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Elysian Meadows looks to frolic in the $125K Rick Violette

by Nick D'Amore

Team Penney Racing’s Elysian Meadows looks to break through at the stakes level in Thursday’s $125,000 Rick Violette, a 1 1/16-mile Mellon turf route for New York-bred sophomores, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the City of Light bay has done most of his running on the dirt. He was most recently an even fourth in the July 15 New York Derby at Finger Lakes Racetrack. His single try on the grass came in the April 27 one-mile Woodhaven at Aqueduct Racetrack where he was bumped and forced out wide by rivals. He finished fifth, beaten 5 1/4 lengths.

A pragmatic Mott said he looks forward to seeing the colt try the grass again.

“We got slammed to the middle of the racetrack, so it was hard to gauge his turf race,” Mott said. “He got beat four or five lengths and he lost maybe eight lengths on the turn when he got bumped.”

Not letting that race cloud his judgment, Mott went on to add, “I am optimistic that this is a good spot for him. He is doing well.”

Elysian Meadows boasts a deep grass pedigree on his dam's side, and is out of the winning War Front mare Heavenly Thought, who broke her maiden going 1 1/8-miles on the Santa Anita Park turf. His second dam is the Aidan O’Brien-trained Sadler’s Wells mare Queen of the Night.

Elysian Meadows won his first two starts in state-bred company at Aqueduct, a maiden special weight going 6 1/2-furlongs and a six-furlong allowance. He began his sophomore campaign on the road to the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs where he finished a creditable fourth in his first attempt at two turns. He followed with an off-the-board finish in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino in April at Aqueduct.

He worked a half mile in 51.88 seconds around the dogs on the Spa’s Oklahoma turf training course on July 28 before a smooth half-mile in 50.04 on August 5 over the main track.

Bred by Moni Market Breeders and M & M Equine, Elysian Meadows will break from post 8 with Junior Alvarado in the irons.

Trainer Juan Avila will saddle R.T. Racing Stable and Hablan Los Caballos’ Fidelightcayut. The gray son of Leofric and the unraced Stormy Atlantic mare Beam Reach was bred in the Empire State by JD Business Ventures and was a $15,000 OBS March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale purchase by his current connections.

Fidelightcayut competed outside of state-bred company exclusively until his last two efforts which came in the New York Stallion Stakes Series. He finished fourth going six-furlongs in the Spectacular Bid on the Aqueduct turf on June 16 and a creditable third stretching out to one mile here last out in the Cab Calloway on July 18, both races won by The Big Torpedo.

The colt has employed several different tactics in his career. In his last two races, he stalked the pace, and this time his conditioner wants to be more aggressive with his position.

“I want to put him in first or second and these last three weeks we have been working only on that. I don’t know what happened last race, maybe I made a mistake with the plan but this race I want to put him in front,” Avila said.

Bringing a record of 8-3-1-2 with $98,800 in earnings into this test, he will stretch back out to a 1 1/16-miles for the first time since a winning optional claiming effort at Tampa Bay on April 17. He paired that win with a third by a head in the Listed Jersey Derby on June 1 at Monmouth Park which saw him earn a career-best 78 Beyer Speed Figure.

Jose Ortiz will pilot Fidelightcayut from post 2

Cable Ready, who is owned by Hector Alejandro and conditioner Linda Dixon, will look to rediscover stakes-winning form in the Rick Violette. As a juvenile, the Redesdale colt won the six-furlong Tin Cup Chalice at Finger Lakes on the dirt before finding a new home on the lawn this year. He won a state-bred allowance going the Rick Violette distance during Belmont at the Big A before trying his hand at graded company in the Grade 2 Pennine Ridge where he was fourth - beaten 1 1/2 lengths.

Since that attempt, he has had two off-the-board finishes traveling one mile, including a fifth last out when he was beaten by returning rivals Fidelightcayut and Courtly Banker in the Cab Calloway. He carries a 9-2-2-0 record into Thursday, as well as a win at this distance in a May state-bred allowance at Belmont at the Big A.

Cable Ready was bred by Wasabi Ventures Stables, Michael Slezak, Bruce Wells and Karla Wells, et al. Eliseo Ruiz will have the return call from post 7.

Rounding out the field are the stakes-placed B D Saints [post 5, Ramon Vazquez] for trainer Mike Maker; the Danny Gargan-trained pair of Instamatic [post 3, Kendrick Carmouche] and Russian Realm [post 6, Flavien Prat]; Ez Roll [post 1, Luis Saez] for conditioner Tom Morley; and the stakes-placed maiden Courtly Banker [post 4, John Velazquez] for trainer Barclay Tagg.

Land d’Oro and Doc Sullivan are entered for the main track-only.

The Rick Violette, named for the late multiple graded stakes-winning trainer who served as President of the New York Thoroughbred Horseman's Association (NYTHA) for 10 years and was a founding member of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA), is slated as Race 7 on Thursday’s 10-race program. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.

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