Saratoga Race Course Notes: West Will Power breezes for potential G1 Whitney

NYRA PRESS OFFICE —-

Saratoga Race Course Notes

West Will Power breezes for potential G1 Whitney start; Verifying works for G1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial
Charge It ‘excellent’ in final breeze for G1 Whitney; Tapit Trice points to G1 Travers
More Than Looks and Northern Invader work in company for graded stakes engagements
Trainer Tom Morley wins two on Friday’s Spa card

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Gary and Mary West’s Grade 1-winning Kentucky homebred West Will Power worked five-eighths in 1:02.24 in company with stakes-placed Tapit Shoes over the Oklahoma training track Saturday with an eye towards next Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Whitney, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Brad Cox and piloted through the breeze by Flavien Prat, the 6-year-old Bernardini horse worked to the outside of his sophomore stablemate, who was last seen finishing ninth in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets.

“It was good. They broke off a little slow, but finished up and galloped out great,” Cox said of the 5:40 a.m. breeze over a fast Oklahoma training track. “He always gallops out well – that’s the best part of his works each week.”

Cox said West Will Power, last-out winner of the Grade 1 Stephen Foster on July 1 at Ellis Park, is not definite for the nine-furlong Whitney as of yet and that the millionaire multiple graded stakes-winner could also come under consideration for the 10-furlong Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup on September 2 at the Spa. Both the Whitney and Jockey Club Gold Cup offer a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic in November at Santa Anita Park.

“It’s a very prestigious race. It means a lot,” said Cox, regarding the Whitney. “We’ll see how things unfold after this work and make a decision a little bit later. We’ll speak with the West team and come up with a plan.

“We could come back here a mile and a quarter. I’ve always thought that might be something he wants to do,” Cox continued. “I’m just going to continue to watch him and make sure he’s on top of his game.”

Cox indicated he will look for an allowance race for Tapit Shoes.

West Will Power made the grade in the Grade 2 Fayette in October at Keeneland and added the Grade 2 New Orleans Classic to his ledger in March at Fair Grounds. He boasts a record of 17-7-7-1 for purse earnings in excess of $1.7 million.

Moments later, Westerberg, Mrs. John Magnier, Jonathan Poulin, Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor’s Verifying worked a half-mile in 48.75 in company with maiden Fighting Back over the Oklahoma training track.

Cox said Verifying, last-out winner of the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Indiana Derby, will point to the seven-furlong Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on August 26 at Saratoga.

“He went a really good half. I wasn’t looking to do a whole lot with him, but he was on it,” Cox said. “He was ready to do something. It was his first work since the Indiana Derby. We’re looking at the seven-eighths race on Travers Day.”

Verifying graduated on Travers Day last year at Saratoga and came back to run second in the Grade 1 Champagne in October at Belmont at the Big A. He completed his 2-year-old campaign with an off-the-board effort in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in November at Keeneland.

The $775,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase tried the Triple Crown trail this spring, finishing a close second to Tapit Trice in the Grade 1 Blue Grass at Keeneland ahead of an off-the-board effort as the pacesetter in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby in May at Churchill Downs. He exited that effort to finish a close second to Disarm in the Grade 3 Matt Winn in June at Ellis Park ahead of making the grade at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

The regally-bred Verifying, a half-brother to 2019 Champion Older Dirt Female Midnight Bisou, is by 2018 Triple Crown-winner Justify and out of the graded stakes-winning Repent mare Diva Delite.

Also on the work tab Saturday for Cox was Godolphin’s dual Grade 1-winning Kentucky homebred Matareya, who went a half-mile in 48.55 on the Oklahoma Training Track.

The 4-year-old Pioneerof the Nile bay notched her Grade 1s in the Acorn last June at Belmont Park and the Derby City Distaff in May at Churchill Downs.

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Charge It ‘excellent’ in final breeze for G1 Whitney; Tapit Trice points to G1 Travers

Whisper Hill Farm’s homebred Charge It went a half-mile in 48.77 seconds this morning over the Saratoga Race Course main track in his final tune up for next Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Whitney.

Trained by Hall of Famer and four-time Whitney winning trainer Todd Pletcher, Charge It, enters the prestigious nine-furlong test from a 4 3/4-length win in the 10-furlong Grade 2 Suburban on July 8 at Belmont Park, where the son of multiple Champion-producing stallion Tapit registered a 106 Beyer Speed Figure.

“I thought it was excellent. He did it well in hand and looked good doing it. I’ve been very pleased with the way he’s trained since the Suburban,” said Pletcher, who campaigned previous Whitney winners Left Bank [2002], Lawyer Ron [2007], Cross Traffic [2013] and Life Is Good [2022].

The Suburban victory was a redemptive one for Charge It, who was fourth in the Grade 1 Hill ‘N’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap on June 10 at Belmont after finishing fifth as the favorite in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap on April 22.

During his sophomore campaign, Charge It finished a game second to White Abarrio in his stakes debut in the Grade 1 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park, which propelled him to a start in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby five weeks later. He finished 17th-of-20 in the Kentucky Derby, but made amends next out with a 23-length conquest of the Grade 3 Dwyer at Belmont Park, which garnered a career-high 111 Beyer.

“He’s a horse that’s always trained really strongly and shown hints that he’s capable to run a big race,” Pletcher noted. “His Dwyer was brilliant. His Suburban, I thought, was his most professional race. He’s starting to put it all together consistently. It’s a very tall order going up against the best older horses in training, but we’re happy with the way he’s coming into it.”

Charge It is out of the Indian Charlie mare I’ll Take Charge, whose Grade 1-winning and producing dam Take Charge Lady was the mother of 2013 Champion 3-Year-Old Colt Will Take Charge, Grade 1-winner Take Charge Indy and Charming – the dam of Grade 1-winning millionaire Omaha Beach and 2014 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Take Charge Brandi.

Pletcher reported that fellow Whisper Hill Farm color-bearer Tapit Trice will target the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers on August 26 at Saratoga.

Co-owned by Gainesway Stable, Tapit Trice was a last-out fifth in the Grade 1 Haskell on July 22 at Monmouth Park. Also a son of Tapit, the sophomore gray colt raced off the pace and lacked a crucial late kick, finishing 8 3/4 lengths behind the victorious Geaux Rocket Ride.

A 2023 Triple Crown alumnus, Tapit Trice was third in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets five weeks following a distant seventh in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby. Over the spring, he captured the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs and Grade 1 Blue Grass at Keeneland.

“Everything went wrong,” Pletcher said of his Haskell effort. “He didn’t get away well. He got bottled up behind horses in a lot of traffic. It was very similar to the Derby. He was in an impossible spot to run from, especially on a track like that.”

Bred in Kentucky by co-owner Gainesway, Tapit Trice is out of the multiple graded stakes-placed mare Danzatrice, whose Pletcher-trained sire Dunkirk finished second in the 2009 Belmont Stakes. He was bought for $1.3 million at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

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More Than Looks and Northern Invader work in company for graded stakes engagements

West Point Thoroughbreds and David Ingordo’s impressive maiden winner Northern Invader worked a half-mile in 49 flat Saturday over the Oklahoma training track in company with Victory Racing Partners’ graded-stakes winner More Than Looks.

Northern Invader is under consideration for the Grade 2, $500,000 Secretariat, a one-mile turf test for sophomores on August 12 at Colonial Downs, while More Than Looks is targeting Friday’s Grade 2, $500,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame at one-mile over the inner turf for 3-year-olds at Saratoga.

Both horses are trained by Cherie DeVaux, who was trackside for the breeze with her husband, Ingordo, who helped select the promising colts.

Northern Invader, a Collected chestnut bred in Ontario by Anderson Farms Ont. Inc. and Peter A. Berglar Racing Interests, was purchased for $310,000 at the OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.

He posted two runner-up efforts on dirt at Churchill Downs before trying turf last out in a one-mile maiden special weight at Belmont Park, drawing off to win by eight lengths. The stylish score under Hall of Famer John Velazquez garnered a career-best 94 Beyer Speed Figure.

“He had trained so well in the mornings on the dirt and his two efforts were good, but we thought there was probably some improvement on the turf. That proved out by how he ran,” Ingordo said. “He’s a very nice-moving horse. He has a beautiful stride on him and he barely picks his feet up off the ground. On turf, it just seems that much more effective.”

While Northern Invader is also nominated to the Hall of Fame, Ingordo indicated the lightly-raced colt is more likely to travel to Colonial.

“He’s penciled in for the Secretariat right now,” Ingordo said. “The race here is going to be pretty tough, so for his next step up we might go to the Secretariat, but that’s all to be determined.”

Ingordo said he has an appreciation for Airdrie Stud’s Collected, a horse he tried to buy as a stallion prospect for Lane’s End Farm.

“He went to Airdrie and so we followed the progeny of the sire and when we saw him at the 2-year-old sale, he breezed lights out,” said Ingordo of Northern Invader’s 10.1 sale breeze. “He’s a superstar physical horse. He’s gorgeous. We stepped up and bought him and it’s working out.”

More Than Looks, a More Than Ready colt bred in Kentucky by Hinkle Farms, was purchased for $135,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He is out of the stakes-winning Harlan’s Holiday mare Ladies’ Privilege, who is a full-sister to multiple graded stakes-winner Takeover Target – who captured the 2015 edition of the Hall of Fame. His third dam, Critical Crew, produced multiple Grade 1-winning New York-bred Critical Eye.

Ingordo noted that he tried to purchase Ladies’ Privilege at the 2019 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale where she was hammered down for $575,000 while in foal with More Than Looks.

“I was underbidder on his mother when he was in utero. The Hinkles are great breeders, and I’ve bought a lot of nice horses from them. I bought [multiple graded stakes-placed] Tarabi from them a couple years ago,” Ingordo said. “I go out looking on the farms before all these sales and they reminded me I was underbidder on the mother. He was stretchy looking – he looked like a horse that would get better with time.”

More Than Looks graduated at second asking in March over the Gulfstream Park synthetic and followed with a deep-closing second in a one-mile turf allowance at Keeneland when defeated a head by eventual graded stakes-winner Turf King. More Than Looks was a popular winner of a 1 1/16-mile turf allowance next up in June at Ellis Park before closing from last-of-7 under Velazquez to take the Grade 3 Manila last out on July 7 at Belmont.

DeVaux saddled Love and Money for a victory in the Clarksville at Horseshoe Indianapolis on the same day as the Manila, but Ingordo was onsite at Belmont with More Than Looks’ owners.

“I wasn’t afraid to go – sometimes, you go and the horse is over it’s head, but Cherie was very confident in how he was training and on the form it looked like the race could set up for him,” Ingordo said. “It was a great win for the owners, a great win for Cherie and kind of an emergence for that horse. I think he’s going to be a force in the division.

“More Than Looks closes like a freight train,” added Ingordo. “He’s got such a turn-of-foot and he has a huge stride when he lengthens it. He’s still learning. He was kind of immature mentally and now he’s putting it all together.”

Ingordo said DeVaux has done a terrific job of training More Than Looks to settle and take advantage of his closing kick.

“In between the Ellis Park race and the Manila, she did a good job working on getting him to relax,” Ingordo said. “Johnny did a great job with him in the Manila, and it’s all coming together. If he repeats that effort, he should show up and run well. He seems to like Saratoga.”

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Trainer Tom Morley wins two on Friday’s Spa card

Trainer Tom Morley found the winner’s circle twice on Friday and closed out a successful day at Saratoga with a game second by 68-1 longshot Sixwillberich in the nightcap.

“It’s so tough to win up here. I did think we had two very live chances yesterday,” said Morley. “We are not a big operation, so I thought we had some live shots, but for the two I really fancied to get the job done and then the horse in the last race, Sixwillberich, ran really well first time on turf to cap off a memorable day for us.”

Rainbow’s End Stable’s Into the Sunrise, a 5-year-old gelding by Into Mischief, broke sharply from post 7 of 8 in the second race on the card, a 5 1/2-furlong allowance over the Mellon turf. Piloted by Manny Franco, he went right to the front and blazed through fractions of 22.22 seconds and 44.55, and by the sixteenth pole it was clear that the bay would not be caught.

“He’s a fast horse. He likes the firm ground and five and a half furlongs, and with an outside draw we would have been remiss to not take advantage of the speed,” Morley explained. “He’s been very sharp since we claimed him, and I was absolutely thrilled with the ride that Manny Franco gave that horse.”

Into the Sunrise won at odds of 9-1, the second longest shot in the field, and paid $20.20 for a $2 win bet.

Morley’s success continued with Robert E. Murray and Michael P. Lyden’s Colloquy in the fifth race, a 1 1/8-mile allowance for New York-breds on the main track. The 4-year-old Flatter bay rated just off the pace set by Beta for the first half mile, before easily going by near the second turn without being asked by apprentice jockey Jaime Torres. He led by 5 1/2 lengths at the stretch call and extended the lead to a 6 3/4 lengths much-the-best win in a final time of 1:52.70. He returned $4.60 as the mutuel favorite.

“On paper, he was meant to win yesterday. The only question mark really was whether he’d stay the trip properly. There was a lot of skepticism in the racing punditry as well as myself about whether he’d get the trip,” said Morley. “But I thought [Torres] gave him a fantastic ride, put him in the right place at the right time. He put the race to bed at the top of the lane.”

The triumph marked Jaime Torres’ first victory at Saratoga. Morley said the hardworking apprentice is, “as good an apprentice as we’ve seen around here for a long, long time.”

In the final race of the day, DZ Stable’s Sixwillberich and Torres spent the early going trailing the frontrunning Urgent Fury in fifth, inside of a middle pack of the widely spread 12 horse field. Urgent Fury refused to give up the lead, but Sixwillberich outkicked the rest of the bunch for an impressive second as the highest price in the field.

“Any day you win two is a massive day. To do that and then have a horse run very well at a big price in the night cap… certainly made waiting around until the end of the day worthwhile,” said Morley, with a laugh.

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