Last weekend at Saratoga, I saw Mary Lou Whitney and her husband, John Hendrickson, judge a hat contest called “Hats Off to Saratoga” in which one contestant had made a hat that was, in fact, a representation of Mrs. Whitney and Mr. Hendrickson. Atop this woman’s head they sat – Mrs. Whitney in a miniature hat, Mr. Hendrickson in a blue blazer with a lapel pin, sitting in a Saratoga box, watching the races. I’m not sure, but I believe the Whitney hat won.

This Saturday, Saratoga will host another tribute to Mrs. Whitney in the 78th running of the Grade 1 $750,000 Whitney Handicap, run over 1 1/8 miles.

The race is for 3-year-olds and up, a division with a notable void at the top since the retirement of Ghostzapper in June. The Zapper came back as reigning Horse of the Year after an undefeated 2004 season in which he posted one of the highest Beyer figs of all time and won races at multiple distances, including running away with the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Lone Star Park. The Whitney is one of the year’s biggest races; will any of the eight horses entered have the juice to replace him?

Now could be the time for Saint Liam, who got the second slot to jump from, and jump he will. Edgar Prado is up, and you can expect they’ll use the inside position to get up into the race immediately. Saint Liam likes to be on the pace, and Saratoga has been favoring speed.

He’s going to have a lot of company up there, though. In the no. 3 slot is Wiggins, with Mike Guidry up. This 5-year-old, who will be taking a big step up in class, has won 11 of his 23 starts, and hit the board another nine.

He was last out in an Optional Claiming race at Churchill Downs, which was an expensive race, surely, but this is Saratoga Grade 1 action, and his Beyer figs are no match for the horses here.

There are two ways of looking at that – either he’s way out of his league, or his odds are going to be wonderful. I think he’s going to figure, and I like the latter angle.

Wiggins will have to overcome Commentator, also looking to be involved in the early pace of this race, and also stepping up in class to appear in a Grade 1 Saratoga handicap. His 121 Beyer in a 7-furlong Optional Claimer at Belmont on June 29 is the highest fig here, but his lackluster stakes debut at Gulfstream Park in January, run at 1 1/8,must cast doubt on his ability to run two turns. Commentator is otherwise undefeated, having run in races 1 mile and under. But stretching out to the 1 1/4, he had nothing left. He’s the quickest of the quick here, but he won’t stick.

Pollard’s Vision is also in the speed of this race, so long as he can get far enough over to the left from his dismal eighth post. The far outside is an okay spot for Pollard’s Vision, who is blind in his right eye due to Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome, which swept Kentucky the year he was born, often with fatal consequences. He was lucky. Now, at least, he’ll be able to see all the horses in the race.

Coming from back off the pace will be Eurosilver and Limehouse, the latter of which is always an interesting horse – if maddeningly inconsistent. Just when you think he’s a lock, he turns in a clunker; when you think you’ve spent your last dollar backing him, he turns around and wins a race with impressive professionalism. So which is it going to be?

I think he’s set for a rebound. There’s going to be a lot of horse on the front of this race. Limehouse will rate just off the leaders, then close hard to take it.

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Just as Ghostzapper’s departure opened the field for older horses, Afleet Alex’s disappointing sidelining has left some room among the 3-year-olds.At the rate these horses have been hurt, it’s likely that we’ll see a year in which the top 3-year-olds are never running at the same time.

On July 4, Roman Ruler returned to racing after falling off the Triple Crown trail with a quarter crack. He took the Dwyer that day at Belmont, and is now the favorite in the $1 million Haskell invitational down on the Jersey Shore this Saturday.

A late addition to the card at Monmouth is Nick Zito-trained Sun King. Sun King was an early Derby favorite, but finished 15th in the run for the roses. After disappointing at Pimlico as well, he was given a break, and returned to race in the July 17 Leonard Richards stakes at Delaware Park. He won it easily.

I say look out for long shot Papi Chullo in the Haskell. This horse finally broke his maiden last out in a Maiden Special Weight July 15 at Belmont. He had been knocking on the door for a long time, running some very good races to place early in the year. Following a disappointing run in the April 2 Florida Derby, he took a break and came back to win at Belmont. It seems the light has finally turned on.