Saratoga Race Course Notes

NYRA RELEASE —-

• War Story adjusting to Saratoga ahead of G1 Whitney
• Neolithic looking to prep for G1 Woodward, Rally Cry favored in Alydar
• G2 Lake Placid-bound Proctor’s Ledge fires bullet in return to work tab
• G2 winner Tequilita cuts back for comeback in Saturday’s G1 Test
• Team McLaughlin exploring weekend options for G2 winner Mohaymen
• Mongolian Saturday in good order heading into Troy
• Fire Away locked and loaded for Fasig-Tipton Lure
• Saturday’s race to honor late trainer Glenn DiSanto
• Week 4 stakes probables

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – War Story has settled in at Saratoga nicely and will be ready to run in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.2 million Whitney, trainer Jorge Navarro said.

“He’s been here since Wednesday afternoon and from what I hear from the assistant and the groom, he loves it there,” Navarro said by phone Friday morning. “He likes the cool weather over there. You can’t complain about the weather.”

War Story, owned by Loooch Racing Stables, Glenn Ellis and Imaginary Stables, registered his first career graded stakes victory last out, winning the Grade 2 Brooklyn Invitational by 2 ½ lengths on Belmont Stakes Day, June 10. The 5-year-old Northern Afleet gelding will be looking for his first career Grade 1 on-the-board finish in his seventh start.

Navarro took over training duties before the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup on January 28, becoming the ninth trainer in War Story’s career. In four starts for Navarro, War Story has not posted a Beyer Speed Figure below 90, including a 99 for a fifth-place effort in the Pegasus, won by Arrogate, and a 102 in the Brooklyn.

Navarro said the biggest change in eight months is War Story’s temperament.

“He’s come around; he was more of a grouch where if you pet him, he wanted to kick you and bite you,” Navarro said. “Now, he’s becoming a favorite in the barn.

“My friend [and fellow trainer] Chad Summers walked him to the track on Thursday morning and said he was pretty quiet walking to the track but as soon as he touched the dirt, man, he was on his toes. I said ‘that’s good to hear.'”

War Story drew the rail in the seven-horse Whitney field and is the morning-line third choice at 6-1, behind only 3-1 Keen Ice and 4-5 favorite Gun Runner.

“There’s no doubt you have to respect Gun Runner, he’s one of the best horses on the East Coast. [Trainer] Steve Asmussen has done an amazing job with that horse,” Navarro said. “But if the rain comes and he doesn’t like it, we’re going to take advantage of it, because my little horse is doing really good.”

Newly minted Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano, who rode War Story to the Brooklyn win, will have the return call. Castellano was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame on Friday.
Castellano also rode the Navarro-trained El Deal to an eight-length win in the Grade 1 Vanderbilt Handicap last week. Like War Story, Navarro also took over the training duties for El Deal earlier this year, and the 5-year-old son of Munnings has won three starts in a row since Navarro had owners Albert and Michelle Crawford buy him privately earlier this year, including a win in a starter handicap at Charles Town and a victory in the Decathlon on June 11 at Monmouth Park.

“He’s excellent,” Navarro said about his return from the Vanderbilt. “He came back real tired the following day. It took a toll on the horse, but he’s doing great now. I can’t wait to see what’s next”
Navarro said El Deal is targeting the Grade 1, $350,000 Vosburgh at six furlongs on September 30 at Belmont Park.

Navarro said X Y Jet is in light training at Monmouth Park. Unraced since a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Francis Memorial Dash in November at Laurel Park, Navarro said the 5-year-old gelding will dictate if he is ready to return to racing in the fall.

Owned by Rockingham Ranch and Gelfenstein Farm, X Y Jet was previously sidelined for several months because of knee surgery after winning the 2016 Grade 3 Gulfstream Park Sprint Championship and finishing second in the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen at Meydan Racecourse.

“I’m going to take my time with him. We’ve been jogging him for a month. We’re going to baby him,” Navarro said. “I told the owners, the last two years, it’s been about you guys. This time, it’s about him. He’s going to tell me when he’s ready to gallop. He’s going to tell me when he’s ready to work. If he makes it, he makes it. If not, we’ll find him a good home. But he’s not ready to be a pet yet.”

* * *
Saturday’s stakes-laden Whitney Day card will close out with a competitive $90,000 allowance optional claiming race, marking the return of Qatar Racing and Starlight Racing’s Neolithic, who is looking to use the race as a stepping stone to the Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward on September 2.

The start will be the first for the 4-year-old Harlan’s Holiday colt since finishing third behind Arrogate and Gun Runner in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup in March.

“We got to get him a good freshening at WinStar following the Dubai World Cup and we felt like this would be a good place to get him back and started,” said trainer Todd Pletcher. “Hopefully, we can build on that for the Woodward.”

Prior to the Dubai World Cup, Neolithic used a front-running allowance score in December as a prep for the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational, where he faced Arrogate for the first time, finishing third to the reigning Eclipse Award winner in his seasonal bow.

Neolithic has been installed as the even-money favorite in the 10-horse race that also attracted 2016 Grade 2 Remsen winner Mo Town, making his first start since the Grade 2 Wood Memorial this spring, as well as graded stakes-placed runners Realm, Warrior’s Club, and Schivarelli.

“We aren’t doing it because we are looking for an easy spot,” Pletcher said. “We are doing it because he has run decently at seven furlongs before and we felt like we needed a race to get to the Woodward and we didn’t feel like we quite had him ready for a mile and an eighth in the Whitney or the Alydar.”

Paul Pompa Jr.’s Rally Cry, also for Pletcher this weekend, will try out two turns for the first time since the 2016 Grade 3 Gotham as the 8-5 favorite in a field of six in Sunday’s $100,000 Alydar at 1 1/8 miles.

In the Gotham, his only start around two turns, Rally Cry broke slowly and then rushed into early contention to eventually finish sixth of seven. The 4-year-old colt by Uncle Mo has gone on to post a pair of allowance victories at 1 1/16 miles around one turn at Belmont Park, including a 1 ½-length victory two starts back, where he earned a career-high 105 Beyer Speed Figure.

Last time out, Rally Cry finished sixth in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap on Belmont Stakes Day, beaten 15 ½ lengths by Mor Spirit.

“I think two turns is what he’s been wanting to do,” Pletcher said. “Unfortunately, the Gotham was the only time we got to try it and he didn’t get off to a great start. We believe based on the way that he’s been training that this is what he wants to do, so we are getting ready to make him prove it.”

Pletcher will also saddle Twin Creeks Racing Stable’s Red Rifle in the Alydar, where his entries will face G M B Racing’s multiple stakes winner Mo Tom for trainer Tom Amoss. DARRS Inc.’s graded stakes-placed Conquest Windycity is entered for the Brendan Walsh barn. The Alydar also features a pair of cross-entries: Shadwell Stable’s multiple Grade 2 winner Mohaymen, who is entered as a main track-only entrant for the $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Lure on Saturday for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin; and Reade Baker trainee Breaking Lucky, who is also entered in Saturday’s Grade 1 Whitney.
* * *
Working for the first time since her mild upset victory in the Grade 2 Lake George on Saratoga’s opening day, July 21, Patricia Moseley’s homebred Proctor’s Ledge fired a bullet half-mile over the Oklahoma training turf course Friday morning.

Trainer Brendan Walsh was in town and aboard for the breeze, which was timed in 48.44 seconds over the firm going, fastest of 45 horses at the distance. Walsh expected to bring her back in the Grade 2, $300,000 Lake Placid August 19 at the Spa.

“That’s the plan, anyway. We’ll probably go there,” he said. “We might have a look at the Del Mar Oaks, as well, but I would think she’ll stay here. She likes it here and there’s no point in complicating things.

“She worked super today,” he added. “She looked good. She went easy, just a maintenance work for her, really.”

Proctor’s Ledge, a 3-year-old daughter of Hall of Famer Ghostzapper, has three wins, a second and a third from six starts this year. The Lake George was her fourth straight graded stakes and first win, hitting the board in the Grade 3 Appalachian and Grade 2 Regret.

“She ran third in the Appalachian at Keeneland and came from way behind against some very good fillies,” Walsh said. “We ran her on [Kentucky] Oaks day and the ground was very soft and she ran fourth, and she was second in the Regret when the speed kind of got away from her.

“I think she might have needed all that to put together her last run. It was a good race. She ran super,” he added. “We’re excited about her and I think she’s going to get better with a bit of age, too, as she goes along.”

Before heading back to Kentucky following next week’s yearling sales, Walsh will saddle DARRS, Inc.’s Conquest Windycity in Sunday’s Alydar for 4-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles.

The 4-year-old son of Tiznow won an optional claiming allowance at Keeneland April 13 in his second start of 2017 and followed up with a third in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special behind Jimmy Jerkens-trained stablemates Shaman Ghost and Dolphus and a seventh in the Grade 3 Cornhusker, where Dolphus was fifth as a heavy favorite.

“I think he just got stuck down inside with the kickback and everything and the track wasn’t really conducive to certain horses that weekend,” Walsh said. “The horse of Jimmy’s didn’t run very well, either, and he’s a nice horse. He beat us at Pimlico. I draw a line through it.

“He seems like he’s getting over this track really good,” he added “He ran a real good race in the two-other-than at Keeneland. He was very good that day and he ran really good at Pimlico, also. He didn’t run a bad race at all against some real good horses. I think this spot will fit him good. There’s only six in there but they’re all solid horses. If we can get a better trip for him, I think we’ll be in good shape.”

Walsh said Grade 3 Illinois Derby Multiplier is due to return to his Kentucky barn later this month following a brief freshening after finishing off the board in the Grade 1 Preakness and Grade 1 Belmont Stakes June 10, his most recent effort.

“We turned him out for a little break after the Belmont. He had a hard race in Illinois and a hard race in the Preakness,” Walsh said. “He didn’t run that well in the Belmont. We thought he was doing good but he just didn’t show up, really. All the signals were there to just back off him a little bit.
“He’s been at WinStar for a couple months but he should be due back at the end of August,” he added. “There’s no plan at all for him right now. You never know, he may be able to run in November at Churchill or the winter at Gulfstream or the Fair Grounds.”
* * *
Dorothy Matz’s Grade 2-winning homebred Tequilita will be sprinting for the first time in six months when she makes her return to the races in Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Longines Test.

Tequilita, trained by Matz’s husband, Michael Matz, drew post position 4 in the field of 10 3-year-old fillies under jockey Luis Saez, aboard for each of her three most recent races.

The seven-furlong Test will be the first start for Tequilita since she made a belated run to finish seventh in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks May 5 behind Abel Tasman, who has since added the Grade 1 Acorn June 10 at Belmont Park and Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks July 23 at Saratoga to her resume.
Tequilita was entered in the Acorn but forced to scratch with a minor illness, Matz said. She has been working steadily since early July at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Maryland for her comeback.

“She got sick with a little virus,” Matz said. “I had a virus go through my barn so we missed some time with her. This might be a little short for her, but we’ll see what happens.”

Tequilita put together a three-race win streak over the fall and winter, breaking her maiden October 22 at Keeneland and taking the Smart Halo November 19 at Laurel Park in her stakes debut and juvenile finale. She opened 2017 winning the Grade 2 Forward Gal at the Test’s seven furlongs February 4 at Gulfstream Park, and was second behind Salty in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks April 1.

“She went a mile and an eighth last time and now we’re bringing her back at seven-eighths. I don’t know that she has the speed that she once did but hopefully it comes back this time,” Matz said. “She’s a nice filly and she tries hard all the time. Seven furlongs might not be exactly what she wants, but it’s sort of a good race to come back in.”

In addition to being bred and owned by his wife, Matz also trained Tequilita’s sire, 2012 Grade 1 Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags, and her dam, Grade 2-winner Sangrita.

“It’s going to be a tough race, but she’s doing well,” he said. “I hope she’ll make a good showing.”
* * *
Arriving from Chicago on Thursday after a brief overnight stay at Thistledown, trainer Enebish Ganbat reported that 7-year-old multiple graded stakes winner Mongolian Saturday was in good order after his arrival. He visited the main track Friday morning in preparation for his upcoming start in Sunday’s $250,000 Troy.

“He looks good,” Ganbat said. “Typically, he’s a little more full in the winter and fall, but he’s still carrying good weight, so it’s not an issue. Following his second-place finish in the [Grade 3] Parx Dash [on July 8], we decided to drive back the same day and in retrospect, that wasn’t a good idea as he developed a fever when we got back to Chicago, but he’s been much better since. We traveled here during the night to keep him cool and he’s arrived looking great.”

With a very competitive field set for the Troy, including fellow multiple graded stakes winners Undrafted, Green Mask and Long On Value, Ganbat said the race would be a good indicator for where Mongolian Saturday stands with the ultimate goal of getting back to the Breeders’ Cup, where he captured the 2015 Grade 1 Turf Spring and was hoping for favorable turf conditions.

“He’s a little better on soft grass but this [turf course] has been very fast,” Ganbat said. “He’s not very fast like Green Mask or Pure Sensation, but we want to see how he compares to the best sprinters in America right now. We need one or two more points to go to the Breeders’ Cup which is our year-end goal”
* * *
Shadwell Stable’s multiple Grade 2 winner Mohaymen may run in either of two races this weekend or not at all, depending on the weather and a meeting with Shadwell racing manager Rick Nichols on Saturday, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said.

The 4-year-old Mohaymen, a $2.2 million son of Tapit, is entered for main track only in the $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Lure scheduled for 1 1/16 miles over the Mellon turf course Saturday. The Weather.com forecast calls for a 90 percent chance of rain Friday night and a 100 percent chance of rain on Saturday.

Mohaymen, a one-time leading Triple Crown contender that has gone winless since the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth last February, also drew the rail in a field of six for Sunday’s $100,000 Alydar at 1 1/8 miles on the main track.

“We’ll look at the track tomorrow if it rains off and see who scratches and make a decision when it’s time,” McLaughlin said. “We will talk with Rick Nichols about Sunday, too, whether we’re going to scratch and run in the Alydar. But he’s here to run, one way or the other.”

McLaughlin said it’s possible that they look for another spot altogether during the meet for Mohaymen, who arrived in Saratoga on Friday from Belmont Park, where he was fourth in the Grade 3 Westchester and 11th in the Grade 1 Met Mile before finishing sixth in an optional claiming allowance July 14, his turf debut.

“We’re adding blinkers and we’re looking for a softer spot. I don’t know that [the Lure] is that soft a spot, but if it rains off it will become a softer spot,” he said. “The Alydar is not as soft but it’s different than the Met Mile. We’ll see, but he’s here and doing well. Obviously if he runs and does well we would keep going with him. We’d have to talk again.”
* * *
Fire Away will return to stakes company in Saturday’s Fasig-Tipton Lure. Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey said he will interested to see how the 5-year-old Kentucky-bred does in his first race in more than two months.

McGaughey said skin irritation kept the son of War Front out of action since finishing second in an allowance race on May 20 at Belmont Park.

“He’s doing very well; his last race was a long time ago but not by design,” McGaughey said. “It’s a logical spot. If he doesn’t win, there’s races back for him. I’m looking forward to running him and I think he’ll make a good account of himself. His last race, he ran really good.”

Fire Away will be running in a stakes for the first time since a ninth-place finish in the Grade 2 Ft. Lauderdale to start the 2017 campaign on January 14 at Gulfstream.

Emancipation will look to continue a stellar start to his career that included a debut win on June 9 at Belmont as well as third-place finish in an allowance race on July 4 on Big Sandy, though McGaughey said he doesn’t have a definite spot to run the 2-year-old Malibu Moon colt next.

McGaughey said Emancipation, a full brother to 2013 Grade 1 Kentucky Derby winner Orb, needed some recovery time after finishing fourth in his last start July 26 at Saratoga. He said he might wait until the Belmont fall meet.

“He tore a shoe off and when he did, it took some of his wall, so he was kind of messed up for awhile but he’s back going now,” McGaughey said. “He’s only been back to the track two days. We’ll kind of start over again with him.”

Emancipation is owned by Stuart Janney and Phipps Stable.

* * *
Saturday’s fourth race at Saratoga Race Course is named in honor of Glenn DiSanto, the former owner, breeder and trainer who succumbed to a long bout with cancer in January at 62. DiSanto was known as a veteran among horseman after serving more than 30 years behind the scenes at all three NYRA tracks.
“He was a sweetheart, a fixture,” said Rick Violette, a trainer and president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. “He fought a long, hard fight, and we miss him, there’s no question. He’s missed.”

DiSanto’s spirit and love for the game was evident among the winning connections who gathered in the winner’s circle following Friday’s opener, when Quick On the Draw, a former trainee of DiSanto’s, now under the care of good friend Jimmy Bond, swept wide in hand under jockey Jose Ortiz to victory. The 3-year-old Posse filly sported the colors for Sportsman Stable and Summit View Farm.

“Glenn was just a very special person,” Bond said. “I don’t think anyone ever said a bad word about that man. He was not lucky enough in life to have the horses that I had, but I’ll tell you his horses looked fantastic. His horses were first, and he went through the most terrible, toughest battle there ever was. Unfortunately, he lost, but he was a great man.

“This wasn’t me, this was Glenn. He saddled this horse, I didn’t do it. I just helped him put it on. I’m just so happy for the stable, for all the partners, because they’ve had a rough eight months with his death. His wife Mel was here. She’s a special lady, and they’ve had a real tough go. The guy upstairs is looking down on everybody, and the good guys win every once in a while.”

A native of Carmel, New York, DiSanto started with show horses after graduating from the horse management program at the State University of New York at Cobleskill. He became involved with the state breeding program, and purchased Summit View Farm in Greenwich, New York in 1984.

DiSanto saddled his first winner at Aqueduct in 1991 with Hildaskova and added 48 more victories, with his last being Lotza Heat in 2015 at Belmont Park. According to Equibase, DiSanto won 49 races from 1,022 starters. The advocate for retired thoroughbreds earned $2,495,710.

Quick on the Draw was the last starter to run under DiSanto’s name, finishing second in a New York-bred maiden special weight race at Aqueduct on January 2.
* * *
The $100,000 Quick Call – Wednesday, August 9
Probable: Blind Ambition (Todd Pletcher); Expedited Vision (Phil Schoenthal); Indy Hill (D. Wayne Lukas); Malraux (Ignacio Correas, IV); Mongo Nation (David Fawkes); The Money Monster (Bill Mott)
Possible: Have Another (David Donk)

Grade 1, $500,000 Fourstardave – Saturday, August 12
Probable: American Patriot (T. Pletcher); Ballagh Rocks (Bill Mott); Disco Partner (Christophe Clement); Time Test (Chad Brown); World Approval (Mark Casse)
Possible: Sassy Little Lila (Brad Cox)
Grade 2, $200,000 Adirondack – Saturday, August 12
Probable: Di Maria (James Ryerson); Proportionality (Horacio DePaz); She’s a Julie (Steve Asmussen); Sly Roxy (M. Casse); Southampton Way (H. DePaz)
Possible: Limited View (John Salzman)

Grade 2, $200,000 Saratoga Special – Sunday, August 13
Probable: Bal Harbour (T. Pletcher); Barry Lee (H. DePaz); Copper Bullet (S. Asmussen); Diamond Oops (Patrick Biancone); Hollywood Star (Dale Romans); Mo Diddley (M. Casse); Vino (Kelly Breen)
The $100,000 Saratoga Dew – Monday, August 14
Probable: JC’S Shooting Star (D. Donk); Legally Bay (Marialice Coffey); Literata (Rudy Rodriguez); Super Allison (Carlos Martin)
Possible: Danielle’s Pride (Richard Metivier); Jules N Rome (Gary Contessa); Mecke’s Madalyn (Corby Caiazzo)