G1 CCA Oaks-winner Scottish Lassie is the horse Abreu has been waiting for

• G1 CCA Oaks-winner Scottish Lassie is the horse Abreu has been waiting for
• Book’em Danno much the best in G2 Alfred G. Vanderbilt
• Future Is Now earns 99 BSF for G3 Caress

When trainer Jorge Abreu started his own training operation in 2016, he did so with the aspirations of any burgeoning trainer: to be competitive on his home circuit and to one day be fortunate enough to train horses that could not just compete, but be successful at racing’s highest levels.

Nearly a decade later, the talented sophomore filly Scottish Lassie is the horse Abreu  has been waiting and working for, providing him with not just one Grade 1 victory, but a second after taking Saturday’s $500,000 Coaching Club American Oaks in grand fashion with a 15 1/2-length stroll under Hall of Famer Joel Rosario. She adds to a second-out graduation in style when taking the Grade 1 Frizette by nine lengths in October at Belmont at the Big A.

“Incredible,” Abreu said. “I knew she was sitting on a big race going into it. She was doing everything so professional and is a pretty straightforward horse. She has a pretty good mind.”

Sunday morning was business as usual in the Abreu barn at Saratoga as strings of trainees visited the Oklahoma training track and main track under the watchful eye of their conditioner, but there was time later in the morning for celebration as the flower blanket from yesterday’s prestigious nine-furlong route for sophomore fillies was draped on Scottish Lassie’s stall webbing with a host of owners and friends surrounding her.

“10 years…,” Abreu reflected as he cradled his beloved filly’s head in his arms. “This is a horse that I picked out at the sale, and for her to win two Grade 1s for me… I don’t have words to describe it.”

One way to describe the performance is “dominant,” with Scottish Lassie taking command early from the sharp-starting Immersive in the first turn as Rosario tested the response of Manny Franco aboard last year’s Champion 2-Year-Old Filly. Immersive stalked within one length of Scottish Lassie as she carved out splits of 23.81 seconds, 48.09 and 1:12.37 over the fast footing.

Approaching the turn, Rosario was a statue atop Scottish Lassie, who effortlessly pulled away from Immersive and cantered down the stretch to trounce her three rivals in a final time of 1:50.23.

Abreu praised the ride from Rosario, who had breezed the daughter of McKinzie twice leading up to the race and rode her for the first time in the afternoon in the CCA Oaks.

“I think Joel did it right. He put a little pressure on Manny to see what his reaction was and Manny made his decision and Joel made his,” Abreu said. “It was the right one. He told me he wasn’t going to go head-to-head with anyone, but if he took the lead comfortably, he would. I don’t give instructions. A guy like him doesn’t need too much instruction.”

Scottish Lassie has a handful of potential targets for the second half of her sophomore campaign for Abreu, who co-owns her with Sportsmen Stable, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Photos Finish, Corms Racing Stable. Among them are the 10-furlong Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama presented by Keeneland Sales on August 16 here, and the Grade 1 Cotillion in September at Parx Racing. However, Abreu is in no rush to decide and said he will let Scottish Lassie lead the way.

“She looks good, she ate up everything and is in good shape. I think the Alabama [makes sense], if not, the Cotillion. I’ll let her tell me,” Abreu said. “I don’t want to make any plans right now; I just want her to come out of the race and see how she reacts. If she acts like her normal self, then we can think about it. We’ve still got time to nominate and all that. She does run well fresh, and you never know how much a race like that takes out of them mentally. I’ll do what’s right by her.”

Bred in Kentucky by Winchester Farm, Scottish Lassie was an $85,000 purchase at the 2024 OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. Her win yesterday boosted her career earnings to $677,560 through a 6-2-0-3 record.

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Book’em Danno much the best in G2 Alfred G. Vanderbilt

Atlantic Six Racing’s dual New Jersey-bred Horse of the Year Book’em Danno powered away to a 2 1/2-length score over Mullikin in Saturday’s Grade 2, $400,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt, a six-furlong sprint for older horses, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Derek Ryan, the 4-year-old Bucchero gelding has won three of his four starts this year, the only miss being a neck fourth to the victorious Mindframe in the seven-furlong Grade 1 Churchill Downs over sloppy and sealed footing in May.

He kicked off the campaign with a restricted handicap score in March at Colonial Downs, while his last two outings came here at the Spa with wins over familiar Grade 1-winning foe Mullikin in the 6 1/2-furlong Grade 3 True North on sloppy and sealed ground in June and Saturday’s score – all under regular pilot Paco Lopez.

Book’em Danno exited post 3-of-6 while bobbling slightly at the break in the Vanderbilt. He saved ground in third position before angling off the rail late in the turn and driving away from the pace-pressing Mullikin to score in a final time of 1:08.98. The winning effort registered a career-best 111 Beyer Speed Figure.

“He broke a little fast and bobbled, but it was a perfect trip,” Ryan said over the phone from Monmouth Park. “He ran pretty good. It went exactly like I was hoping it would.”

Book’em Danno banked $807,500 through a 7-3-2-1 record last year and Ryan said the gelding, named after the catchphrase from the television show Hawaii Five-O, benefited from a ‘lei’ off after his fifth-place finish in the Grade 2 Cigar Mile Handicap presented by TwinSpires in December at Aqueduct Racetrack.

“He's gotten bigger and stronger. He had a nice little break after last season,” Ryan said. “He had five-to-six weeks on the farm in Ocala to freshen him up and we went over him head to toe. Everything was in good shape, so we knew we would have a good year.”

The seven-time stakes winner is out of the unraced Ghostzapper mare Adorabella, who also produced dual stakes-winner Girl Trouble. He has banked in excess of $1.5 million via a 15-9-3-1 ledger. His terrific record at the Spa includes a win in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun and a troubled third in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial here last year.

Ryan said Book’em Danno exited his Vanderbilt score in good order and will soon return to his Monmouth Park base.

“He was good this morning. He'll stay there for now and I'll figure it out in the next few days,” Ryan said. “I'd like to get him home here as I have a big round pen and he goes in it every day. He loves to roll there every day.”

Ryan said he will consider a return to the Spa for the seven-furlong Grade 1, $500,000 Forego on August 23, which offers a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint in November at Del Mar. Mullikin was an emphatic winner of last year's Forego. However, a trip to the Breeders’ Cup is not necessarily in the cards for Book’em Danno.

“I'm not worried about the Breeders' Cup. It's not one of my main goals. We'll just take it one race at a time and go from there. In this game, you don't get ahead of yourself,” Ryan said.

Massimino Rapuano’s New York homebred Cicciobello, last seen closing from last-of-8 to win the seven-furlong NYSSS Thunder Rumble on November 23 at Aqueduct Racetrack, worked a bullet five-eighths in 1:00.40 Saturday over the Spa main track in preparation for the state-bred seven-furlong $150,000 John Morrissey on July 31 here.

The sizable gelding worked a bullet half-mile from the gate in 47.20 on July 13 at Monmouth Park, best of 139 efforts at the distance, as he readies for his return.

“He won his last start and was going to get the winter off anyway, but he came out of it with a little issue so instead of getting two months off he got four months off,” Ryan said. “He's been ready to run for the last month, but we couldn't get a race to go for him. He's very sharp and he's been working lights out since he came back.

“It's probably a little short for him but if we get enough pace up front he'll be alright,” Ryan added. “He's a big horse. He's 17.2 hands, so he needs a little pace up front.”

Bred by My Way Stable, the 6-year-old Bellamy Road gelding, out of the winning Eddington mare Spa Sunrise, has banked $248,410 via a 16-4-1-1 ledger. His second dam, Beautiful Sunshine, is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Bet On Sunshine.

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Future Is Now earns 99 BSF for G3 Caress

The Estate of R. Larry Johnson’s Maryland-homebred Future Is Now improved to 9-for-17 with a half-length score in Saturday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Caress, a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf sprint for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Michael Trombetta, the 5-year-old Great Notion bay entered from a second by the same margin to returning rival Pipsy in the Grade 2 Intercontinental over course and distance on June 5. Not only did she defeat Pipsy on Saturday, but also her seven other rivals including four more from the Intercontinental, with a prominent trip under Paco Lopez in a final time of 1:01.08 on the firm turf.

“All is well, I checked on her early this morning, I’m heading home now. As far as I could tell, everything was good,” said Trombetta. “I thought that performance was very good. That was a pretty quick time. I’m pleased all the way around.”

Future Is Now earned a 99 Beyer Speed Figure, matching her career-best when capturing the Grade 2 Franklin in October at Keeneland. In her current campaign, Future Is Now’s Beyers have increased one tick each race: 97 when winning the Grade 3 Giant’s Causeway in April at Keeneland ahead of a 98 in the Intercontinental.

“She is definitely one of those horses that shows up every time to give a race her best,” Trombetta said. “We all know those types are hard to come by. She’s done a great job of it.”

Trombetta said Future Is Now could seek a title defense in the 5 1/2-furlong $150,000 Listed Smart and Fancy next on August 15 here.

“That would be the obvious choice, if she’s bright and happy and up for it,” Trombetta said. “We’ll probably train her there for the race.”

Future Is Now, a half-sister to graded stakes-placed Call Another Play and multiple stakes-placed Continentalcongres, is out of the Trombetta-trained Johnson homebred Past as Prelude, who is a half-sister to graded stakes-winner Street Magician.