Andiamo a Firenze headlines loaded G3 Sanford

Mr. Amore Stable’s New York homebred Andiamo a Firenze will look to replicate the success of his three-quarter brother Firenze Fire when he faces 11 other talented juveniles in Saturday’s 107th renewal of the six-furlong Grade 3, $175,000 Sanford at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Kelly Breen,
the Speightstown colt made every pole a winning one in his four-length debut
score against fellow state-breds, sprinting 5 1/2-furlongs over a sloppy and
sealed main track on June 3 at Belmont Park. The visually-impressive win,
engineered from the inside post by Irad Ortiz, Jr., registered an 80 Beyer
Speed Figure.
Breen said he was
pleased with the debut by Andiamo a Firenze, who posted a five-eighths breeze
in 1:01.38 Saturday over Big Sandy.
“It was nice,” said
Breen of the debut effort. “He only got to second gear in that race, so we'll
see. Hopefully, he has a few more gears.
“To have a horse running
Opening Weekend at Saratoga is exciting,” added Breen. “He had a nice workout
before shipping up to Saratoga.”
Firenze Fire, also a
homebred for Ron Lombardi’s Mr. Amore Stable, is by Poseidon’s Warrior – a son
of Speightstown. He won his debut in 2017 before taking the Sanford in his next
start with Ortiz, Jr. in the irons. The multiple graded-stakes winning Firenze
Fire, who banked in excess of $2.7 million, went on to capture the Grade 1
Champagne that fall at Belmont.
Lombardi said he’s
excited to see what Andiamo a Firenze can accomplish.
“He's doing great and
he's been training well. He's a three-quarter brother to Firenze Fire and
following in his footsteps,” said owner Ron Lombardi. “It will be a tough race.
A lot of good horses [in there], but he’s training well.”
Andiamo a Firenze is out
of the Langfuhr mare My Every Wish. With Ortiz, Jr. committed to riding Forte,
Jose Ortiz picks up the mount aboard Andiamo a Firenze from post 9.
Hall of Fame trainer
Todd Pletcher will saddle a pair of top contenders in search of a
record-extending ninth Sanford coup led by Forte, who earned a field-best 81
Beyer for his 7 3/4-length debut win sprinting five furlongs over Big Sandy on
May 27.
"He's been a real
professional since Day One. He trained really well. You never know with a
first-time starter, but I'm glad he delivered,” said Pletcher following the
debut blitz.
The dark bay son of
Violence is out of the Blame mare Queen Caroline, a multiple stakes-winner on
turf. He is owned by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable, who co-owned last
year’s Sanford winner, the Pletcher-trained Wit, with Gainesway Stable.
The $110,000 Keeneland
September Yearling Sale purchase will exit post 4 under returning rider Ortiz,
Jr., who is a four-time Sanford-winner.
Pletcher will also send
out Major Dude, who will be piloted by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, who last
won the Sanford in 2015 with Uncle Vinny, and boasts a record seven wins in the
prestigious test.
The $550,000
Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Select Yearling Sale purchase posted a 3
3/4-length debut triumph sprinting five furlongs on June 18 at Monmouth Park.
Major Dude exited post 5
under Velazquez and tracked between rivals in fourth position. He waited
patiently for room through the turn before splitting rivals to draw away to a
decisive win in a final time of 59.60.
“He handled it amazingly
well for a first-time starter," said Pletcher. "I thought it was a
very professional debut and he’s always been a very straightforward and
professional horse."
The Bolt d’Oro colt’s
third dam is 1988 Champion Older Filly and undefeated Hall of Famer Personal
Ensign.
Major Dude will emerge
from post 2.
Valenzan Day, trained
and co-owned by Rudy Rodriguez with Celeritas Racing, is the lone entrant with
past stakes experience, entering from a troubled third-place effort in the 5
1/2-furlong Tremont on June 9 at Belmont.
The Khozan chestnut, with returning rider Joel
Rosario up, bumped with rivals at the gate and then steadied at the
three-eighths before flattening out.
The $15,000 OBS March
Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale purchase was a 2 1/4-length winner of his
May 12 debut sprinting five furlongs at Belmont. The Florida-bred will hope for
a better beginning this time from post 12.
Michael McLoughlin’s
Curly Jack drew off to a four-length score in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special
weight on June 2 at Churchill for trainer Tom Amoss, who won the 2009 Sanford
with Backtalk.
Amoss said he had
considered bringing Curly Jack back in the Bashford Manor won by Gulfport on
July 4 at Churchill, but opted to give his colt more time between starts as
well as a half-mile breeze in 49.65 over the Saratoga main track on Monday.
“His debut race was very
good,” Amoss said. “We were able to get up here and get a breeze over the
track. It went well and we're looking forward to Saturday.”
Amoss said he is
confident Curly Jack will be adaptable in a race full of speed types.
“I think what's crucial
to having success in some of these baby races is being able to change strategy
depending upon the race setup,” Amoss said. “So, everything we did with him
leading up to the race involved putting him in tight quarters, and putting him
behind horses. So, I’m confident he's got that weapon that you want every good
horse to have and that is tactical speed. We can do some different things with
that.”
Amoss said the Good
Magic colt, who was purchased for $180,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling
Sale, has progressed nicely.
“He's a really good
looking colt, a shade on the larger side, who was very athletic at the sales as
a yearling when I bought him,” Amoss said. “And he maintained that look when he
came back in the spring for his 2-year-old campaign. I really like how he looks
now.”
He will exit post 5
under Tyler Gaffalione.
John Oxley and Breeze
Easy’s Boppy O rallied to a 1 1/2-length score in his May 20 debut, sprinting
five furlongs over the Gulfstream Park main track. The $190,000 Keeneland
September Yearling Sale purchase earned a 60 Beyer for his stylish effort from
the outermost post 8.
By Bolt d’Oro and out of
the Scat Daddy mare Pappascat, Boppy O is a half-brother to the Casse-trained
Grade 2-winner Pappacap.
He will leave post 1 in
tandem with Dylan Davis.
Trainer Brad Cox will
send out Nasser Bin Omairah's first-out maiden winner Mo Strike for his stakes
debut.
The Uncle Mo bay, a
$325,000 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training purchase, stalked and
pounced to a three-quarter length score in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special
weight on June 19 at Churchill Downs.
Out of the Smart Strike
mare Featherbed, Mo Strike a is half-brother to 2014 Illinois Derby-winner
Dynamic Impact. Florent Geroux will ride from post 6.
Orlando DiRienzo’s
Puttheblameonme, a Pennsylvania-bred son of Outwork trained by Jeremiah
Englehart, made easy work of his June 15 debut in an open 4 1/2-furlong maiden
special weight at Parx. The $40,000 Fasig-Tipton Fall Yearling Sale purchase
was piloted that day from the outermost post 8 by Jose Ortiz.
The bay colt has breezed
back twice over the Oklahoma training track, including a bullet half-mile in
48.88 seconds on July 3. He will leave post 11 in his stakes debut under Shaun
Bridgmohan.
Rounding out the field are New York-bred maiden winner I’m Wide Awake [post 8, Flavien Prat]; restricted maiden winner Prove Right [post 7, Ricardo Santana, Jr.]; fourth-out maiden special weight winner Roman Giant [post 10, Jose Lezcano]; and debut maiden winner Great Navigator [post 3, Jairo Rendon].
The Sanford is slated as
Race 10 on Saturday’s 11-race card, which also features the Grade 1, $500,000
Diana in Race 8. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.
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.
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