Saratoga Race Course Notes 07/21

NYRA PRESS OFFICE —-

Saratoga Race Course Notes

Multiple G1-winner Thorpedo Anna another fan favorite filly for McPeek
Sierra Leone works for G2 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun
Fierceness works for G2 Jim Dandy; Mindframe second in the G1 NYRA Bets Haskell
Society Man works towards G3 West Virginia Derby
Mark Casse and Dylan Davis winning in bunches
Soul of an Angel game in G3 Molly Pitcher defeat to Idiomatic; White Abarrio being freshened

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Kenny McPeek has seen several fillies he has trained become fan favorites, especially the multiple Grade 1-winner Swiss Skydiver, who beat the boys in the 2020 Grade 1 Preakness after winning Saratoga Race Course’s Grade 1 Alabama.

Four years later, it is the imposing Thorpedo Anna who has captured both the hearts of race fans and three consecutive Grade 1 victories after romping in Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Coaching Club American Oaks, a nine-furlong route for sophomore fillies, at the Spa.

Thorpedo Anna is the undisputed leader of her division after her scintillating scores in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks in May at Churchill Downs and the Grade 1 DK Horse Acorn in June during the Spa’s Belmont Stakes Racing Festival en route to the CCA Oaks.

Thorpedo Anna arrived in Saratoga on May 23 and has since trained regularly over the Oklahoma training track. Following her Acorn score, McPeek posted on the social media platform X, “She will stay at Saratoga and train on Oklahoma side before 6am daily. The Whitney Stand is a great place to watch for her. We will be backing her up to that Stand every day she trains. I’ll get her a saddle towel with her name. Danny Ramsey gallops her daily.”

The Spa racing fans have continued to follow the talented filly and they will have enjoyed nearly three months of up-close-and-personal time with Thorpedo Anna by the time of her next start in what might be her first outing against males in the Grade 1, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers on August 24.

“It’s a real honor to be around a horse like that,” said McPeek. “Every trainer ought to hope to train one like her. She’s pretty easy, and she’s just so talented. I think the sport always gravitates towards the good horses, and she’s like a magnet bringing a lot of people to the game.”

Thorpedo Anna was a facile winner of the CCA Oaks despite a difficult beginning when hopping at the start in post 2-of-4 and hitting the gate to break slowest behind the sharp Leslie’s Rose. Regular pilot Brian Hernandez, Jr. did not panic, and let his charge use her athleticism to recover well and split rivals to stalk in second onto the backstretch.

Leslie’s Rose put daylight between her and Thorpedo Anna down the backside, but Hernandez, Jr. made a slight adjustment of his hands and his charge needed just a few strides to rapidly close upon the pacesetter and take command exiting the turn. She drew clear under confident handling with Hernandez, Jr. flagging the crop on her right side and riding through the wire to complete the course in 1:50.95. The 4 1/2-length triumph was awarded a 95 Beyer Speed Figure.

“She’s all good,” said McPeek. “She just breathes rare air. The awkward break was nerve wracking, but not terrible. When you saw she was coming to her [Leslie’s Rose] with little effort, you thought she had a good chance. It was great.”

Now, McPeek faces the decision of whether to keep his star filly in a division she dominates in the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama presented by Keeneland Sales on August 17, or to test her mettle against males in the Grade 1 DraftKings Travers one week later.

McPeek said he is fine with taking some time to make a well-thought-out decision.

“We’re contemplating all the details,” said McPeek. “We’re working through all of it.”

Bred in Kentucky by Judy Hicks, Thorpedo Anna has proven well beyond worth her frugal purchase price of $40,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale, now sporting $1,980,663 in total purse earnings. Her resume also includes a win in the Grade 2 Fantasy in March at Oaklawn Park, making her perfect in four outings this year.

***

Sierra Leone works for G2 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun

Sierra Leone breezed a half-mile solo in 49.73 seconds Sunday over the Oklahoma training track in his final preparation for Saturday’s nine-furlong Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun, at Saratoga Race Course.

NYRA clockers caught the Gun Runner colt in an opening quarter-mile of 25.25 before galloping out in 1:02.68, 1:14.93, and 1:28.92.

“He did super. He’s in a nice rhythm,” Brown said. “He’s been working solo on the training track – I’m liking it. He galloped out with good energy. That’s just what I’m looking for six days out.”

Campaigned by Peter M. Brant, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, and Brook T. Smith, Sierra Leone had worked in company training up to his third-place finish last out in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets but has worked solo leading into the Jim Dandy.

“He’s at a stage of his development where it was something to transition into,” Brown explained. “I’m very flexible in training them and observing where they are in their development. For right now, at this point of his campaign, it’s working for him taking him out of company for a little bit. He’s very fit and I’m just looking to bring him to the race healthy and focused.”

Sierra Leone captured the Grade 2 Risen Star in February at Fair Grounds and followed in April with a victory in Keeneland’s Grade 1 Blue Grass. He was a close runner-up to Mystik Dan in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby in May ahead of his Belmont Stakes effort.

Saturday’s Jim Dandy will serve as the local major prep for the Grade 1, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers on August 24.

Brown reported that Klaravich Stables’ undefeated Unmatched Wisdom exited his frontrunning win in Friday’s restricted Curlin in good order.

The Cairo Prince colt captured his first two starts against elders at Belmont at the Big A under regular pilot Flavien Prat, taking a one-turn mile maiden by 6 1/4-lengths on debut in May and following with a 5 3/4-length allowance romp traveling nine furlongs in June.

He made his stakes debut a winning one in the nine-furlong Curlin, marking off splits of 23.58, 48.37, 1:12.66 and 1:37.43 en route to a one-length score over stakes-winner Corporate Power in a final time of 1:50.70. The winning effort garnered a career-best 99 Beyer Speed Figure.

“He got a good blow out of it,” Brown said. “He got a lot out of that race and was quite tired the next day, but he’s nice and sound. I’m looking forward to getting him back on the track tomorrow.

“I’m very pleased with the track right now, that it’s not so fast,” Brown added. “A perfect example there of a time that maybe was not too flashy, but good compared to all the other times [on the card]. A wide range of horses winning from any position in the races is a good indication of how fair the track is. I’m very pleased about that.”

Brown said Unmatched Wisdom, a $450,000 OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training purchase, will point to the Travers.

“I think he’s earned his right,” Brown said. “If all the horses in this division stay healthy, it’s shaping up to be a really strong edition of the Travers, so he’s going to have to step up considerably but he’s undefeated and he has good positional speed. I think his best races and his best numbers are ahead of him. With that said, if he moves forward, he could be in the mix.”

Klaravich Stables’s dual graded stakes-placed Kentucky-homebred Ways and Means worked a bullet half-mile in 47.20 Saturday over the Oklahoma dirt training track in preparation for a start in the seven-furlong Grade 1, $500,000 Test presented by Ticketmaster on August 3 here.

The sophomore daughter of the Brown-trained Practical Joke was last seen drawing off to an 8 1/4-length score against elders on June 6 here in a one-mile allowance out of the Wilson Chute.

“She’s in a nice rhythm breezing by herself,” Brown said. “After that big win here – a confidence-building allowance race Belmont week – she’s really where I need her to be fitness wise and now it’s just some maintenance coming into the Test. She’ll have one more work and that might not be a big field, but that will be a strong field and she’ll really have to show her best stuff.”

Ways and Means debuted with authority in August at the Spa, scoring by 12 3/4-lengths in a six-furlong maiden special weight ahead of a close second to Brightwork in the seven-furlong Grade 1 Spinaway after a troubled trip. She finished second to Power Squeeze in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks in March in her seasonal debut before her fourth-place finish to the victorious Thorpedo Anna in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks.

Klaravich Stables debuted an impressive maiden winner Saturday as Incentive Pay [No. 4, $7.20] rallied up the rail to capture a six-furlong maiden special weight on the main track under Hall of Famer Joel Rosario.

The Volatile colt exited post 4 and rated in fourth position through a half-mile in 46.32 seconds, advancing through the turn and surging up the rail from the quarter-pole home to score by a much-the-best 2 1/2-lengths in a final time of 1:12.20. The winning effort garnered a 68 Beyer Speed Figure.

The four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer noted following the race Saturday the past success he and owner Seth Klarman of Klaravich Stables have enjoyed with first-crop stallions, including 2017 Grade 1 Preakness winner Cloud Computing [MacLean’s Music] and 2022 Grade 1 Preakness winner Early Voting [Gun Runner].

“We like to find value at the sales and not go for the sale-topping horses,” Brown said. “Often, the first-crop stallions that are good individuals provide the opportunity in that price range to gather them up. We’ve been very lucky. If you pick wrong and you hook up to the wrong first crop stallion, it’s not a great experience.”

Brown was keen to credit Pete Bradley, who selected the $315,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, and Nick de Meric, who broke the horse.

“It was Nick and Pete that initially recommended me [as a trainer] to Seth,” Brown said. “The horse came in classy, smart and acts the part of a 3-year-old really.”

Brown said the colt reminded him of Practical Joke, a multiple Grade 1-winning Into Mischief bay that Rosario guided to a rail rallying victory in the 2017 Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens for Brown.

“Different color and no breeding of Practical Joke in him, but he’s the same shape of him and he’s the same exact size,” Brown said. “He’s a cookie cutter of the horse at two if you just painted him bay and he acts exactly like him. He was a gentleman horse Practical Joke – from Day One he was a classy horse, and he always had that maturity of a horse that was much older than he was, and Joel did such a fabulous job with this horse – particularly in the Allen Jerkens here.”

The similarities between Incentive Pay and Practical Joke were so striking that Brown reached out to Rosario’s agent, Ron Anderson, to book the mount.

“I called up his agent and said, ‘I’ve found a horse for you that reminds of Practical Joke and I’m going to reward Joel for the job he did with that horse and give it to him,” said Brown.

Rosario was in fifth position aboard Practical Joke in the Jerkens behind the pace set by eventual runner-up Takaful before the veteran rider cut the corner and rallied to a 1 1/4-length score.

Brown said he told Rosario to ride Incentive Pay in exactly the same manner.

“I said, ‘don’t get in a hurry,'” recalled Brown. “And didn’t he come up the rail just like he did in the Jerkens. He said, ‘I did it exactly the same race, boss’.

“He took it a little bit extreme,” added Brown, with a laugh. “He gave me exactly the same trip.”

As good a ride as he was given, Brown said Incentive Pay touted himself pre-race.

“He really gave me the final piece of confidence in the paddock when I put the saddle on him and he was just so professional and classy,” Brown said. “That always gives the trainer a good feeling for a 2-year-old. My student here was well behaved.”

Incentive Pay is out of the winning Distorted Humor mare Distinguishable, who is a half-sister to graded stakes-winner Mo Cuishle.

***

Fierceness works for G2 Jim Dandy; Mindframe second in the G1 NYRA Bets Haskell

Repole Stable’s Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Fierceness breezed a half-mile in 49 3/5 seconds Sunday, according to NYRA clockers, to complete his preparations for Saturday’s Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun, a nine-furlong main track test for sophomores, at Saratoga Race Course.

The City of Light bay worked in company to the outside of sophomore colt Marche at approximately 7 a.m. over the Spa main track.

“Excellent. It went very well,” said Pletcher. “A nice easy half-mile in 49 and change, he looked good.”

Fierceness, a dominant winner of the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in November at Santa Anita Park and Grade 1 Florida Derby in March at Gulfstream Park, hasn’t run since a distant fifteenth as the favorite in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 4 at Churchill Downs.

He was entered for the nine-furlong Grade 1 NYRA Bets Haskell on Saturday at Monmouth Park but scratched in favor of the Grade 2 Jim Dandy.

Out of the winning Stay Thirsty mare Nonna Bella, Fierceness, a Kentucky homebred for Repole Stable, won his debut by 11 1/4 lengths in August in his lone effort at the Spa.

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables’ Mindframe remained in the Grade 1 NYRA Bets Haskell and finished 1 1/4-lengths back of Dornoch after taking the lead briefly in the stretch. The performance mirrored the result of the 10-furlong Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets, where the same foe battled back along the rail to win by a half-length.

The Constitution dark bay received a 101 Beyer Speed Figure for both runner-up finishes to now multiple Grade 1-winner Dornoch.

Pletcher said the Haskell was a good effort to a valiant foe.

“Good effort there, he was just second best yesterday. Hats off to the winner,” said Pletcher. “I thought Mindframe ran great, we’ll see if he can come back and improve a little bit. He cooled out well. Looked good, spent the night at Monmouth and will come back to Saratoga tomorrow.”

Pletcher said the Grade 1, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers on August 24 here is a likely goal while no plans have been confirmed.

“Yeah, we will talk to Mike [Repole] and the St. Elias team, and come up with a plan,” Pletcher said.

In his two other starts, Mindframe won by 13 3/4 lengths in a seven-furlong maiden in March at Gulfstream and by 7 1/2 lengths in an optional-claimer on May 4 at Churchill.

While a tough defeat for Mindframe, Pletcher found the winner’s circle at Monmouth Park with Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway Stable’s Grade 1-winner Tapit Trice, who took the nine-furlong Grade 3 Monmouth Cup by 5 1/4 lengths in his first start since the Grade 1 Travers in August here.

The 4-year-old Tapit gray won for the first time since the Grade 1 Blue Grass in March 2023 at Keeneland. After that, he contested four more Grade 1 events, including the Kentucky Derby [seventh], Belmont [third], Haskell [fifth] and Travers [third].

“I thought it was an impressive run off the layoff. First time since the Travers, to run one mile and an eighth like that is pretty good,” Pletcher said of the return to the winner’s circle.

The well-regarded prospect, who also won the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby last March at its namesake course, was off slow in many of his defeats. He added blinkers for the Travers but could only close for third behind eventual Champion 3-Year-Old Arcangelo.

Pletcher kept the blinkers on Tapit Trice in the Monmouth Cup and said that a good start allowed him to travel comfortably. The performance earned a career-best 101 Beyer.

“He got into a good rhythm which seems to be key for him,” said Pletcher. “We know he is a horse capable of running those types of races, so it was good to see.”

Tapit Trice may make his next appearance in the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup, a 10-furlong main track test for 3-year-olds and up on September 1 here. The race is a “Win And You’re In” event for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic in November at Del Mar.

“We will talk to the Whisper Hill and Gainesway team but timing-wise the Jockey Club seems to make sense,” Pletcher said.

Spendthrift Farm’s multiple graded stakes-winner Major Dude also returned to the win column Saturday, winning a salty nine-furlong optional-claimer by two lengths over multiple graded stakes-placed Harlan Estate on the Spa inner turf.

The 4-year-old Bolt d’Oro colt was making his second start of the year after a neck-defeat to multiple stakes-winner Big Everest in an optional-claimer at Belmont at the Big A.

“We’ve been very happy in both races since he came back. Great win yesterday, he’ll be in a stake, I just don’t know which one yet,” Pletcher said.

Major Dude earned his first win since the Grade 2 Penn Mile in June 2023 at Penn National. He also won the Grade 2 Pilgrim as a juvenile over the now Grade 1-placed I’m Very Busy.

***

Society Man works towards stake assignment in G3 West Virginia Derby

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, West Paces Racing, GMP Stables, Carl F. Pascarella, and Yurie Pascarella’s 3-year-old Good Magic gelding Society Man worked a half-mile this morning over the Saratoga Race Course main track.

Trained by Danny Gargan, the talented chestnut is working towards a potential start in the Grade 3 West Virigina Derby on August 4 at Mountaineer Racetrack.

Society Man worked after the break at 7 a.m., taking to the track under his exercise rider Priscilla Schaefer, who guided the chestnut through an easy half mile in 51.50 seconds according to the NYRA Clockers.

“We just breezed him easy today,” Schaefer said. “He was nice and easy, very controlled today. He did it easy and galloped out really well. He just does it in hand – a good maintenance work.”

Gargan, who enjoyed a Grade 1 NYRA Bets Haskell score Saturday with Dornoch, said he was pleased with the breeze which built upon a sharp half-mile in 47.88 last Saturday on the main track.

“He worked fast last week so we were shooting for around 49 and change with him today,” Gargan said. “There was a horse that got in his way today or he would have went a little faster.”

Last out winner of the Grade 3 Matt Winn at Churchill Downs, Society Man has been a very solid racehorse in the sophomore class. Breaking his maiden in his fourth try on March 9 at Aqueduct Racetrack, he was subsequently second, at odds of 106-1, in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino on April 6 at Aqueduct.

The Wood performance earned him a spot in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby starting gate on the first Saturday in May. Drawing the outermost post 20, Society Man endured a rocky trip, finishing 16th. Society Man boasts a career record of 7-2-1-1 with $437,230 in purse earnings.

“We are really happy with him,” Gargan said. “He’s doing really well. He is really fit, and we are really pleased with him.”

Gargan said Society Man, who was nominated to Saturday’s Grade 2 Jim Dandy here, would use the West Virginia Derby as a bridge to the Grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby on September 21 at Parx.

“I think he fits better in the West Virginia Derby, and I like how the timing sets up,” Gargan said. “If he could win the West Virginia Derby, we could see him back at Parx. I have him on that route. Look he is a gelding, and he is going to be around for a long time. We are just trying to map out the best route for him to keep him doing well.”

Dornoch, winner of the Grade 1 $2 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets on June 8 here, took down the Grade 1 NYRA Bets Haskell yesterday traveling nine-furlongs at Monmouth Park. The race played out in similar fashion to the Belmont Stakes with Dornoch relinquishing the lead at the top of the lane to Mindframe before battling back gamely on the rail to secure the win.

Gargan said Dornoch exited the Grade 1 NYRA Bets Haskell triumph in good order and will now point to the Grade 1, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers on August 24.

“He is on a van to Saratoga right now. He looked great this morning,” Gargan said. “He is going to get five days off. I’ll maybe send him to the hyperbaric chamber for a few days. The plan is to have two works into the Travers, very similar to what we did heading into the Haskell and Belmont.”

Dornoch crossed the wire 1 1/4-lengths in front, stopping the clock in 1:50.31 for nine-furlongs. Boosting his record to 5-2-0 in nine starts and earning a new top Beyer Speed Figure of 103, the son of Good Magic and the stakes-winning Big Brown mare Puca added a second Grade 1 to his resume to firmly place himself atop the three-year-old colt division. He is a full-brother to last year’s Kentucky Derby-winner Mage.

“I think he ran a little bit better than his Belmont win,” Gargan said. “He ran tremendous. He got passed by two different horses and fought back and at the end he was drawing away. We are in the big leagues, and we are just proud that we can compete.”

An emotional Gargan was full of praise for his beloved colt.

“He is a once-in-a-lifetime horse for me,” Gargan said. “We hope and pray that you get a horse like this one day. He has changed my life in a lot of ways. I am just blessed that I get to train him.”

***

Mark Casse and Dylan Davis winning in bunches

Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse and jockey Dylan Davis were camped out in lawn chairs next to the veteran conditioner’s stable Sunday morning at Saratoga Race Course, watching a replay of My Boy Prince winning the Plate Trial at Woodbine Racetrack.

The pair were enthralled by the race call of Robert Geller after the normally prominent My Boy Prince blew the start in the nine-furlong prep for the $1 million King’s Plate – the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown.

“He reared as they went and is last out the gate, so Plan B will have to be implemented,” exclaimed Geller.

There was no need to worry however as the Gary Barber-owned colt recovered well and went on to score by 1 1/4-lengths as one of seven wins on the day in North America for Casse, adding to a win by Pounce in the Grade 3 Lake George here.

Saturday victories on the winners’ ledger for Casse also included an optional claiming win by Full Screen at the Spa; a victory by disqualification with Aristotle at Gulfstream Park; as well as scores at Woodbine in the Grade 3 Trillium with Solo Album and an optional-claimer with Ready to Jam. The dual Hall of Famer watched the success from Monmouth Park where he sent out Get Smokin to a frontrunning score in the Grade 2 United Nations.

Davis won four races on Saturday’s card here, scoring with Union Dolly for Ray Handal and El Rezeen for Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher in addition to guiding Full Screen and Pounce to victory for Casse.

Both Casse [6 wins] and Davis [8 wins] are currently tied for second place in their respective Spa standings heading into Sunday’s card.

Resolute Racing’s Pounce rated in sixth position in the one-mile Grade 3 Lake Geoge for sophomore fillies, making a four-wide move in upper stretch to score by three-quarter lengths over the favored Oversubscribed.

The Lookin At Lucky bay demonstrated talent over the winter under Hall of Famer Javier Castellano at Gulfstream Park, taking a 7 1/2-furlong optional-claimer in February from post 11-of-12 in frontrunning fashion before landing the Grade 3 Herecomesthebride with a last-of-8 rally. She was a distant 11th in the Grade 2 Appalachian in April at Keeneland ahead of a prominent third in the Penn Oaks on May 31 at Penn National.

Casse credited Davis with letting Pounce relax and make one sustained run to victory in the Lake George.

“He got her to settle nice which is what we were trying to do,” Casse said. “When she won the Herecomesthebride, I thought she had the potential to be a top turf filly and then she disappointed me a little.

“So, we gave her more time between races,” Casse continued. “I seldom give instructions, but I asked Dylan to get her to settle if he could. We’d tried the be-on-the-lead deal, and I was disappointed when she got beat at Penn because she had a beautiful trip.”

Fortunately, Davis engineered a perfect trip which Casse enjoyed on the drive home from Monmouth Park with his wife, Tina.

“I was watching on my iPad, and I said to Tina, ‘Dylan’s got a lot of horse!’,” said Casse, with a laugh. “I was pretty excited.”

“I was happy with the position I had,” Davis said. “She was handling it nicely and not too aggressive down the backside, so she was able to inch up slowly. When I hit the second turn she really jumped into the bridle and was waiting for a spot turning for home. When it came, she responded great.”

Casse interjected, “I was concerned she had distance limitations, but I think if you can cover up like you did, I don’t think it matters.”

Davis agreed, saying, “She wasn’t hard to manage at all.”

Casse said he would like to map out a path for Pounce to the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on October 12 at Keeneland and isn’t sure yet what race, if any, may fall in-between.

Needless to say, Davis would like to be aboard for the ride.

“This is the best start I’ve ever had here so I take it as it comes,” Davis said. “I come here every year and put the work in and build the relationships with the trainers and owners and try to capitalize on the opportunities I get. I’m riding well and I’m confident in myself and really doing what I think needs to be done out there and hope that my horses are ready when we turn for home. Plus, having Mark on my side always helps!”

BlackRidge Stables, Ironhorse Racing Stable, Saratoga Seven Racing Partners, and T-N-T Equine Holdings’ multiple graded stakes-winner Get Smokin made his second start of the season a winning one with a frontrunning nose score over Grand Sonata in the 11-furlong Grade 2 United Nations.

The hard-knocking chestnut won the lucrative Grade 2 Kentucky Downs Turf Cup in September but had to scratch from the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf in November. He returned to action in June at Woodbine with a close fourth in the Grade 2 Eclipse contested over Tapeta.

“The win yesterday was very rewarding,” Casse said. “We scratched him from the Breeders’ Cup and sent him home to our place in Ocala. He had double ankle surgery.”

Get Smokin made his recovery at Casse’s Ocala Training Center under the supervision of Cindy Black, Head of Rehabilitation.

“Cindy has been with me 30 years and she rehabs all our horses,” Casse said. “We have a great rehab center and spa, and she got him ready for us.”

He worked twice in Ocala before shipping north to Woodbine where he breezed regularly over the Tapeta surface under the watchful eye of Casse’s longtime assistant David Adams.

Casse is a proponent of synthetic surfaces and is among the supporters of the all-weather inner Tapeta track being installed as the exclusive winter racing surface at the new Belmont Park when it opens in 2026.

“I took Get Smokin to Woodbine because the synthetic track is easier on him,” Casse said. “The plan was always one start up there and then to the United Nations. We ran him on the Tapeta, and he ran well and I’m extremely proud of him because it took our entire organization – the farm for rehab, the Woodbine team got him ready and he went down to Monmouth on Tuesday with David Adams, but the key there was Tapeta.”

Casse said Get Smokin will now point to a title defense in the Grade 2, $2 million Kentucky Downs Turf Cup on September 7.

And as for his seven-win day capped by Ready to Jam in Race 10 at Woodbine?

“It was a crazy day. I watched that seventh one going down the Garden State Parkway,” said Casse, with a laugh.

***

Soul of an Angel game in G3 Molly Pitcher defeat to Idiomatic; White Abarrio being freshened

Trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. returned to Saratoga Race Course last night from a trip to the Jersey Shore where he sent out C2 Racing Stable and Agave Racing Stable’s Soul of an Angel to a close second in the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher at Monmouth Park.

Soul of Angel was last seen finishing fifth to Randomized in the June 8 Grade 1, $500,000 Ogden Phipps presented by Ford here at Saratoga. Prior to that start, the 5-year-old Atreides mare won the Grade 2 Ruffian on May 4 at Belmont at the Big A.

In the Molly Pitcher, Soul of Angel lined up against reigning Champion Older Dirt Female Idiomatic for dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox and Juddmonte Farms. Setting mild fractions on the front end, Idiomatic walked the field through a 25.57 second opening quarter and a 50.27 half. Soul of an Angel, piloted by Irad Ortiz Jr., ranged up alongside Idiomatic and Florent Geroux at the three-quarter pole and stuck a head in front. A thrilling stretch battle ensued, and ultimately ended with Idiomatic prevailing by a short head.

“She ran big. She ran a winning race, just met a champion. It was a great horse race. I gained more respect for her than anything. I feel overjoyed that she could put up that kind of performance,” said Joseph, Jr.

Soul of an Angel may have a potential date with her returning rivals from the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps later in the Saratoga meet in the Grade 1, $500,000 Personal Ensign contested at 1 1/8 miles for older fillies and mares on August 23.

Joseph also spoke about the return of his 2022 Grade 1 Florida Derby winner, White Abarrio. The 5-year-old son of Race Day started his career in the care of trainer Carlos Perez before the colt was privately purchased and transferred to Joseph, Jr.’s barn. He made 11 starts for Joseph, Jr., winning four of them including scores in the Grade 3 Holy Bull, the Grade 1 Florida Derby and a pair of allowance optional claiming races, all at Gulfstream Park.

Prior to White Abarrio’s third-place effort in last year’s Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park, he was transferred to conditioner Rick Dutrow, Jr. White Abarrio remained in the Dutrow, Jr. barn for the remainder of the year, and won the Grade 1 Whitney here at Saratoga before annexing the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park.

This year, White Abarrio traveled to try his hand at the Group 1 Saudi Cup in Saudi Arabia and finished a non-threatening 10th. He returned stateside for a try in the Grade 1, $1-million Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap on June 8 and finished fifth to fellow Saudi Cup participant National Treasure.

Following that effort, the grey was transferred back to Joseph, Jr., who was very happy and grateful to have the horse in his care again.

“Glad to get him back into our barn. I am thankful to the owners who sent him back. It meant a lot,” Joseph, Jr. said. “We felt appreciation in that aspect.”

White Abarrio was not in the barn long before getting kicked out to the farm for a little break.

“He is going to stay there a couple of weeks. He will probably start back breezing here around the end of the meet,” Joseph, Jr. said.

Joseph, Jr. said nothing is wrong physically with the horse, but felt it would be best for the horse to get a break from training to help him return to peak form.

The circled target for White Abarrio is the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup held in January at Gulfstream Park, which also happens to be Joseph, Jr.’s home base.

“The Pegasus is kind of the long-term goal. He will run before that, we just don’t know where yet,” Joseph, Jr. said. “Hopefully he will get back to his top form. He is a world class horse.”

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