Saratoga Race Course Notes 07/20

NYRA PRESS OFFICE —-

Saratoga Race Course Notes

National Treasure and Reincarnate under consideration for G1 Travers
Sacred Wish in good order for G1 CCA Oaks; Pass the Champagne targets G1 Ballerina
Drew’s Gold works for G2 Amsterdam
Sixtythreecaliber earns 94BSF in gutsy optional-claiming score
Speed Bias finds class relief in Friday allowance
Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5 to feature all graded-stakes sequence from Saratoga and Haskell Day at Monmouth Park

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said he currently has Grade 1 Preakness-winner National Treasure and recent Los Alamitos Derby-winner Reincarnate under consideration for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers on August 26 Saratoga Race Course.

National Treasure, by Quality Road, provided Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez his first Preakness win with a game head score over Blazing Sevens. The $500,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale purchase was last seen finishing sixth on June 10 in the 12-furlong Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets.

“He looks good. The timing is good for him for something like that,” Baffert said. “He ran big in the Preakness and he needs a little more spacing. He’ll like the mile and a quarter.

“Everything is subject to change,” added Baffert. “I go by how the horses are doing, and a lot can change between now and then.”

Reincarnate, by Good Magic, captured the Grade 3 Sham in January at Santa Anita en route to third-place finishes at Oaklawn Park in the Grade 2 Rebel and Grade 1 Arkansas Derby. He finished a distant 13th in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby in May at Churchill Downs.

The $775,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase returned from a two-month layoff on July 8 to take the nine-furlong Los Alamitos Derby in frontrunning fashion.

“He had lost a lot of weight and had been shipping a lot, but he’s back to his old self and looks great,” Baffert said. “We always thought he was going to be a Belmont-type horse.”

National Treasure and Reincarnate are both owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay A. Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan.

Baffert, who will send out Arabian Knight in Saturday’s Grade 1 Haskell at Monmouth Park, said Zedan Racing Stables’ Arabian Lion will not visit the Spa for the Grade 2, $200,000 Amsterdam on July 28 here. However, the last-out winner of the Grade 1 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun is likely to ship here in company with last-out Grade 3 Dwyer-winner Fort Bragg for the Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on August 26 as part of a stacked Travers Day card.

“I was thinking about it [the Amsterdam], but I’m going to wait for the Allen Jerkens,” Baffert said regarding Arabian Lion. “He’s been doing really well. I almost ran him in the Haskell, but I have Arabian Knight in there for the same owner.”

Baffert said Zedan Racing Stables’ Arabian Knight, the 5-2 morning line favorite for the Haskell, is in good order as he visits his third different track in as many starts.

The Uncle Mo colt, a $2.3 million OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training purchase, won by 7 1/4-lengths on debut in November at Keeneland and followed in January with a 5 1/2-length romp over sloppy and sealed going in the Grade 3 Southwest at Oaklawn Park.

“I think he’d suit any track you put him on. He’s never run at home – all his races have been on the road. He’s never run in California,” Baffert said.

Baffert, who noted he expects to send some 2-year-olds to Saratoga for upcoming stakes races, said Arabian Knight would be unlikely to try for a Haskell-Travers double.

“I doubt it. He’s a horse that I like to space out his races. It’s tough to do the Haskell to Travers,” Baffert said.

Baffert last attempted a Haskell-Travers double with 2015 Triple Crown-winner American Pharoah, who finished a close second to Keen Ice.

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Sacred Wish in good order for G1 CCA Oaks; Pass the Champagne targets G1 Ballerina

Black Type Thoroughbreds, Swinbank Stables, Steve Adkisson, Christopher Dunn and Anthony Spinazzola’s graded stakes-placed Sacred Wish makes her return to the graded ranks in Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Coaching Club American Oaks, a nine-furlong test for sophomore fillies, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by George Weaver, the Not This Time dark bay arrives from a game runner-up effort to the streaking Sunset Louise in a 1 1/16-mile optional claimer on June 16 at Belmont Park. There, she made up ground from fourth position to challenge for the lead in the turn and kept on well down the lane to finish one length back of the winner. The effort garnered a career-best 82 Beyer Speed Figure.

Sacred Wish’s Belmont effort was her first since a distant ninth-place finish in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan on May 19 at Pimlico Race Course. Weaver said he was pleased to see the filly rebound nicely in her latest start.

“She’s training well and she’s had some nice works coming into this, so we’re looking forward to it,” said Weaver. “We were happy with her last race. The Black-Eyed Susan, we just drew a line through it. For whatever reason, she didn’t run her race, so we were glad she got back on track in the next race. She’s done well since then. She’s going to need to step her game up to win this, but we know she’s not that far off and she’s talented. She deserves a chance in here.”

Sacred Wish earned her graded placing when finishing a closing second to Affirmative Lady in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks in April. She will return to two turns after running a one-turn mile last time, a move Weaver said should suit her.

“I think it will be fine,” said Weaver. “She performed fine in the Gulfstream Park Oaks and she kept coming at the end. I don’t think it will be an issue.”

Weaver will look for more graded success later in the Saratoga meet with graded stakes-winner Pass the Champagne, who was last seen finishing an even fourth in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps on June 10 going 1 1/16 miles at Belmont. Owned by R.A. Hill Stable, Black Type Thoroughbreds, Rock Ridge Racing, BlackRidge Stables and James F. Brown, the daughter of Flatter notched her first graded victory in May with a strong 5 1/2-length romp in the Grade 2 Ruffian going a one-turn mile at Belmont.

She worked five-eighths in 1:01.92 Thursday over the Saratoga main track and Weaver said he is likely to cut back the 5-year-old mare to sprinting in the seven-furlong Grade 1, $500,000 Ballerina Handicap on August 26, a “Win and You’re In” for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint in November at Santa Anita Park.

“She’s doing well,” said Weaver. “We’re still hoping she has a Grade 1 in her. She’s been training well.”

Weaver also has a strong contender in the sophomore filly division in graded-stakes placed Dorth Vader, who finished second by a head to Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks victress Pretty Mischievous in the Grade 1 Acorn presented by Great Jones Distilling Co. on June 9 at Belmont.

A Florida homebred for John Ropes, Dorth Vader will now point to a rematch with Pretty Mischievous in the Grade 1, $500,000 Test on August 5 at the Spa.

“She’s doing well and we’re looking forward to running her there,” said Weaver. “She’s training well and she’s a good-feeling filly. I’ve been happy with her.”

Other stakes hopefuls at the Saratoga meet could include Reddam Racing’s New York-bred stakes-winner Today’s Flavor, who was last seen finishing a pacesetting fourth in the Grade 2 True North on June 10 at Belmont.

Weaver said the 5-year-old Laoban gelding will likely return to state-bred company next in the $125,000 John Morrissey Handicap sprinting six furlongs on August 10.

“We’ll kind of reset and go into the New York-bred stake,” said Weaver. “If he runs like the way he did over the winter, he’ll be very competitive there.”

Weaver also noted that R.A. Hill Stable, Swinbank Stables, Black Ridge Stables and Black Type Thoroughbreds’ Crimson Advocate, winner of the Group 2 Queen Mary on June 21 at Royal Ascot, will be given a freshening with an eye to the fall and the Breeders’ Cup championships at Santa Anita.

Weaver said the daughter of Nyquist could have one potential start before an engagement at the Breeders’ Cup, slated for November 3 and 4 at Santa Anita Park.

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Drew’s Gold works for G2 Amsterdam

Drew’s Gold worked a half-mile in 47.88 Thursday over the Spa main track in preparation for the Grade 2, $200,000 Amsterdam, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for sophomores on July 28 at Saratoga.

Trained and co-owned by James Chapman with Stuart Tsujimoto, the Violence ridgling worked solo under jockey Jose Gomez, who tracked a Rudy Rodriguez trainee from a distance before galloping out in front of that one after the wire.

“He worked really good. He’s never really been a good workhorse alone but as he’s gotten older, he’s more into it,” Chapman said. “I told Jose if you can follow someone, he’s going to work a lot better for you. He got in behind a Rudy horse that horse was 15 lengths in front of him leaving the half. At the wire, he was still three or four lengths in front of him and then after the wire, he just blew by him.”

Drew’s Gold won his first four career starts which came at four different tracks, taking his debut last May at Churchill and returning to best winners in his seasonal debut in January at Laurel Park. He made his next two outings in NYRA circuit stakes traveling six furlongs under Gomez, scoring in the Jimmy Winkfield in February at the Big A and the Gold Fever on May 12 at Belmont.

Last out, he earned a career-best 106 Beyer Speed Figure in a game runner-up effort to Arabian Lion in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun.

Chapman said Drew’s Gold has enjoyed training over the Spa main track and he is hopeful that the $25,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase will return to winning form in the Amsterdam with an eye towards a start in the seven-furlong Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on August 26 here.

“He’s a beautiful mover anyways, but he really likes this track,” Chapman said. “Hopefully, he can get this thing done in nice shape and we want to win the next one going seven-eighths.”

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Sixtythreecaliber earns 94BSF in gutsy optional-claiming score

MyRacehorse Stable and Spendthrift Farm’s Sixtythreecaliber picked up her first win Wednesday since taking the Grade 3 Comely in November at the Big A for trainer Tom Amoss.

The 4-year-old Gun Runner bay arrived in the final jumps to post a neck score in a one-mile optional-claimer here, besting a loaded field in which 4-of-5 starters were graded-stakes winners.

Sixtythreecaliber exited post 4 out of the Wilson Chute under Tyler Gaffalione and tracked three-wide through the first turn to settle in fourth position as Midnight Stroll, last year’s Grade 3 Delaware Oaks-winner, led through splits of 24.85 seconds, 47.27 and 1:10.89.

Gerrymander, winner of last year’s Grade 2 Mother Goose, engaged with Midnight Stroll at the stretch call as Sixtythreecaliber was asked for more from the two-path behind the frontrunners. Gaffalione was able to maneuver Sixtythreecaliber to the outside and out finished the onrushing Nostalgic, last year’s Grade 3 Gazelle-victress, to secure the win in a final time of 1:37.18. The victory garnered a 94 Beyer Speed Figure.

Amoss said he would have preferred an outside trip for his filly.

“She’s a horse that really likes to be in her own world. If things are tight; if she’s down towards the rail; if she’s taking dirt, then she’s not at her best,” Amoss said. “So, it really took a long time to find a good, wide opening for her to get into stride and that was probably just the last three-sixteenths of a mile. It was just the way the race set up – we knew these things before going in and it just so happened we didn’t get the trip we wanted from the post position we were in.”

Amoss said he was nonetheless impressed with the effort.

“There were a number of graded-stakes winners in there, including us. So, to overcome a slow pace and get there at the wire, I was really pleased with the race,” Amoss said.

Clairiere and Nest, two of the leaders of the filly and mare division, will compete in Sunday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Shuvee here with an eye towards a start in the Grade 1, $500,000 Personal Ensign on August 25 at the Spa – but Amoss said he has yet to consider a next start for Sixtythreecaliber.

“Visually, she ran a really nice race. There’s been no decisions made yet, but any time you find a horse that likes Saratoga, and she obviously likes it, you’d like to get another start in her there,” Amoss said.

Sixtythreecaliber, out of the graded-stakes placed Include mare Classofsixtythree, is a half-sister to graded-stakes winner Gunmetal Gray. The $250,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase now boasts a record of 12-6-1-1 for purse earnings of $417,982.

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Speed Bias finds class relief in Friday allowance

Trainer Ron Moquett is hopeful that a drop down in class can make a big difference for graded stakes-placed Speed Bias in Friday’s seventh race – a nine-furlong allowance optional claimer over the Saratoga Race Course main track.

The 4-year-old Uncle Mo bay colt enters from a seventh-place finish in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster on July 1 at Ellis Park, where he set the early tempo under Luis Saez but retreated leaving the far turn and finished 6 1/4 lengths behind the victorious West Will Power.

This effort came following a close second under Saez in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special on May 19, where he displayed similar frontrunning fashion, maintaining his advantage through upper stretch before being confronted by odds-on favorite Rattle N Roll, who won by a nose. The effort garnered a career-high 101 Beyer Speed Figure.

Moquett said having Saez, the pilot in his last three starts, back aboard the talented two-time winner gives him confidence when he steps up against a field that includes graded-stakes placed The Reds and stakes-winner Artorius.

“We got Saez back on him, so he knows him,” Moquett said. “He came out of a really, really tough race that I don’t think he had situation set up for him, as well as it did for him in the Pimlico Special. We’re trying to gain a little confidence and get him a win. Doing that at Saratoga isn’t always an easy challenge, but he’s coming into the race really well and we’ll see where we’re at.”

Bred in Kentucky by Alpha Delta Stable, Speed Bias is out of the dual graded stakes winning Malibu Moon mare Hot Summer and was bought for $220,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Speed Bias will leave from post 2 as the 3-1 morning line second choice.

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Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5 to feature all graded-stakes sequence from Saratoga and Haskell Day at Monmouth Park

The New York Racing Association Inc. (NYRA) will host an all graded-stakes Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday featuring races from Saratoga Race Course and Haskell Day at Monmouth Park.

The Cross Country Pick 5 requires bettors to pick the winner of five select races from tracks across the country. The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is available on ADW platforms and at simulcast facilities across the country with each week featuring a mandatory payout of the net pool. The Cross Country Pick 5, boasting a low 15 percent takeout, offers sequences with races from Saratoga Race Course and partner tracks across the country.

Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence will be available for download at https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/cross-country-wagers.

Cross Country Pick 5 – Saturday, July 22

Leg A: Monmouth Park – Race 8, G3 Monmouth Cup (3:29 p.m. Eastern)

Leg B: Saratoga Race Course – Race 6, G3 Caress (3:52 p.m.)

Leg C: Monmouth Park – MSW – Race 11, G1 United Nations (5:06 p.m.)

Leg D: Saratoga Race Course – Race 9, G1 CCA Oaks (5:42 p.m.)

Leg E: Monmouth Park – Race 12, G1 Haskell (5:45 p.m.)

Saratoga Live will present daily coverage and analysis of the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the best way to bet every race of the Belmont spring/summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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Contact: NYRA Press Office

NYRACommunications@nyrainc.com