NYRA/Coglianese Photo

Call Paul overcomes stretch-drive bump to win G2 Saratoga Special

by Brian Bohl ; Heather Pettinger

Call Paul gained the lead on the backstretch and maintained the advantage despite getting bumped in the stretch by Tight Ten, finishing strong in his stakes debut to post a one-length win in the 113th running of the Grade 2, $200,000 Saratoga Special presented by Miller Lite for juveniles on Sunday at Saratoga Race Course.  

The first of back-to-back stakes on a 10-race card, the Saratoga Special saw four maiden winners each moving up to stakes competition for the first time. Tight Ten led the quartet of undefeated colts through an opening quarter-mile in 22.48 seconds before Call Paul, under jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., gained command, going a half-mile in 45.98.

Call Paul stayed inside out of the turn with Tight Ten, under jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr., moving up from the outside. Once straightened, Tight Ten drifted over and bumped Call Paul, but maintained position to still complete 6 ½ furlongs in a final time of 1:16.55.

"He responded very well when I asked him," said Ortiz, who won his second race of the day and has a meet-leading 29 victories. "When [Stage Left] scratched, we had to change our plans a little and be closer than we envisioned. Initially, we wanted to sit just off the speed, but with the scratch, when we broke, we got out there and got the lead. There wasn't too much bumping in the late stretch. I don't think it affected him. When I asked him, he took off."

Trained by Jason Servis, Call Paul improved to 2-for-2, building on a 2 ¼-length debut win on July 5 at Delaware Park. Off as the 4-5 favorite, the Friesan Fire colt paid $3.70 on a $2 win wager. He more than quadrupled his career earnings to $135,000. Servis said Call Paul's next stop could be the Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne on October 6 at Belmont Park.

"He's a nice colt. I've been breezing him behind horses and covering him up, and we were thinking if he got stuck down inside and we were laying second or third, not bad," Servis said. "He's got a great mind.

"This horse acts like he'll run further," he added. "I did the same thing with Firenze Fire; broke his maiden, shipped him the day before, and he won the Sanford. I'll probably leave him here, and we're thinking maybe the Champagne."

Tight Ten, trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, finished second by 1 ¾ lengths. The two entries for trainer Todd Pletcher, Spinoff and Meade, finished third and fourth, respectively. Sir Truebadour was an early scratch and Stage Left was scratched after flipping in the paddock. 

One race later, Jon Marshall's Tricky Escape made every pole a winning one under jockey Chis DeCarlo en route to a 3 ¾-length victory in an off-the-turf edition of the $200,000 Fasig-Tipton Waya, contested at 1 ¼ miles over a fast main track.

Originally a Grade 3 carded for 1 ½-miles on the inner turf, the race ran under ungraded status due to the surface switch.

Trained by Lynn Ashby, Tricky Escape led the scratch-riddled field of four through tepid early fractions of :24.55, :49.81, and 1:14.40 with Lottie perched to her outside and Savannah Belle close behind along the rail. Mom's On Strike, last early as the 3-5 post-time favorite, stayed within striking distance in the tightly bunched group. 

Tricky Escape pulled away from Lottie in the far turn and hit the top of the stretch with a three-length lead. Mom's On Strike moved into second and quickly sidled up on the outside of Tricky Escape. Matching strides with Mom's On Strike, DeCarlo urged his charge on and Tricky Escape found another gear and kicked clear.

The winning time was 2:04.08. Sent off at odds of 7-2, Tricky Escape returned $9.70.

The victory was the second stakes win in a row for the 5-year-old mare by Hat Trick and the first ever at Saratoga for her trainer. Last time out, Tricky Escape won the Grade 3 Robert G. Dick Memorial on July 7 at Delaware Park.

"This is my first win [at Saratoga]," said Ashby, who saddled her first winner in 1995. "I just really love being here. I started crying because I thought 'I'm going to win this race.' I was quite teary-eyed coming down."

Mom's On Strike crossed the wire 10 lengths ahead of third-place finisher Lottie. Savannah Belle was fourth. Santa Monica, Homeland Security, Queen of Cannaught, and Summersault were scratched.