SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — It's simple, really. When asked to give an assessment of his 3-year-old colt Commandment (Into Mischief), his trainer Brad Cox didn't need a lot of words.“He tries hard, he is very honest,” Cox said after watching horses train on the Oklahoma Training Track.There you have it. Commandment, owned by Wathnan Racing, is going to give you his best shot race after race. The next race is Saturday and Cox expects more of the same from the colt, who has four wins in seven career starts when he goes to the post as the 6-5 morning line favorite in the GII, $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes.Just look at the resume. He showed his toughness in Florida over the winter when he gutted out wins in the GII Fountain of Youth (by a neck) and GI Florida Derby (by a nose). The GI Kentucky Derby was a blip on the radar for Commandment, who did not show the usual fight to the wire when finishing seventh.He regained his style in the GI Belmont Stakes, battling Golden Tempo (Curlin) to the wire before relinquishing and coming up 1 1/4 lengths short.“I expect him to run as well as he did in the Belmont,” Cox said.The Jim Dandy is 1 1/8 miles, a distance that he won the Florida Derby at. And, for the first time, Cox will be putting blinkers on Commandment, who will be reunited with jockey Flavien Prat, who rode him in the Florida Derby.“He sometimes gets a little lost on the turns, the far turn and I'm hoping that will keep hm up in the bridle a little bit more,” Cox said about having blinkers on for the first time. “He has responded well with them in training – not every single day – but it seems to be a positive move.”Commandment did not arrive in Saratoga until this week, training at Cox's base at Churchill Downs.Welcome Back to the Races Silent TacticThe assignment at hand is a big one. Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse is the first to acknowledge that.Silent Tactic | Sarah AndrewSilent Tactic (Tacitus), who made a little bit of noise on the Triple Crown trail earlier this year, will make his first start since March when he runs in Saturday's GII, $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes, the Saratoga prep for the Aug. 29, GI, $1.25 million Travers Stakes.Casse isn't sure what he'll see from the John Oxley-owned Silent Tactic, who was last seen finishing second – beaten by four lengths by Renegade (Into Mischief) – in the GI Arkansas Derby on March 28.A bruised foot knocked him out of the GI Kentucky Derby and the nagging injury didn't allow him to run in the GI Preakness Stakes either. Casse then pointed him to a summer campaign and now, here we are.The Jim Dandy attracted just five runners, but two of them are heavyweights from the Triple Crown–Renegade and Commandment (Into Mischief). Renegade was second in the Kentucky Derby, beat just a neck by Golden Tempo (Curlin) and third in the Belmont, also won by Golden Tempo.Commandment was seventh in the Derby and second in the Belmont. Silent Tactic is 6-1 on the Jim Dandy morning line. Luis Saez will ride him for the first time.“I have done enough with him so he should run well,” Casse said outside his barn on the backstretch. “It's a tall task.”Silent Tactic had a good winter at Oaklawn Park, finishing second in the Smarty Jones Stakes, winning the GIII Southwest and missing by a nose in the GII Rebel before the Arkansas Derby.Casse said it took Silent Tactic awhile to announce himself as a bona fide runner.“If you go back to this time last year, Silent Tactic could not outwork a horse,” Casse said. “He was just a horse.”But, as time moved forward, so did Silent Tactic. He blossomed at Oaklawn and now has a record of six career starts with two wins and four seconds. Consistent as they come. Now, the biggest test awaits. Commandment is the 6-5 morning line favorite; Renegade is right behind at 7-5.“From a physical standpoint, he is as good as I have ever seen him,” Casse said. “Obviously, this is a difficult situation that he has not run since March. He has to go and compete at the top and that is not easy. I just want a good effort out of him so I can feel I can move him forward.”Riley Mott Hoping Saratoga is Special to Him SaturdayA couple weeks ago, as trainer Riley Mott stood outside his barn on the Saratoga backstretch, he said he had a few horses to keep an eye on.One of them was a 2-year-old colt named How's Al Today (Munnings). Keep an eye on him Saturday because he's running in the GII, $250,000 Saratoga Special.“You are always hopeful,” Mott said Friday morning between sets on the Saratoga backstretch. “He is bred the right way; he moves the right way and he trains the right way.”How's Al Today, owned by Al Gold's Gold Square LLC, comes into the Saratoga Special off a maiden win at Churchill Downs on June 4 in his first career start.He didn't have the same visually impressive win as Flight Command (Flightline) did when he won his career debut at Aqueduct by 10 lengths. And he wasn't as flashy as Booked (Yaupon) was when he won the GIII Sanford by six lengths on the Fourth of July here in his third start.Booked is the 7-5 morning-line favorite in the Special; Flight Command is the 9-5 second choice.How's Al Today (6-1) was a 1 1/4-length winner in his debut, and he impressed his trainer mightily.“Our horse was impressive in a different type of way,” Mott said. “He took a lot of dirt, weaved through traffic and came tunning. It was a professional effort; not necessarily running off the screen in a very fast time (1:05.26). The question now is 'is he fast enough?'When Mott, the 34-year-old son of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, has a string at Saratoga for the first time. His stable stars–GII Wood Memorial winner Albus (Yaupon) and Incredibolt (Bold d'Oro), the sixth-place finisher in the GI Kentucky Derby, are both getting time off.Mott is looking for horses to step up and fill the void. Perhaps How's Al Today can do that on Saturday.“He is carrying the torch at the moment,” Mott said. “Horses can be a little delicate at times. You train them until they tell you to stop and, luckily, he has not told us to stop yet.” The post Saratoga Notebook, presented by NYRABets: The Next Commandment: Win the Jim Dandy appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.