Chelsea Durand Photo

Asmussen sends a trio for Whitney Week graded stakes

by NYRA Press Ofiice

• Asmussen sends a trio for Whitney Week graded stakes
• Warrior Johny a live longshot in G1 Whitney
• Pioneering Spirit seeks return to form in $135K Fasig-Tipton Lure
• Grooms All Bizness hopes to keep business booming in G2 Troy

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen has a trio of stakes contenders for Whitney Week at Saratoga Race Course, including graded stakes winner Disarm in the featured nine-furlong Grade 1, $1 million Whitney on Saturday, along with North American record-holder Cogburn one race earlier in the Grade 2, $300,000 Troy, and dual graded stakes-placed Lagynos in the Grade 2, $500,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame on Friday.

Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Kentucky homebred Disarm enters from a sixth in the nine-furlong Grade 1 Stephen Foster on June 29 at Churchill Downs. The 4-year-old Gun Runner chestnut looks to return to his year-end form, which saw him finish a closing second to eventual Champion 3-Year-Old Colt Arcangelo in the Grade 1 Travers last August here.

Asmussen said the winner of last year’s Grade 3 Matt Winn at the distance at Ellis Park will have to improve to come out on top.

“He needs to pick it up. He needs to go faster,” said Asmussen. “It is an extremely competitive field. There appears to be plenty of pace in there. It’ll be interesting to see if the racetrack is similar to how it was last week.”

Hall of Famer Joel Rosario will look to get Disarm back on track from post 2-of-12, tabbed at a morning line assessment of 15-1. The Whitney offers a "Win and You're In" berth to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic in November at Del Mar.

Clark Brewster, William Heiligbrodt and Corinne Heiligbrodt’s Cogburn returns to the scene of his record-setting performance of 59.80 seconds going 5 1/2 furlongs on the Mellon turf in the Grade 1 Jaipur presented by Resolute Racing on June 8.

Cogburn is tabbed as the 4-5 morning line favorite as he returns to course and distance in the Troy with Irad Ortiz, Jr. up. He seeks a title defense after beating eventual Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Nobals in last year’s edition, along with the favored then-reigning Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint-champ Caravel.

“It’s fun to run him back in the Troy, that was his breakout race last year that put him at this level,” said Asmussen. “He is coming off an incredible performance. He’s training really well.”

Cogburn has trained over Saratoga’s Oklahoma training turf three times since the Jaipur, and most recently breezed on the dirt surface with a three-furlong move in 38.68 seconds Sunday.

HRH Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud’s Lagynos has finished inside the superfecta in his last four outings going into the one-mile National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame, including a pair of thirds in the Grade 3 Transylvania in April to returning rival Neat and the Grade 2 American Turf in May at Churchill Downs.

“He’s been very competitive all year long, but we need a breakout performance from him,” Asmussen said. “We need to get over all those placings and he needs a win.”

Lagynos’ last four efforts also coincided with a return to grass, which was the first time since a debut win in September at Kentucky Downs, with returning rider Cristian Torres up for all. He exited the first-out graduation to make four starts going 1 1/16 miles on the main track, including off-the-board results to begin his current campaign in the Listed Smarty Jones and the Grade 2 Rebel, both at Oaklawn Park.

“He broke his maiden on the turf. We had him at Turfway Park last year before he had run and he trained unbelievably good on the synthetic. Then the financial opportunity that Kentucky Downs was, we started him there and had success,” Asmussen explained. “His dirt form was because of the lack of turf at Churchill Downs last fall, a couple were off-the-turf races that he competed OK in, but he is faster on the turf.”

Torres will come to ride from post 5, tabbed at morning line odds of 9-2.

Asmussen added that Stonestreet Stables’ stakes-winner American Rascal is probable for next Sunday’s Listed $150,000 Mahony, a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for sophomores. The Curlin bay closed from last-of-7 for fourth at the distance in the Grade 3 Quick Call presented by Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation won by filly Star of Mystery on July 14 here.

The effort was his first since an off-the-board finish in the six-furlong Ozark in February at Oaklawn Park.

Asmussen also provided an update on Red Lane Thoroughbreds’ Skelly, who set the pace in the six-furlong Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap before relinquishing the lead late to the victorious Nakatomi on Saturday. The place-honors made the 5-year-old Practical Joke gelding an impressive 10-6-0 in 17 career starts.

“We are very proud of him. He always runs extremely hard,” said Asmussen. “The racetrack, as slow as it was, was not ideal for him.”

Skelly has consistently shown up at a high level, including back-to-back wins in Oaklawn’s Grade 3 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap [2023-24] and a runner-up finish in the Group 3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint in February at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia.

Asmussen said no race has been picked out yet for a next start, but it will be at six furlongs with a goal of preparing for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint in November at Del Mar.

“We will definitely keep him at three-quarters of a mile. I expect one more run between now and the Breeders’ Cup, and it will be at six furlongs,” Asmussen concluded.

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Warrior Johny a live longshot in G1 Whitney

Rigney Racing’s Warrior Johny looks to capitalize on his affinity for the Saratoga Race Course main track in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Whitney, a 1 1/8-mile test for older horses.

Trainer Phil Bauer was on the fence about entering the 5-year-old Cairo Prince gelding back quickly after he annexed an allowance optional claiming race on July 11 here by a rousing four-lengths and earning a 98 Beyer Speed Figure, but the horse’s record over the course pushed him over the edge.

“It was between this and the Charles Town Classic. I think the deciding factor was how well he has run over this track twice,” Bauer said.

Warrior Johny is undefeated at the Spa going the Whitney distance, including an 8 1/2-length allowance romp in August 2022 that earned him a career-best 99 Beyer.

Traditionally Bauer likes to see more time between races for the gelding, but he said the horse was doing so well after his last effort that it was worth entering.

“We bounced out of the race doing very well. It was one of those things where we said we would enter and look at it. When we drew where we did, there was enough speed in there that maybe you could envision a similar trip to last race,” Bauer said.

Warrior Johny [post 4, Tyler Gaffalione, 20-1 ML] carries a 19-4-3-5 record into his second Grade 1 attempt after a distant seventh in last year’s 10-furlong Jockey Club Gold Cup here. He looks to keep his perfect 2-2 record intact at 1 1/8-miles on the Saratoga main track.

“We are just excited to be a part of such a historic race. It has not skipped over us that we are lucky to participate and have a horse who we think is competitive for a race like this,” Bauer said.

The Whitney offers a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic in November at Del Mar.

The Rigney Racing team will also send out the expensive 3-year-old daughter of Twirling Candy, Two Sharp [post 4, Junior Alvarado, 7-5ML], in Friday’s opening race here – a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up.

Purchased at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $925,000, the filly has made one start so far in her career running second as the favorite at Churchill Downs on June 29 going six-furlongs.

She has worked back three times over the Saratoga main track, including a bullet five-eighths in 59.80 seconds out of the gate on July 20, the fastest of 18 at the distance. In her last work on July 26, she worked in company with Warrior Johny going four furlongs in 48 seconds flat.

“It was a bit of a disastrous work. The bit was cutting the side of her face and she was lugging out like crazy, so we changed equipment on her,” Bauer said. “I was looking for a more polished visual breeze that day, but I think we accomplished what we needed to. She has had a really good week since. She is an ultra-talented filly.”

Rigney Racing’s Saratoga success has not just been seen by horses running in their silks. They are also the breeders of the impressive maiden winner Chancer McPatrick for trainer Chad Brown and owner Flanagan Racing.

Rigney Racing sold the McKinzie colt, out of the winning Bernardini mare Bernadreamy, for $260,000 in the 2023 Fasig Tipton July Select Yearling and he would later go on to OBS April and bring $725,000 from his current connections.

Chancer McPatrick rallied from last-of-10 to score by one-length in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight here on July 27. The winning effort garnered an 81 Beyer and put the talented bay on a path towards the Spa’s Grade 1, $300,000 Hopeful on September 2.

“We bred and raced the mare and Richard [Rigney] still has her, so we are happy to see that colt win like that, and we hope they keep having success with him,” Bauer said. “She has a nice Liam’s Map yearling going to Keeneland this year fingers crossed that colt stays on target for the Hopeful.”

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Pioneering Spirit seeks return to form in $135K Fasig-Tipton Lure

A. Bianco Holding Limited’s dual graded stakes-placed Pioneering Spirit seeks his first win of the year in Saturday’s Listed $135,000 Fasig-Tipton Lure, a 1 1/16-mile inner turf test for older horses who have not won a graded stakes this year, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Linda Rice, the 5-year-old American Pharoah gelding was last seen finishing a closing fifth in a local nine-furlong allowance on July 20, finishing three lengths back of the victorious multiple graded stakes-winner Major Dude after hopping at the start and running wide. His best finish in five starts this year was a pacesetting third in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Fort Marcy in May at Belmont at the Big A.

“He’s doing great and he kind of had a rough trip last time,” said Rice. “He broke in the air and circled wide. He didn’t have the greatest of trips, but it was a good effort, so we are hoping for a better run this time.”

Pioneering Spirit put together a strong campaign last year that saw him win four consecutive races, capped by a local optional claiming score going 11 furlongs last July. He picked up a Grade 1 placing when third in the Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer ahead of his first stakes conquest just nine days later in the local Listed Bernard Baruch going the Lure distance. His most recent win came in an off-the-turf edition of the nine-furlong Listed Knickerbocker in October at the Big A.

“He really likes a mile and an eighth, but I think this distance is fine as well,” said Rice. “He went through his conditions very easily last year and we managed to get a stakes win here and then an off-the-turf stake at Aqueduct. We had a great year with him, and you can’t expect him to accomplish what he did last year every year. He’s a nice horse and we’re hoping to have a little better luck with him in the next month or so.”

Rice has seen handsome returns from Pioneering Spirit, whom she haltered for $40,000 out of a runner-up effort last March at the Big A. He has since posted a record of 16-6-0-3 nearly $500,000 in earnings.

Out of the unraced Giant’s Causeway mare Foundation Spirit - a half-sister to the dam of multiple graded stakes-winner Protonico – Pioneering Spirit’s second dam is multiple Group/Grade 1-winner Wild Spirit.

Jose Ortiz is slated to ride Pioneering Spirit from post 7-of-9 [12-1ML] in the Lure [Race 9].

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Grooms All Bizness hopes to keep business booming in G2 Troy

Trainer Jorge Duarte, Jr. has enjoyed stakes success this year with Colts Neck Stables’ turf sprinters Nothing Better and Grooms All Bizness, and the latter is ready for a graded attempt Saturday in the Grade 2, $300,000 Troy, a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf sprint for older horses, at Saratoga Race Course.

Grooms All Bizness, a 5-year-old Fed Biz gelding, is 2-for-2 this year including five-furlong wins in the Listed Jim McKay Turf Sprint in May on soft green at Pimlico Race Course and the Get Serious last-out June 16 on firm Monmouth Park turf.

“He’s done nothing wrong this year since he started back. He’s a warrior, a horse that runs on any surface,” said Duarte, Jr. “He’s a homebred, which is nice. We still have the mare [Bride to Be] and we will have a yearling in the Kentucky sale by Not This Time. If we can get graded stakes placed, or maybe win it, it’ll be a good upgrade for the whole operation.”

Speaking of Not This Time, Grooms All Bizness, breaking from post 8-of-11 with Dylan Davis aboard, is tabbed at a morning line of 8-1 in a field that features last-out North American record-setter at the distance Cogburn, a 5-year-old Not This Time bay tabbed as the 4-5 favorite.

“Cogburn seems like he’s in another league really. But we will see what he brings Saturday,” said Duarte, Jr. “They are horses, sometimes they don’t fire the same way. Hopefully mine fires and can be competitive.”

Grooms All Bizness was an also-eligible for Cogburn’s last-out record-breaking performance in the Grade 1 Jaipur presented by Resolute Racing and did not draw into the field. Duarte, Jr. said the horse is a versatile sort that can sit off a hot pace if necessary.

“Grooms All Bizness could sit off a horse, be second flight. Ideally you want some pace to run at with him,” Duarte, Jr. said. “He’s a horse you don’t have to think about it too much as far as how the race will develop. If they’re not going fast, he will sit up close and finish up, which is nice.”

Duarte, Jr. opted to run his other turf sprinter Nothing Better in the Wolf Hill on July 20 at Monmouth Park rather than contest Spa action. The move proved to be a good one as the 7-year-old Munnings gelding rallied to win by three-quarter-lengths over That’s Right and Arzak, who was second to Cogburn in the Jaipur.

“I let him sit off a little bit and he handled it fine. It’s a nice tool where you don’t need the lead all of the time,” Duarte, Jr. said. “He’s still running very good at age seven, maybe if we get enough earnings and a graded placing somewhere we could take a shot in November if he’s still good.”

Duarte, Jr. alludes to taking a chance in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint in November at Del Mar with one of his pair.

“There’s not much separation between the turf sprinters. If you just improve or maintain your form, you’re right there, pretty solid,” Duarte, Jr. explained. “Nothing Better and Grooms All Bizness, lucky to have them in the barn for sure.”

Duarte, Jr. took a shot Saturday with optional-claiming winner Subrogate in the six-furlong Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap on the main track. The 4-year-old Arrogate bay was last-of-6 in the prestigious event won by Nakatomi.

“I think he bounced. He scoped clean. Numbers-wise, he seemed due to bounce and I guess they were right,” Duarte, Jr. said of the misfire after earning a last-out 106 Beyer Speed Figure on June 29 at Belmont at the Big A. “Just going to give him at least a good week and regroup. Hopefully we could get a little break in the [hot] weather and plan something for September.”