Thursday, 11 July 2019 15:00

Weezie at the Flag Pole: Opening Weekend

By Louisa Foye | Winner's Circle

Perhaps there will be no finer cure for what ails the beleaguered Sport of Kings than the eagerly anticipated opening of Saratoga this week.

In spite of one controversy after another, spanning from coast to coast this past year, the fans will once again flock to the Spa. No matter how many doomsday scenarios are written, the timeless allure of Saratoga remains untainted, and like the old grandstand and clubhouse, refuses to be tarnished.

As with the 2-year-old fillies that will grace the course Opening Day in the 6-furlong, Grade 3 Schuylerville, hope springs eternal every summer in Saratoga, when we turn back the hands of time and bow down to the honored tradition.

I’m looking forward to seeing Todd Pletcher’s classy 2-year-old filly, Kiss the Girl, a daughter of Into Mischief, out of Spin the Bottle by Hard Spun, make her debut at the Spa in the Schuylerville, as she showed impressive speed in a 5 furlong test on June 12 at Belmont, winning by 4-1/2 lengths in 58.57. She will be ridden by Johnny Velazquez.

Wesley Ward and George Bolton obviously have confidence in their 2-year-old filly, Aurelia Garland, as they cross-nominated her for both the Schuylerville and a shot at the boys in the Sanford. She’s now listed in the recently released entries for the Schuylerville and will be ridden by Jersey Joe Bravo.

Todd has also entered another juvi filly, Integral, with Luis Saez up, while Doug O’Neill has entered a pair with Shippy and Jose Ortiz, and Comical, with Javi Castellano aboard. Gary Contessa has entered Buxom Beast, in what will be her career debut, under Joel Rosario.

The Opening Day card will also feature the Grade 3 Quick Call, a 5-1/2 furlong turf sprint for 3-year-olds, while the upgraded Forbidden Apple, a mile on the turf for 4-year-olds and up, formerly run at Belmont, will now be run as a Grade 3 on Friday at the Spa.

Wesley Ward thinks highly of his 3-year-old filly Abyssinian, too, as he cross-nominated her for both the Quick Call and Sunday’s Coronation Cup, also a 5-1/2 furlong turf sprint, but for 3-year-old fillies.

Abyssinian is now entered for the Quick Call, and will be ridden by Johnny V, while Jason Servis’ and Michael Dubb’s Call Paul will have Manny Franco up, and Luis Saez will be on Todd Pletcher’s Sombeyay.

Friday’s Forbidden Apple will feature the return of Barry Schwartz and Linda Rice’s beloved 5-year-old New York-bred, Voodoo Song, going a mile on the inner turf. The son of English Channel became a part of Saratoga racing lore when he went 4-4 as a 3-year-old in 2017, capping his amazing 6-week winning streak off with a victory over future Grade 1 winners, Yoshida and Bricks and Mortar, in the closing day Grade 3 Saranac.

Voodoo Song returned last summer and proved he was truly a “horse for a course”, when he made it 5 straight at the Spa, by capturing the Grade 1 Fourstardave as a 4-year-old. His “Spa Magic” would run out, however, in the Bernard Baruch on closing day, when he finished 5th.

Voodoo Song was put on the shelf following a disappointing outing in the Shadwell Turf Mile last October at Keeneland, but hopefully he’ll be ready to go in the Forbidden Apple after a 9-month layoff. He won last year’s edition when it was still run at Belmont, but he’ll have to face stiff competition to be a repeat winner.

Six other graded stakes winners are entered, including Shadwell Farms’ and Kieran McLaughlin’s Qurbaan, Chad Brown’s pair of Offering Plan and Made You Look, and Mark Casse’s pair of March to the Arch, who recently won the Grade 2 Wise Dan, and First Premio.

The main attraction on Friday, however, will undoubtedly be Mariano Rivera, as the 13-time All Star for the Yankees will take center stage one week before his Cooperstown induction. As the very first unanimous Hall of Fame selection in history, “Mo” will certainly garner as much attention in the Winner’s Circle, as he did with first ballot voters!

The first Grade 1 of the meet will take place on Saturday in the 81st running of the $500K Diana Stakes, for fillies and mares on the turf at a mile and 1/8. 

You can bet that Chad Brown will be well represented again this year, as he was last year, when he sent out a talented trio, including the eventual winner, Sistercharlie, plus A Raving Beauty and New Money Honey.

We may see a repeat winner this year, as Sistercharlie is nominated again, or perhaps Chad’s 4-year-old star, Rushing Fall, or maybe his 5-year-old mare, Rymska, will take the honors! Six of the 15 nominees’ race for Chad, as he also nominated Thais, Homerique, and Competitionofideas.

And as is always the case, Chad has other talented turf mares in his stable, too. One is Michael Dubb’s 5-year-old, Uni. Coming back after yet another 6-month layoff, Uni recorded her fifth straight victory going a mile. Under an easy hand ride by Joel Rosario, Uni took the Perfect Sting at Belmont, and is expected to next challenge the boys in the Grade 1 Fourstardave on August 10.

Another of Chad’s talented mares is the 6-year-old router, Santa Monica. Her last two outings have been victories at a mile and 3/8, in the Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay in early May at Belmont, and in the Grade 3 Orchid at Gulfstream in late March, and hopefully we’ll see her later in the meet.

There will certainly be stiff competition for turf dates, however, between Saratoga and the Arlington Million Day card on August 10, and I’ll be interested to see how it plays out. 

With his usual embarrassment of riches, Chad also boasts an amazing lineup of 3-year-old fillies, and leading the way is his breakout star, Guarana. She defeated Tom Amoss’ Kentucky Oaks winner, Serengeti Empress, by 6 lengths in the recent Grade 1 Acorn at Belmont, and the homebred daughter of Ghostzapper broke her maiden at Keeneland by 14+ lengths. The sky is surely the limit for Guarana!

Jose Ortiz not only has the luxury of riding Guarana, but he also has the mount on another star 3-year-old filly for Chad in Dunbar Road, who cruised to victory in the Grade 2 Mother Goose.

The third 3-year-old star filly in Chad’s barn is the undefeated Royal Charlotte. The daughter of Cairo Prince just won the Victory Ride at Belmont last Friday by 4 lengths under Javi Castellano, and she’d previously won the Hysterical Lady at Monmouth.

Chad has Royal Charlotte pegged as a sprinter, and she will next face a very talented field in the $500K, 7-furlong, Grade 1 Test on August 3.

Expected to run against RC in the Test are Serengeti Empress, Simon Callaghan’s Bellafina, who is also cutting back to one turn after a dismal Kentucky Oaks outing like SE, and Brad Cox’s talented pair of Covfefe and Break Even.

Covfefe served notice to her competition in the Grade 3 Miss Preakness that she’s a real fireball, when she blazed her way to a track record of 1:07.70 for the 6 furlongs, earning herself a gaudy 107 Beyer.

Guarana is slated to next run in the $500K, Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks on July 20, where she’ll face Ian Wilkes’ Champagne Anyone and George Weaver’s Point of Honor, in the 1-1/8-mile contest.

The CCAO will serve as a prep for Guarana’s anticipated showdown with her stablemate Dunbar Road in the $600K, Grade 1 Alabama on August 17, run at the classic 1-1/4 mile distance. Dunbar Road will train up to the Alabama, and Jose Ortiz will have a decision to make.

The 2-year-old colts will make their Saratoga debut two days after the fillies, on opening Saturday in the 6-furlong, Grade 3 Sanford Stakes. These races are the first in a series of three graded stakes, at increasing distances and purses, for the juvenile divisions throughout the meet. 

Although final entries were not yet released before my deadline, Steve Asmussen has nominated three colts for the Sanford with Basin, Memorable, and his speedy Rowdy Yates. Kathy Ritvo has nominated a pair for Reeves Thoroughbreds with Forceful One and He’s Super Lucky, while Doug O’Neill has a pair with Raging Whiskey and Scoring.

The series will continue on Sunday, August 4, when the juvi fillies will run in the 6-1/2 furlong, Grade 2 Adirondack for $200K, while the juvi colts will run the following Saturday for the same purse and at the same distance, in the Grade 2 Special.

The series will conclude closing weekend with the running of the $350K, 7-furlong, Grade 1 Spinaway for juvi fillies on Sunday, and the Grade 1 Hopeful for juvi colts on Labor Day, also with the same purse and at the same distance.

One of my favorite things about our prestigious Saratoga meet is the chance we have to witness greatness in the making, as we get our first glimpse at these regally bred babies.

Perhaps tops on my list of these babies is Chestertown, a New York-bred son of Tapit, named after the farm of his prolific breeders, Chester and Mary Broman. They retained an interest in their colt, who is the first foal out of their multiple Grade 1 sprinter/miler, Artemis Agrotera, who won the Frizette as a 2-year-old, and the Ballerina as a 3-year-old.

Chestertown, trained by Steve Asmussen, was purchased for $2 million at the OBS March Sale by the partnership of West Point Thoroughbreds, Rob Masiello and Siena Farm. He’s supposedly bigger than most Tapit babies, and with the influence on Artemis Agrotera’s side, perhaps seems best suited to follow in his Mama’s footsteps as a sprinter, and we can only hope they find a spot for him at the Spa!

Triple Crown hero, American Pharoah, sired his first Grade/Group winner, when his 2-year-old chesnut son, Maven, captured the G3 Prix du Bois June 29 at Chantilly in France. 

Although Maven broke his maiden at Aqueduct on April 19 in his first race for Wesley Ward, it appears that he will remain across the pond for another race at the end of July, sadly, bypassing Saratoga. He will return to Keeneland at a later date to prep for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint on November 1.

With the 3-year-old male division totally muddled, following the bizarre sequence of events along the Triple Crown trail, it can be argued that now more than ever, Chad Brown’s turf star, Bricks and Mortar, is the legitimate leader in the race for not only year’s end divisional honors, but also the Eclipse for Horse of the Year.

Although it is a rare feat, most recently accomplished by one of my all-time favorites, the incomparable Wise Dan, in back-to-back years in 2012 and 2013, it is nonetheless very difficult to convince the voters to select a turf star.

With the importance of turf racing in America on the rise, however, perhaps it won’t be that hard to envision Bricks and Mortar as the HOY, any more than it was 35 years ago when the great John Henry was also crowned.

After a 15+ month layoff, B&M has come back in 2019 to capture the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf at Gulfstream, the Grade 2 Mervin Muniz, Jr. Memorial ‘Cap at the Fairgrounds, the Grade 1 Turf Classic on the Kentucky Derby Day card, and most recently, the Grade 1 Manhattan at Belmont.

With the debut of the Turf Triple Series last Saturday at Belmont, and its continuation the first weekend of August at Saratoga, the rising stature of turf racing will be further cemented, helping B&M’s cause.

Many years I’ve been disappointed when the Eclipse has automatically gone to those who win the Breeders’ Cup, ignoring others’ yearlong body of work. It is also very frustrating when over and over again it is run at Santa Anita, giving a clear edge to west coast connections.

It is presumed that Bricks and Mortar’s next start will be in the Arlington Million, but with Chad Brown stating that his star’s preferred distance is 10 furlongs or less, the ultimate question is where will he place him after the Million?!

Most of the big turf races in the early Fall stretch out to longer distances, so if Chad insists on the shorter distances, will the Breeders’ Cup Mile be his target?

If he’s not thrilled with the prospect of meeting the top Euro stars in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, however, maybe he will go for the gusto, and follow in the footsteps of his sire, Giant’s Causeway, and enter the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

This could settle the question for the voters, but if he takes a less standard “route”, what will the outcome be?

Maximum Security, the DQ’ed Kentucky Derby winner, will next go in the Haskell on July 20th. With its date pushed up a week this year, and on a Saturday instead of a Sunday, trainer Jason Servis and owners Gary and Mary West will now have a full 5 weeks to decide if they’ll also enter the Travers, as will all the other connections.

Although Maximum Security placed his last time out in the Grade 3 Pegasus at Monmouth on June 16, he is still considered the leader of the pack, albeit a weakened one, based on his undefeated record leading up to the Derby.

Trainer Mark Casse has stated that he will consider entering his Preakness winner, War of Will, in the $600K, Grade 2 Jim Dandy on July 27, as his prep for the Travers.

WOW has been at Keeneland since his dull showing in the Belmont, but is scheduled to have one work at Churchill Downs before shipping to Saratoga. Casse will then decide if he should just train up to the Travers, after his grueling TC run, or if WOW will be ready for the Jim Dandy.

Trainer Bill Mott will follow the same scenario with Tacitus, Juddmonte’s homebred son of Tapit, as Casse will with WOW. ‘Tho Bill was disappointed after his heralded pupil was 2nd in the Belmont, his hopes remain high, as Tacitus still ran well, in spite of a really wide trip.

After winning the Tampa Bay Derby and the Wood Memorial, Tacitus was moved up to 3rd in the Kentucky Derby, when Mott’s 65-1 longshot, Country House, ironically gave him his first Kentucky Derby victory, over his more well-regarded stablemate.

As has been the trend in recent years, there will be new faces reaching for the top of the 3-year-old male division from now until the Breeders’ Cup, and Shug Mcgaughey’s Code of Honor seems primed to do so.

Code of Honor was destined for glory along the TC trail after he took the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream, but like Maximum Security, was spooked in the Kentucky Derby. He was, however, moved up to 2nd after the DQ.

Following his dominant performance at Belmont in last Saturday’s Dwyer, Code of Honor is definitely back. In spite of Johnny V losing his crop at the 16th pole, Code of Honor won with ease, and a hand ride was all that was needed. He’s ready to tackle his next mission at the Spa, where he broke his maiden last summer, and we’ll presumably see him next in the Travers.

It’s been a tough couple of months in California for Hall of Famers Richard Mandella and Jerry Hollendorfer, who are both widely regarded as not only great horsemen, but also gentlemen.

The always classy Mandella was dealt a stinging blow when his regal son of War Front, Omaha Beach, had to scratch out of the Kentucky Derby, as the morning line favorite. It was discovered that he had an entrapped epiglottis which required surgery, and it has had him sidelined since.

Although I had hoped to see OB in the Travers, per the Daily Racing Form’s Steve Anderson, it is more likely that Mandella will keep OB home to race in the non-graded $100K, 1 Mile Shared Belief at Delmar on August 25. 

In a change of strategy, Mandella has also listed the 7 furlong, $500K, Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens on Travers Day as a possibility, but it appears unlikely. It’s obvious, however, after OB captured the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby and the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes, also at Oaklawn, that a turn back seems to be in his cards.

It’s hard not to believe the widely claimed theory that Jerry Hollendorfer was just made the scapegoat by the Stronach Group, and in particular, Belinda, amidst the tragic backdrop that has been Santa Anita the past 6 months.

Everyone in the tightly knit horseracing community is devastated by each and every horrible accident, but to pinpoint a vast problem, and try to disgrace a Hall of Fame trainer in the process by suspending him, is unacceptable, imho!

Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen has a couple Eclipse contenders in his barn that I can’t wait to see run, with his magnificent 4-year-old filly, Midnight Bisou, and with his extremely talented sprinter, 4-year-old Mitole.

Midnight Bisou returned to the Spa for the summer, in anticipation of her start in the Personal Ensign on the Travers Day card. Following her resounding victory in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps on the Belmont Stakes card, she pushed her career earnings to over $2.7 million, and is an obvious favorite for her division’s Eclipse. 

Mitole has established himself as a premier sprinter, and although he defeated a stellar field in the Met Mile, earning a 108 Beyer for his impressive victory over Bob Baffert’s McKinzie, it appears that he’ll cut back, and next go in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt on July 27th, going 6 furlongs. 

Another excellent sprinter is the versatile World of Trouble, who has won on both the turf and dirt for Jason Servis and Michael Dubb. He won on the turf in the Grade 1 Jaipur in his last outing, but what a showdown it could be if he went back to dirt to face Mitole in the Vanderbilt.

Concrete Rose is another 3-year-old filly star I look forward to seeing. The impressive winner of the Belmont Oaks, during last Saturday’s Stars & Stripes Festival at Big Sandy, broke her maiden last August at the Spa, and other than a setback in the BC Juvi Fillies Turf, has been undefeated. Trainer Rusty Arnold says he’s looking forward to the second leg of the Turf Tiara August 2nd and is pointing his star filly toward the third leg at Belmont September 7th, before heading back to Keeneland for the QEII, which will be her final prep before the Breeders’ Cup.

Dale Romans won the John Nerud on last Saturday’s Stars & Stripes card with his star sprinter, Promises Fulfilled, and he was one of several winners that day that we should keep on our Spa radar.

Mike Maker, with Nolan Ramsey assisting, pulled off the upset in the headlining Belmont Derby with Henley’s Joy, a horse bred by Nolan’s grandparents, Ken and Sarah Ramsey. You can expect to see Henley’s Joy along the Turf Trinity trail, per an enthusiastic Ken Ramsey.

Jockey Jose Lezcano, who just beat out Luis Saez and the Ortiz Bros for the Belmont Spring/Summer Jockey Title, was aboard Henley’s Joy. Long revered as an elite turf rider, it was nice to see Jose break through the logjam at the top.

Jimmy Jerkens pulled off another upset on the Stars & Stripes card when he captured his third Suburban. Following back-to-back wins with Effinex a few years ago, Jimmy tied his Dad, The Chief, for the record, when his Preservationist took this year’s Suburban. While it was a somewhat disappointing loss for the favorite, last year’s Travers’ hero Catholic Boy, he still recorded a fine 102 Beyer in defeat to Preservationist’s 108. 

‘Tho I still believe Catholic Boy is best suited for the turf and had hoped this defeat would’ve nudged his connections back in that direction, trainer Jonathan Thomas has stated that the Woodward is his “major target”. This will hopefully set up a rematch with Preservationist, and maybe the cut back to 9 furlongs will benefit Catholic Boy.

It will also be interesting to see where the other talented older dirt males are spotted, including Thunder Snow, Seeking the Soul, Gunnevera, Gift Box, Coal Front and Quip.

I’m most interested, however, to see if the revitalized Vino Rosso will go in the Whitney for Mike Repole, Todd Pletcher and Johnny V, after his victory in the Santa Anita Gold Cup. Repole loves to win at the Spa, so it seems to be a logical spot for Vino Rosso.

The Pacific Classic could be an option for Thunder Snow and some of the others, too, and we’ll soon know where they’re heading.

With so many horses and matchups to ponder, and with too little time and space before my weekly deadline, I shall bid farewell for now, but hope to see many old friends at the Flagpole or by the Winner’s Circle on Opening Day and over the weekend!

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