Saratoga Race Course Notes

NYRA PRESS OFFICE —-

Point of Honor on track for G1 Personal Ensign
Max Player puts in third breeze since earning Belmont Stakes blacktype heading into G1 Runhappy Travers
Funny Guy points to $85K John Morrissey Handicap
Mott barn gearing up for Saratoga graded stakes
Pletcher babies getting an education at the Spa
Cross Border possible for G2 Bowling Green
Chatlos well stocked for Saratoga summer meet
Got Stormy looking to beat the boys again, training up to defend G1 Fourstardave crown
Saratoga Weeks 3 stakes probables

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer George Weaver confirmed graded stakes winner Point of Honor for the Grade 1, $500,000 Personal Ensign presented by NYRA Bets on August 1 at Saratoga Race Course.

Owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Stetson Racing, the 4-year-old daughter of Curlin will be in search of her first victory since capturing the Grade 2 Black Eyed Susan last May at Pimlico Race Course. She has not finished off the board in five starts since, including four placings against Grade 1 company.

Point of Honor will arrive at the Personal Ensign off a runner-up effort in the one-turn Grade 1 Ogden Phipps on June 13 at Belmont Park, where she tracked the pace in fifth from the three path, received her cue from Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano, moved into contention in unison to the outside of She’s a Julie missing by a nose.

Weaver said that the two-turn mile and an eighth will prove beneficial.

“I think she’s better at two turns and we always have thought that,” Weaver said. “She still ran huge last time and she’ll get another chance to redeem herself in the Personal Ensign.”

Point of Honor worked five furlongs over the Oklahoma training track on Wednesday morning, completing the distance in 1:03.42.

“She worked well,” Weaver said.

Point of Honor is one of many talented distaffers in the older filly and mare division, which includes champions Monomoy Girl and Midnight Bisou, the latter of who also is targeting the Personal Ensign.

“It’s a pretty solid group. There are some really good mares out there and she’s one of them,” Weaver said. “We’re just looking to keep on trucking and win one of these and hopefully we can get to the Breeders’ Cup.”

The Personal Ensign, a Breeders’ Cup “Win And You’re In” event for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff on November 7 at Keeneland.

Dual Grade 1-winner Vekoma is still on target for the Grade 1, $300,000 Forego presented by America’s Best Racing on August 29 at Saratoga.

Owned by R. A. Hill Stable, Gatsas Stables, Vekoma won the Grade 1 Runhappy Carter and the Grade 1 Runhappy Met Mile at Belmont Park this summer, where he registered triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures.

“The Forego is on the 29th so we’ll probably start working the first part of August,” Weaver said. “He’s been galloping, doing well and I’m just letting him get back up underneath himself.”

Bred in Kentucky by Alpha Delta Stable, Vekoma has won six of his eight career starts, four of which were against graded stakes company. As a 2-year-old he won the Grade 3 Nashua before winning a graded stakes around two turns in the Grade 2 Blue Grass at Keeneland.

* * *

Max Player puts in third breeze since earning Belmont Stakes blacktype heading into G1 Runhappy Travers

George E. Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds’ Max Player, the third-place finisher in last month’s Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, continues to train forwardly towards the Grade 1, $1 million Runhappy Travers on August 8, trainer Linda Rice said.

Max Player, who finished only behind Dr Post and winner Tiz the Law in the Belmont Stakes on June 20, worked for the third time since the first leg of the Triple Crown, going five furlongs in 1:02.21 on Monday morning over the Belmont Park training track.

“He breezed fine and everything went well,” Rice said. “We took it easy with him because the temperatures have been in the high-90s out there. It’s been crazy hot, but everything is going smoothly.”

The Honor Code colt, 2-1-1 in four career races, made his first two starts at Parx, running second in his debut at one mile on November 12 before winning at the same distance at second asking over a sloppy and sealed track on December 17.

In his first race as a sophomore, Max Player defeated an eight-horse field by 3 ¼ lengths in the 1 1/8-mile Grade 3 Withers on February 1 at Aqueduct Racetrack. In the Belmont Stakes, which was shortened from its famed 1 ½-mile distance to a one-turn 1 1/8 miles to accommodate the revised schedule for 3-year-olds in training, Max Player earned a personal-best 92 Beyer Speed Figure.

With the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby set for September 5 and serving as the middle jewel of the Triple Crown this year, Max Player earned 30 qualifying points for his Belmont Stakes blacktype, adding to the 10 he accumulated with his Withers win. His 40 total qualifying points places him 15th on the current leaderboard, with the Runhappy Travers offering a 100-40-20-10 scale to the top-four finishers.

“He’s on schedule,” Rice said. “We’re at our home base here. He’ll get one more breeze at Belmont and we’ll go from there.”

The “Mid-Summer Derby” is contested at 1 ¼ miles, which would make the Travers both Max Player’s first start at Saratoga and also the longest race in which he’s contested. Rice said there is a possibility he could work at Saratoga before running, but said he has already won in unfamiliar places.

“When we won in the Withers at Aqueduct, he had never been on that track, either,” Rice said. “He can handle new situations well.”

* * *

Funny Guy points to $85K John Morrissey Handicap

After a stellar effort against his New York-bred counterpart in the Commentator at Belmont Park, trainer John Terranova will target Funny Guy towards the $85,000 John Morrissey Handicap, at seven furlongs for Empire State-breds 3-years-old and up on July 30 at Saratoga Race Course.

The Big Brown bay colt registered a career-best 101 Beyer Speed Figure in the one-turn mile Commentator, where he raced along the rail while being patiently ridden by Joel Rosario, began moving into contention approaching the quarter-pole and drew off to a 1 ¼-length win over multiple-stakes winning millionaires Mr. Buff and Pat On the Back.

“He got a little tight there a couple of times, but he’s a smart horse. He’s a horse you’re able to do that with if you’re put in that situation,” Terranova said. “He’s shown that before, where he’s got that ability. He’s been stopped before and had some traffic trouble. Right now we’re looking at the Morrissey. We’ll breeze him this weekend and if all is good, we’ll take a look at Thursday.”

Owned by Gatsas Stables, R. A. Hill Stable and Swick Stable, Funny Guy has made only one start against open company, finishing sixth in the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby on September 29 at Remington Park.

Prior to winning the Commentator, the versatile Funny Guy owns two other stakes victories in the six-furlong Times Square division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series at Aqueduct, which he won in April 2019, and the Albany over the Saratoga main track going 1 1/8 miles on August 23.

“We’ll be backing up a bit,” Terranova said. “But he’s had success anywhere from sprinting to a mile and an eighth. We’ll just go along those lines right now and take it from there.”

Bred in New York by Hibiscus Stables, Funny Guy is out of the four-time stakes winning Distorted Humor broodmare Heavenly Humor.

Terranova said dual graded stakes-placed Stan the Man, who was second to Firenze Fire in the Grade 2 True North on June 27 at Belmont Park last out, could race in the $85,000 Tale of the Cat on August 20 at Saratoga.

Owned by Long Lake Stable, Stan the Man has not won since taking the Queens County at Aqueduct in his final start of 2019.

“He looks good. We’ll wait until the end of the met to run him. Maybe a race like the Tale of the Cat would be good for him,” Terranova said.

* * *

Mott barn gearing up for Saratoga graded stakes

Juddmonte Farms’ homebred Tacitus, by Tapit and out of multiple Grade-1 winning Champion Close Hatches, is likely to make his next start in the Grade 1, $500,000 Woodward, a 1 ¼-mile test for 3-year-olds and up on September 5.

Tacitus breezed a half-mile in 49.83 on July 19 on the Oklahoma training track in his first breeze back since romping to an 8 ¾-length score in the Grade 2 Suburban on July 4 at Belmont Park.

“It was just an easy breeze, just on the bridle and very good,” said Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. “We’re looking at the Woodward.”

Tacitus is also nominated to the Grade 1, $750,000 Whitney at nine furlongs on August 1, but Mott said the extra time between starts and added furlong make the Woodward more attractive.

“That combination [of factors] would be important,” said Mott.

The Estate of Harvey A. Clarke and Paul Braverman’s Harvey’s Lil Goil has options on dirt and turf for her next start. The American Pharoah gray won the nine-furlong Busanda on dirt in February at the Big A and the Grade 3 Regret last out on June 27 on the Churchill Downs turf.

Mott said the versatile filly, who breezed a half-mile in 49.58 on the Oklahoma training track on July 21, could try either the main track Grade 1, $500,000 Alabama for 3-year-old fillies going 1 ¼ miles on August 15, or the second running of the $500,000 Saratoga Oaks, part of the Turf Triple Series for sophomore fillies on August 16

“She’s had one breeze and is doing fine. We have the option of the Alabama or the Saratoga Oaks,” said Mott. “We just have to view the fields and see who is going to run. Either race would be fine. We just need to look at it and see which one we have the best chance of winning.”

Mott said Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, R. A. Hill Stable and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing’s Channel Maker, a 6-year-old Ontario-bred son of English Channel, will make his next start in the Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green, an 11-furlong event for older horses on August 1.

The multiple Grade 1-winning Channel Maker won the 2018 Bowling Green and was fourth in last year’s edition.

Frank Fletcher Racing Operations’ Frank’s Rockette breezed a half-mile in 49.78 on July 19 on the Oklahoma training track. The sophomore daughter of Into Mischief made the grade last out in the Grade 3 Victory Ride, traveling 6 ½-furlongs on July 4 at Belmont. The speedy filly, who boasts a record of four wins and four seconds from eight starts, has finished second in both attempts at seven furlongs or greater, including the Grade 1 Spinaway and Grade 1 Frizette last season.

Options for Frank’s Rockette include the seven furlong Grade 1, $300,000 Longines Test on August 1 and the $200,000 Prioress for sophomore fillies going six furlongs on September 5.

“We might pass the Test,” said Mott. “The distance and the time in between starts would be important.”

Godolphin homebred Endorsed, a 4-year-old Medaglia d’Oro colt, finished seventh last out in the Grade 1 Runhappy Met Mile going one turn on July 4 at Belmont. Endorses finished second in the Curlin and fourth in the Grade 1 Runhappy Travers here last summer and Mott said he would like to stretch the bay colt out again in the $85,000 Alydar at nine furlongs on August 9.

“We’ll probably go two turns. We’re looking at an overnight stakes, the Alydar,” said Mott.

* * *

Pletcher babies getting an education at the Spa

Perhaps the best 2-year-olds in the barn of trainer Todd Pletcher are ones that are not yet named. Throughout the years, Pletcher has developed a reputation for having a barn full of young talent, and this year appears to be no exception.

On Thursday morning, Pletcher worked a quartet of unnamed 2-year-olds with some pedigrees that the 13-time leading trainer at the Spa is quite familiar with. These unnamed juveniles include a Tapit colt out of 2007 Kentucky Oaks and Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches; a Curlin colt out of Grade 1-winner Got Lucky; a Curlin colt out of Grade 1-winner Byrama; and a filly by Uncle Mo out of turf graded stakes winner Excited.

The unnamed colts out of Rags to Riches and Got Lucky went three furlongs over the Oklahoma training track, both completing their moves in 38.38 seconds.

“They both breezed three furlongs this morning and if they run at this meet it will be at the very end,” Pletcher said.

The Tapit-Rags to Riches colt is owned by Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and Derrick Smith. The colt by Curlin out of Got Lucky is owned by the “triumvirate” in partnership with St. Elias Stables and Repole Stables, and was a $1 million purchase at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Rags to Riches, a daughter of prolific champion-producing stallion A.P. Indy, gave Pletcher his first victory in an American classic when battling down the Belmont Park stretch to the outside of Curlin defeating the eventual two-time Horse of the Year by a head en route to Eclipse Award honors as Champion 3-Year-Old Filly in 2007. As a broodmare, Rags to Riches’ best offspring thus far has been Rhett Butler, a son of Galileo who was named Serbian Horse of the Year in 2017.

Got Lucky, also by A.P. Indy, was never worse than second in 12 out of 18 lifetime starts and won the Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster at Keeneland in 2015. She is a direct descendant of prolific broodmares Numbered Account and La Troienne, who is in the direct pedigree of over 30 champions.

“They’re both horses that we would expect to be two turn horses,” Pletcher said. “I wouldn’t expect them to be precocious summer 2-year-olds. I like the way they’re developing but we aren’t going to rush them into anything right away.”

Pletcher went on to say that the progeny out of Byrama and Excited are a little further along than his other two unnamed colts.

“They might be slightly ahead of Got Lucky and Rags to Riches, but they’re on a similar program,” said Pletcher.

The Curlin colt out of Byrama is owned by St Elias Stables, while the Uncle Mo filly out of Excited is owned by Michael Tabor.

Byrama, a bay mare out of Byron, won the Grade 1 Vanity Handicap in 2013 and was ten-times graded stakes placed on dirt, turf and all-weather surfaces.

A daughter of Giant’s Causeway, Excited won the Grade 3 Virginia Oaks in 2011 and has produced stakes-winner and graded stakes-placed Thrilled.

Pletcher went on to say that St Elias Stables’ Dr Post emerged from his third-place finish in the Grade 1 Haskell at Monmouth Park in good order. The son of Quality Road will likely train up to the Grade 1, $3 million Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on September 5.

“He came out of it well, we’ll see how he trains and go from there,” said Pletcher. “I don’t plan on having another start between now and September 5.”

* * *

Cross Border possible for G2 Bowling Green

Three Diamonds Farm’s Cross Border extended his perfect record at Saratoga while garnering a 94 Beyer for his impressive 6 ¼-length score in Wednesday’s Lubash, a 1 1/16-mile turf test restricted to New York-breds, 3-years-old and up.

The 6-year-old English Channel ridgling arrived at the Lubash off a fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Manhattan on July 4 at Belmont Park, where he finished a length back of the victorious Instilled Regard.

Initially campaigned at Woodbine by Robert Tiller, Cross Border was transferred to trainer Mike Maker last season and after a close second at Belmont in June 2019 for new connections, he reeled off a trio of scores on the Saratoga turf.

“He’s one of my favorite horses. He’s so honest,” said Maker assistant Nolan Ramsey. “Since we acquired him, he just got beat first out and then rattled off three in a row here before we dove into the deep end with stakes and open-company allowances and he showed up every time.”

Cross Border was fifth in the Grade 1 Turf Classic Invitational at Belmont in October, and sixth in the Grade 2 Fort Lauderdale in December at Gulfstream Park before earning graded black type when second in the Grade 3 W. L. McKnight in January at the Hallandale, Florida oval.

“He’s as honest as they come. He’s a little quirky and has his own way of doing things, but if he runs like he did yesterday, he can do whatever he wants,” said Ramsey with a laugh.

Options for Cross Border include the Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green on August 1 and the Grade 1, $500,000 Sword Dancer on August 29 at Saratoga, which offers an automatic berth into the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf on November 7 at Keeneland.

“He’s proven he belongs in the open company and graded stakes level,” said Ramsey. “He’ll have to step it up a little if he’s going to compete with the best but we have options against New York-breds and also the Bowling Green or Sword Dancer.

“It was a good place yesterday to get his first stakes win,” added Ramsey. “We’ll leave it up to the owners to decide but I think they’re contemplating running back quickly in the Bowling Green. He has good energy this morning so we’ll let him tell us.”

Paradise Farms Corp. and Parkland Thoroughbreds’ Stunning Sky earned a career-best 85 Beyer with a strong second, defeated a head by Speaktomeofsummer, in the nine furlong Grade 2 Lake Placid on July 19 on the Spa green.

Ramsey said Stunning Sky could target either the $500,000 Saratoga Oaks Invitational at 1 3/16-miles on August 16 or the Dueling Grounds Oaks at 1 5/16-miles on September 12 at Kentucky Downs.

“In my opinion, that was the best race she’s run,” said Ramsey of the Lake Placid effort. “She’s just so big she seems to struggle to get out of the gate. We thought the extra distance would do her well.

“She ran a good race before that at Churchill [sixth in the Grade 3 Regret],” added Ramsey. “She had to steady in the far turn and it probably cost her a placing. We’re pointing her towards the Dueling Grounds Oaks. She’s so big, we think she’ll get over that surface real nice. We’ve gone back and forth between that and the Saratoga Oaks, but I think she would be a contender in both.”

Paradise Farms Corp., David Staudacher, Hooties Racing and Skychai Racing’s Aquaphobia captured the Grade 1 United Nations on July 18, garnering a career-best 102 Beyer in the 11-furlong turf test at Monmouth Park.

Ramsey said the 7-year-old Giant’s Causeway horse, who owns a record of 36-9-6-6, is under consideration for the Sword Dancer.

“Possibly,” said Ramsey. “We’re also kicking around the Kentucky Turf Cup [September 7 at Kentucky Downs]. We have several horses to juggle and we’re a little loaded in the long older boys turf races right now. We’ll see how it plays out but the Kentucky Cup and the Sword Dancer are there and it’s a shame the Arlington Million isn’t an option this year.”

* * *

Chatlos well stocked for Spa summer meet

Trainer Don Chatlos is overseeing a stable of 12 well-bred horses owned mainly by Larry Best’s OXO Stables and all in varying stages of readiness for the Saratoga summer meet.

Among the notable 2-year-olds are high-level auction purchases Brattle House, Cheffy, Koolhaus, Tale of Dawn and Eleven Central.

“We’re not rushing any of them. The ones that make Saratoga will make it,” said Chatlos. “Mr. Best doesn’t want to waste time but he knows if you press, in a way that is wasting time if you end up having to stop. We’re taking a different approach this year and letting the horses take us where they want to go.

“We have some ready to run and a few others that will benefit from training here and be ready for Belmont,” added Chatlos. “Some pedigrees you have to be patient with and they’re not all going to be first out 2-year-olds and run straight to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Some of these are going to be more January or February of their 3-year-old year and if you try to press them before then, you’ll end up on the sidelines at the wrong time of the year.”

Brattle House, bred in New York by Oak Bluff Stables and Christophe Clement, brought $775,000 at the Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Preferred New York Bred Yearling Sale. The Malibu Moon filly is out of the Street Sense mare Savvy Sassy. She has yet to record her first breeze.

“She’s just getting going right now. We’re not going to rush her,” said Chatlos.

Tale of Dawn, a colt by Quality Road and out of the High Cotton mare Tanasi, was purchased for $525,000 at the 2018 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Bred in Kentucky by SF Bloodstock, Tale of Dawn is from the same family as Grade 1-winners Paulassilverlining and Dads Caps.

“He’s a nice horse but he’s way behind. He got sick as a yearling so he didn’t get broke with the rest of them,” said Chatlos. “He’s just getting going, but he’s looking good.”

Cheffy was hammered down for $450,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale. The Quality Road colt is further along than his stablemates with four breezes at Keenland and a half-mile in 49.51 on July 20 on the Oklahoma training track to his credit.

“He’s clicking right along. He’s very smart and trains like an older horse,” said Chatlos.

Koolhaus, a colt from the first crop of Nyquist, is out of Lady Eli’s half-sister Holy Place. She was purchased for $600,000 at the 2018 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale and is three works into his career including a three-eighths effort in 37.37 July 20 on the Oklahoma training track.

“He was on the same track as Cheffy but he got a temperature shipping to me in Kentucky, so he’s about 10 days behind,” said Chatlos.

Eleven Central, by Into Mischief and out of Canada’s 2007 Horse of the Year Sealy Hill, is a half-brother to multiple Grade 1-winner Cambier Parc and graded-stakes winners Gale Force, Belle Hill and Hillaby. A $950,000 purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, he worked three-eighths in 40.65 July 20 on the Oklahoma Training Track.

Chad Brown, who trained Cambier Parc as well as recent Grade 1 Manhattan winner Instilled Regard for OXO Equine, will take over training duties this week on Eleven Central.

“That horse will be going to Chad because he trained Cambier Parc,” said Chatlos. “He’s a typical Into Mischief, very forward. He’s learning. It will help him getting over to Chad because he has a lot more horses than I do and can gallop him with two or three in company. When I have him going with one other horse, he just wants to play. I think he’ll be a good fall horse.”

The unraced Lefroy, a 3-year-old Verrazano colt out of the stakes winning Black Tie Affair mare Argent Affair, was purchased for $700,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Florida Select 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. He is a half-brother to 2018 Grade 3 Pilgrim-winner Forty Under. He was working steadily at Santa Anita in February until incurring a difficult setback.

“He was doing really good at Santa Anita and then he almost died on me – he had salmonella poisoning,” said Chatlos. “He was in the hospital for 36 days. The first 15 days they weren’t sure he was going to make it. We took our time with him and got him going again in Kentucky. He seems to be going good now.”

Lefroy return to the work tab in July at Keeneland and worked a half-mile in 50.07 on July 20 on the Oklahoma training track.

Others in the barn include the veteran Rowayton [$320,000, FTS Aug], a 4-year-old Into Mischief colt who is multiple Grade 1-placed; Clivetty [$900,000 OBS], a 3-year-old full sister to Rowayton, who was off-the-board in the Grade 3 Dogwood last out on June 6 at Churchill Downs; the unraced Klugh [$350,000, 2018 Keeneland November], a colt by Medaglia d’Oro; Madison Parc [$420,000 FTK November], a New York-bred half-sister to Brill, who was sixth yesterday in a Saratoga maiden; Searing Chase [$700,000, KEE Sep], a 4-year-old Uncle Mo gelding with one start under his belt; and Snap Chap [$1.2M, 2018 KEE Sep], a 3-year-old Into Mischief colt with two starts in California.

Clivetty earned a 55 Beyer in her first out graduation in February at Santa Anita and followed up with a fourth in an optional-claiming mile on the Santa Anita turf. Last out, she was sixth in the Grade 3 Dogwood won by Four Graces, who exited that effort to set a track record winning the Grade 3 Beaumont at Keeneland.

“Clivetty is doing well. She broke her maiden first time out at Santa Anita. She was overmatched against Four Graces in the Dogwood. We’ll get her in a ‘one other than’ here,” said Chatlos.

Searing Chase went to post at odds of 9-2 in a seven-furlong maiden event on July 8 at Keeneland and closely stalked the pace until fading late.

“He went seven-eighths first out at Keeneland and got a little tired. We’re looking at a maiden on August 1,” said Chatlos.

* * *

Got Stormy looking to beat the boys again, training up to defend G1 Fourstardave crown

Gary Barber’s Got Stormy will bid to become a repeat victor of the Grade 1, $400,000 Fourstardave on August 22 at Saratoga, with the two-time Grade 1-winner registering a four-furlong breeze in 48.32 seconds over the Spa’s main track on Wednesday.

Got Stormy worked for the first time since running fourth in the one-mile Grade 3 Poker on July 4 at Belmont Park. Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse said she is readying to defend her title in the Fourstardave, a one-mile turf route against 3-year-olds and up, which offers the winner all-fees paid berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Mile in November at Keeneland.

“She’s doing well. She’s good and we’re still aiming for the Fourstardave,” Casse said. “We worked her on the dirt yesterday just because it was her first work back, but she’ll go back and work on the dirt probably next time.”

Should Got Stormy win, she would be the race’s first repeat winner since Wise Dan in 2012-13, who was the first to do it since Fourstardave himself won the 1990 and 1991 editions of what was then called the Daryl’s Joy.

“That would be wonderful. We’re just hoping and looking forward to getting a firm turf,” Casse said.

Got Stormy is a daughter of Get Stormy, the 2010 Fourstardave winner. Last year, as a 4-year-old, she became the first filly to win the prestigious race, besting the boys at one mile over a firm turf in a track record 1:32 flat. She then faced males in her next two starts, finishing second in both the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile, over soft going, and the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita. She completed a stellar season with a win in the Grade 1 Matriarch at Del Mar.

She has finished fourth in three of her four starts of her 5-year-old campaign but ran second, a neck behind winner River Boyne, in the Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe in March at Santa Anita.

Live Oak Plantation’s Tap It to Win, fifth last out in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, is also back on the work tab, going five furlongs in 1:00.72 over Saratoga’s main track on Monday as he works his way towards the Grade 1, $300,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial presented by Runhappy on Whitney Day, August 1.

In his second work since running in the Triple Crown’s first leg on June 20, Tap It to Win built on his first breeze on July 13 when he went four furlongs in 48.09. The Tapit ridgling, who has three wins and a runner-up in seven career starts, is 2-for-2 in dirt sprints, including a 1 ½-length score at six furlongs on May 9 at Gulfstream Park.

The H. Allen Jerkens will be contested at seven furlongs, marking a cutback from the 1 1/8-mile Belmont Stakes. Saratoga also marks the site of Tap It to Win’s maiden-breaking victory, coming last August at six furlongs.

“We’re excited to get him out there,” Casse said. “His one race at Saratoga, sprinting, was extremely good, so we’re hoping that will make him tough.”

Tracy Farmer’s Sir Winston, the 2019 Grade 1 Belmont Stakes winner who captured the “Test of the Champion” and its famed 1 1/2-mile distance, is pointing towards the $85,000 Alydar for older dirt horses going 1 1/8 miles on August 9. After winning his 4-year-old debut against optional claimers in January at Aqueduct Racetrack, the Classic winner ran second in the Flat Out on a sloppy and sealed Belmont track June 11 before misfiring with a sixth-place finish in the 1 1/4-mile Grade 2 Suburban on July 4.

Casse said he’s waiting to see if the Awesome Again colt is keen on continuing his racing career that has seen him post a 4-2-1 record and $1.02 million in earnings in 14 starts thus far.

“I don’t have any real ideas or notions why he didn’t run better but we’re going to give him another try and hope he proves he still wants to be a racehorse,” Casse said. “For him, it’s about him wanting to be a racehorse again. I don’t know if the distance is as important as his desire. He seems comfortable here. We’re just trying to get him back on track.”

Perfect Alibi, also owned by Farmer, is working towards the Grade 1, $300,000 Longines Test on Runhappy Travers Day, August 8. The seven-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies will give the daughter of Sky Mesa a chance to atone for a fifth-place effort in the Grade 1 Acorn on Belmont Stakes Day June 20 in her previous start.

On Sunday, Perfect Alibi worked five furlongs in 1:01.78 on the Saratoga main track. She won both of her starts at the Spa as a juvenile, including the Grade 2 Adirondack and then a 1 1/4-length victory in the Grade 1 Spinaway, contested at the Test’s distance, last September.

The Longines Test could feature the return of Gamine, the impressive filly conditioned by fellow Hall of Famer Bob Baffert who won the Acorn by 18 3/4 lengths last month.

The Acorn was Perfect Alibi’s first start since running fourth in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies in November at Santa Anita. After more than seven months off, Casse said he’s hoping that race helped her work into form for the rest of the campaign.

“Bob’s filly is phenomenal, but we’re just trying and we know Perfect Alibi has run extremely well at Saratoga,” Casse said. “She’s undefeated there. So, we’re just going to go there and hope for the best. She only had one race in a long time and we’re just trying to get her back on track.”

* * *

Saratoga Race Course Week 3 stakes probables

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

$85,000 Dayatthespa

Probable: Classic Lady (Christophe Clement), Niko’s Dream (Barclay Tagg), Vortex Road (Bruce Levine), War Canoe (Chad Brown), Wegetsdamunnys (Clement), Wish Upon (John Terranova)

Thursday, July 30

$85,000 John Morrissey

Probable: Amundson (Horacio DePaz), Arthur’s Hope (Marco Salazar), Build to Suit (Brown), Celtic Chaos (Brad Cox), Freaky Styley (Jorge Abreu), Funny Guy (Terranova), My Boy Tate (Michelle Nevin), Pat On the Back (Jeremiah Englehart), T Loves a Fight (Orlando Noda)

Friday, July 31

$100,000 Coronation Cup

Probable: Always Inthe Munny (Tom Amoss), American Giant (Michael Trombetta), Bredenbury (Steve Asmussen), Fast Scene (Tim Hamm), Fly So Pretty (Mark Casse), Lexi on the Move (Robertino Diodoro), Miss J McKay (Cathal Lynch), Misty Blue (Mike Maker), Shippy (George Weaver)

Saturday, August 1

Grade 1, $750,000 Whitney

Probable: By My Standards (Bret Calhoun), Code of Honor (Shug McGaughey), Mr. Buff (John Kimmel), Owendale (Cox), Tom’s d’Etat (Al Stall, Jr.)

Possible: American Tattoo (Jack Sisterson), Its All Relevant (Rudy Rodriguez)

Grade 1, $300,000 H. Allen Jerkens presented by Runhappy

Probable: Captain Bombastic (Je. Englehart), Collusion Illusion (Mark Glatt), Echo Town (Asmussen), Eight Rings (Bob Baffert), Liam’s Pride (Doug O’Neill), Mischevious Alex (John Servis), No Parole (Amoss), Shoplifted (Asmussen), Tap It to Win (Mark Casse), Three Technique (Je. Englehart)

Grade 1, $500,000 Personal Ensign presented by NYRA Bets

Probable: Midnight Bisou (Asmussen), Motion Emotion (Richard Baltas), Point of Honor (George Weaver), Vexatious (Sisterson)

Possible: Abounding Joy (Rodolphe Brisset), Bossy Bridge (Rob Atras)

Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green

Probable: Channel Maker (Bill Mott), Dot Matrix (Cox), Sadler’s Joy (Tom Albertrani)

Possible: Counter Offer (Ian Wilkes), Highland Sky (Tagg), Jais’s Solitude (Eddie Kenneally), Nakamura (Graham Motion)

$200,000 Caress

Probable: Bohemian Bourbon (Wilkes), Dalika (Stall, Jr.), Getmotherarose (Tom Bush), I’llhandalthecash (Ray Handal), Introduced (Jorge Duarte, Jr.), Jakarta (Mike Maker), Jean Elizabeth (Larry Rivelli), Miss Gossip (Eduardo Caramori), Sweet By and Bye (Anthony Dutrow)

Possible: Morticia (Rusty Arnold)

Sunday, August 2

$100,000 Birdstone

Probable: Rocketry (Jimmy Jerkens), Tenfold (Asmussen)