach. 

Grade 1 vixen #2 Cy Fair (3-5) is the deserving favorite in the field for conditioner George Weaver. By the fantastic Not This Time, the three-year-old bay has never missed the board in her six-race career in advance of Saturday, and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint (G1) star was last seen driving home to an impressive victory in the deep Mamzelle (G3) at Churchill Downs, as well. 

Cy Fair was a going-away debut winner on the local green last summer, which preceded a close runner-up result in the subsequent Bolton Landing S., proving that she has an affinity for the oval. The versatile sort proved in her last outing that she can adapt to any pace scenario, and she will be very tough to upend with her best showing. John Velazquez inherits the live mount. 

The stakes-winning #4 Cadenza (8-1) is the most likely third-place finisher in the heat for conditioner Brad Cox. The Charlatan chestnut broke her maiden on the strip and comes off a clear third in the Soaring Softly (G3) here on June 7. The stalker has the tactical speed to stay close to the expected moderate tempo early on with Manny Franco on board.