Scalene vies to keep improving in $175K Bertram F. Bongard
Marc Keller’s New York homebred Scalene will look to build upon a determined debut maiden win in Friday’s $175,000 Bertram F. Bongard, a 6 1/2-furlong Widener turf sprint for state-bred juveniles, at Belmont Park.
Trained by Bobby Ribaudo, the son of Bolt d’Oro was a half-length winner of his August 21 unveiling at Saratoga Race Course sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs over the firm turf. There, he endured an eventful trip when he was bumped hard at the start and settled in fifth through the first quarter-mile.
He angled out and accelerated down the center of the course at the half-mile call and brushed with a foe before straightening up and taking dead aim at the leading Fire Marshal. Scalene bobbled awkwardly under Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, but recovered gamely to sweep past the frontrunner and score in a final time of 1:04.09. The effort garnered a 48 Beyer Speed Figure. The sixth-place finisher of that event, Raise the Roof, returned to finish a troubled-trip second on Opening Weekend at Belmont.
“He’s doing very well and we’ve been counting on this race,” Ribaudo said. “We’ll see if he makes the progression from the first start. Visually, that race was impressive. He had a couple little mishaps at the break and then he took a misstep mid-stretch and he still got up to win. The negative to that was the time – that turf course is pretty quick, and that wasn’t a quick race. We’re happy with him and he’s doing well, and he couldn’t be prepared any better, it’s just a question of how good that race really was.”
Scalene is out of the winning Arch mare Equilateral, making him a half-brother to Rhombique, who finished second in the 1 3/8-mile Grade 3 Long Island in 2023 for these connections.
“We had the family, and his mother broke her maiden going six [furlongs] first out,” Ribaudo recalled. “One of his better siblings was Rhombique, and she was second in the Long Island – the longer the better for her. This guy got up going five and a half and then the natural progression is the six and a half here. We have a mile race in early November, but one step at a time. We’re happy with how he’s doing, so fingers crossed.”
Castellano returns to the irons from post 2.
Harry T. Rosenblum’s Road Show [post 1, Dylan Davis] tries turf for the first time after a second-out graduation going six furlongs on the Spa main track on August 15 for dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse.
The bay son of Roadster was a deep-closing one length second to next-out stakes-placed Professor Plum in his July 12 debut sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs at Saratoga. He returned there one month later to storm from four lengths off the pace and edge clear to a 2 1/4-length victory under Jose Ortiz in a final time of 1:13.12, earning a 46 Beyer for the effort.
Bred by Robert Cotran, Road Show is out of the Summer Front mare Healthful, who was produced from the multiple Sovereign Award-winning mare Biofuel, Canada’s Horse of the Year in 2010.
The Miguel Clement-trained Calling Mr. Mo [post 3, Manny Franco] seeks his first win in his third attempt, but holds a field-best 68 Beyer earned for his last-out one-length second to House of War in a 1 1/16-mile state-bred inner turf maiden on August 26 at the Spa. There, he raced prominently through splits of 23.16 seconds, 48.11 and 1:12.60 over the firm footing and had a head lead at the stretch call, but was outfinished and held onto place honors by 1 1/2 lengths as House of War, who is nominated to next weekend’s Grade 2 Pilgrim here, completed the course in 1:43.22.
Calling Mr. Mo, who was a well-beaten fifth sprinting six furlongs on debut over the Spa main track in July, was a $105,000 purchase at the OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training and is out of the Stormy Atlantic mare Stormy Tak. He is campaigned by Briles Family Stable and Supreme Dream Stables and was bred by Scott K. Miller.
Completing the field are debut maiden winner Soldier’s Glory [post 7, Ricardo Santana, Jr.] for trainer Jena Antonucci, and maidens Mendel [post 4, Katie Davis] for trainer Melanie Giddings, Saratoga Tea [post 5, Edgard Zayas, blinkers ON] for conditioner Rodolphe Brisset and Cuylle [post 6, Ruben Silvera] for trainer Rachael Keithan.
The Bongard is slated as Race 2 on Friday’s nine-race card, which also features the Listed $175,000 Artie Schiller in Race 8 and the rescheduled $175,000 Joseph A. Gimma in Race 3. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
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