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Lukas taking a shot with Last Samurai in G1 Whitney; Secret Oath breezes for G1 Personal Ensign

by NYRA Press Ofiice

• Lukas taking a shot with Last Samurai in G1 Whitney; Secret Oath breezes for G1 Personal Ensign
• Dutrow, Jr. returns to the G1 Whitney with White Abarrio
• Remuda enters G3 Troy off track record win; Groveland stepping up in G3 West Virginia Derby
• Aspen Grove to 'Stack' up against the boys in G1 Saratoga Derby Invitational
• Clearly Unhinged steps up in G1 Test
• G1W Speaking Scout gets class relief in $135K Lure; Nagirroc rerouted to G2 Secretariat
• Thin White Duke aims for upset in G3 Troy
• Rookie Report: Pletcher debuts regally-bred pair in Saturday maiden test
• Saratoga Race Course Week 5 stakes probables

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas hasn’t been shy to swing for the fences en route to surprising upset triumphs at top level. The 87-years-young conditioner will be doing just that on Saturday when he saddles multiple graded stakes winner Last Samurai in the 96th running of the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney at Saratoga Race Course.

Owned by Willis Horton Racing, Last Samurai enters the prestigious nine-furlong test for older horses from a pair of fourth-place finishes in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster on July 1 at Ellis Park and the Grade 2 Alysheba on May 5 at Churchill Downs. The 5-year-old Malibu Moon chestnut enjoyed a strong run of form earlier in the year at Oaklawn Park, capturing the Razorback on February 18 and the Essex on March 18 – both Grade 3 tests going 1 1/16 miles – before finishing second beaten a head in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap on April 22.

Last Samurai will be making his Saratoga debut in the Whitney, and Lukas said the multimillionaire horse could be even more effective over the Spa main track.

“I think he cares for a little deeper surface and I think he might do even better on this racetrack,” Lukas said. “He’s in top form and you don’t have any excuses other than the fact that he can’t run fast enough, if that’s the case. But I think he’ll do very, very well.”

Lukas tipped his cap to 1-2 morning line favorite Cody’s Wish, who enters the Whitney – which offers a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic - from a six-race win streak, including four Grade 1 races, and expressed appreciation for the history and importance behind the Whitney.

“I thought our horse fits here and is very much worthy of having a shot in here,” Lukas said. “I have great respect for Cody’s Wish and all of them. But given the prestige of the race and the amount of the purse, it would maybe be better to take that chance and see how close we can get to these other horses and better evaluate whether we’re Breeders’ Cup worthy down the line. To win a Whitney or to be one-two-three in the Whitney counts double to these other stakes. It has so much prestige.”

Since the inception of the Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships in 1984, the Whitney has seen eight of its winners capture Breeders’ Cup glory at the end of the year. Among these horses are 1986 winner and Lukas alumna Lady’s Secret, who defeated males en route to a Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff triumph and, subsequently, Horse of the Year honors.

In 1990, Lukas captured the Whitney with Criminal Type who also earned Horse of the Year honors at the end of his campaign.

“When I won it with Lady’s Secret against the colts, it made her Horse of the Year. That one race cemented her as Horse of the Year,” recalled Lukas. “So, I think the race is such a prestigious and important race that we’re going to take a chance and lead him over there. The distance will fit him. He’s a big, strong and sound horse, so why not?”

MyRacehorse’s juvenile colt Seize the Grey broke his maiden on July 29 over a sloppy and sealed Saratoga main track. The gray son of Arrogate earned a 73 Beyer Speed Figure with a 1 3/4-length triumph over Dornoch – a full-brother to Grade 1 Kentucky Derby winner Mage - and is possible for the Grade 2, $300,000 Hopeful going seven furlongs on September 4.

“That was a tough race. Everyone liked their horse. There were six or seven guys who told me they really liked their horse,” Lukas said. “He’s come out of that race strong. I’ve had three or four Arrogates now and in my experience with them, they seem to get better as they get older. So, I’m counting on him to get a lot better on the First Saturday in May.”

Speaking of Arrogate progeny that blossom on the first week of May, Briland Farm’s Kentucky homebred Secret Oath – the winner of last year’s Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks – worked five furlongs over the Oklahoma training track Thursday in 1:00.45 in preparation for the Grade 1, $500,000 Personal Ensign on August 25 at Saratoga.

The 4-year-old chestnut filly was a last out uncharacteristic fifth in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps on June 10 at Belmont Park after completing the exacta in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom on April 15 at Oaklawn Park and the Grade 1 La Troienne on May 5 at Churchill Downs.

“That’s one that really thrives up here. I’m so looking forward to the Personal Ensign. I don’t think she’s ever been this good, frankly,” Lukas said. “She has an affinity for the Oklahoma track. She worked this morning in a minute flat, and she did it without taking a breath. I’m really looking forward to running her.”

Secret Oath is out of the multiple stakes winner and Grade 1-placed Quiet American mare Absinthe Minded. She sports a record of 17-6-4-3 and $2,344,767 in earnings.

***

Dutrow, Jr. returns to the G1 Whitney with White Abarrio

Trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr. will participate in his first Grade 1 at Saratoga since the summer of 2012 when he sends out C Two Racing Stable and Antonio Pagnano’s multiple graded-stakes winner White Abarrio in Saturday’s $1 million Whitney.

The nine-furlong test for older horses, which offers a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic in November at Santa Anita, has come up tough with reigning Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile-winner Cody’s Wish for red-hot Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott and the regally-bred Charge It for Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher as headliners.

White Abarrio joined Dutrow, Jr.’s barn this spring and enters from a troubled third in the Grade 1 Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap on June 10 at Belmont Park, overcoming a stumbled start to finish 3 1/4-lengths back of the victorious Cody’s Wish while registering a career-best 106 Beyer Speed Figure.

The versatile 4-year-old Race Day colt captured the nine-furlong Grade 1 Florida Derby last year as part of a campaign that concluded with a close third-place finish in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile Handicap presented by NYRA Bets in December at Aqueduct Racetrack.

White Abarrio, previously trained by Saffie Joseph, Jr., launched his current campaign with a pair of starts at Gulfstream Park, finishing off-the-board in the nine-furlong Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational in January ahead of a cut back to seven furlongs in March to annex a talented optional-claiming group that featured next-out winners Weyburn and Collaborate before joining forces with Dutrow, Jr.

Dutrow, Jr., who said he has confidence his horse can step up in trip, acknowledged that White Abarrio has a big task ahead of him on Saturday.

“That's for sure, but he's doing good. Hopefully, he's up to it,” Dutrow, Jr. said. “I've been getting to know him better. On the track he is [laid back], not in the stable. He ran big last time going a mile and he just got beat in the [Cigar] Mile. He ran a pretty big race down at Gulfstream going seven-eighths. I guess it mostly depends on who he's in with because he can get those distances.”

White Abarrio, listed at 6-1 on the morning line from post 5, will be reunited with the Spa’s leading rider Irad Ortiz, Jr., who was aboard for the Cigar Mile effort.

Dutrow, Jr. said he had initially planned to train White Abarrio into the seven-furlong Grade 1, $500,000 Forego on August 26, but saw an opportunity with a shorter field in the Whitney – and also a chance to sidestep the reigning Champion Male Sprinter Elite Power, who bested the talented Gunite in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap here last week.

“All the riders that have been around him really like the feel he gives them. Irad has breezed him a bunch of times and is very happy to get back on him,” Dutrow, Jr. said. “Irad thought he should have won the NYRA Mile, so we have confidence that he's going to run a big race.

“He's had plenty of time between races and after watching the sprint and knowing we'd have to tackle them two [in the Forego], we may as well take a shot for twice the money going a distance that he's won,” added Dutrow, Jr. “It makes sense to try this spot because he'd have to run his heinie off to catch those other two sprinters in the Forego. We're happy we landed in this spot.”

Although the Whitney is a change of plan for White Abarrio, Dutrow, Jr. said he is responding to his horse’s cue.

“I'm just going to follow my horse. He's leading us there,” Dutrow, Jr. said. “If it wasn't here it would be the Forego and I love that race, too. We're just concentrating on the horse. He has all the t's crossed and all the i's dotted. He's just been on it. For me, to be back in the Whitney, it's a good race to be in and we're very excited about our horse.”

Dutrow, Jr. has made five previous starts in the Whitney, the last outing in 2012 with Trickmeister, who ran fifth, and the most memorable with Saint Liam, who ran second, by a neck to Commentator, as the mutuel favorite in 2005.

“I had so much confidence in Saint Liam winning that race. He was seen as the best horse in the race and we can't say that about White Abarrio when you have that other Mott horse hanging around,” Dutrow, Jr. said. “It's different. Saint Liam, after his Stephen Foster win, we were training him up to that race. This race, we we're training him for the Forego until we saw a lighter field in the Whitney and decided to go in there.”

Saint Liam finished off his 2005 campaign in style with a pair of Grade 1 wins at Belmont Park, taking the Woodward and Breeders’ Cup Classic en route to honors as Champion Older Horse and Horse of the Year.

“I was disappointed when Saint Liam got beat in the Whitney because I felt like we blew an opportunity there, but if this horse gets beat, I'm not going to feel like we blew an opportunity. I feel like we're reaching up and reaching up, but our horse is telling us that we can,” Dutrow, Jr. said.

And while the odds are against White Abarrio finishing off his season with the same flourish as Saint Liam, Dutrow, Jr., who returned victorious from a 10-year suspension in May, said he already feels like a winner.

“He's such a nice horse to be able to be around and train, so I've already met what I wanted to come back for - to be around a nice horse in a big race. It's all good for us,” Dutrow, Jr. said. “We know we're going to be third or fourth choice in the race, but we feel very good about our chances.”

***

Remuda enters G3 Troy off track record win; Groveland stepping up in G3 West Virginia Derby

Godolphin’s Kentucky homebred Remuda boasts a unique CV with a pair of wins on dirt and turf as he steps into stakes company for the first time in Saturday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Troy, a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf sprint for older horses.

Trained by Eoin Harty, the 4-year-old More Than Ready colt made his first four starts at Tampa Bay Downs, graduating at second asking traveling 1 1/16-miles on turf. He won his next two outings sprinting six furlongs on the main track before an off-the-board effort in April at Keeneland.

Remuda returned last out from a two-month layoff on June 16 traveling 5 1/2-furlongs over firm Laurel Park turf and stalked and pounced to a three-length score in track record time of 1:00.63.

“He was very impressive at Laurel setting a track record. He won by daylight,” Harty said. “He's out of conditions, so sooner or later you have to stick him in with the big boys and figure out what you have.

“He's a really beautiful specimen,” added Harty. “He's a big, strong horse and the older they get, the more filled out and attractive they become. He has a great mind, beautiful head, beautiful eyes. He's a really kind horse to be around.”

An eight-horse Troy field is led by the streaking Caravel – the reigning Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner – but Harty said he is confident jockey Flavien Prat can work out a trip for Remuda from the outermost post 8.

“It's not a great post, but it's done now. My horse has speed, but the other day he was tactical and that's the way I expect him to run on Saturday,” Harty said.

Harty will look to double up on graded wins this weekend when he sends out graded-stakes placed Groveland in Sunday’s nine-furlong Grade 3 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer.

The Street Sense bay made five starts at Tampa Bay Downs between December 3 and March 11, graduating at third asking in his two-turn debut on December 24. He followed with runner-up efforts in an optional-claimer in January and the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis on February 11 before running off-the-board in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby in March.

“He's doing really well. He's another horse that we'll find out just what he's made of,” Harty said. “He ran a little poorly in the Tampa Bay Derby, but I'd thrown an awful lot at him in a very short period of time.”

Harty turned Groveland out at Bridlewood Farm following the Tampa Bay Derby effort and the colt responded last out with a 1 1/2-length allowance score against older horses on June 18 at Hawthorne while racing off a three-month layoff.

“I gave him a little break and he really responded to that and has trained very well since he returned,” Harty said. “He ran a really good race at Hawthorne. I'm not sure how stiff the competition was, but he won nicely and now he'll step up. I don't think the distance will be a problem, but maybe the company will. We'll find out."

Groveland is out of the Medaglia d’Oro mare Lucknow, who is a half-sister to dual Grade 1-winner Better Lucky.

“When you're training for Godolphin, you never question the pedigree. If he gets beat it won’t be because of lack of pedigree,” said Harty, with a laugh.

***

Aspen Grove to 'Stack' up against the boys in G1 Saratoga Derby Invitational

Aspen Grove will take on the boys in Saturday’s Grade 1, $600,000 Saratoga Derby Invitational at Saratoga Race Course and does so on the heels of a rousing performance to win last month’s Grade 1 Fasig-Tipton Belmont Oaks Invitational, closing from well back to inhale her rivals in the final strides.

Owned by Glen Hill Farm of Florida and Mrs. John Magnier of Ireland’s Coolmore, the filly has been a transatlantic success story that connections hope keeps on giving.

Trained in Ireland by Fozzy Stack, Aspen Grove is a daughter of American Triple Crown winner Justify, who stands at the U.S. branch of Coolmore’s powerhouse global operation. She was bred in Ireland and is out of American mare Data Dependent, who is a half-sister to Irish Group 1 winner Skitter Scatter. As an operation, breeder Glen Hill Farm and principal Craig Bernick have increased their European footprint in recent years from a racing and breeding standpoint, while maintaining a top-class stateside operation.

“We seem to have a lot of turf horses and I find that, at auction, horses with turf form don’t get the credit they deserve, so I think it’s great when they start their careers over there in Europe and can hopefully get some blacktype, because it really legitimizes them,” Bernick said. “Some horses wind up being ordinary in Europe and become great here.

“She’s doing very well and I think she’ll keep adapting well to American racing—it’s in her pedigree,” Bernick continued. “She will likely stay in America, but we will make plans after she runs. She’s a Grade 1 winner and her half-brother (Edwardian) just won really well in Ireland for Coolmore—so that’s two good horses from the first two foals.”

Stack arrived at Saratoga late Wednesday evening from Ireland to oversee final preparations.

“She looks well and seemed really good there this morning when I arrived,” he said. “She’s always been a good filly. We had Papilio last year and there wasn’t a lot between them. [Papilio] was also third or fourth favorite in the Belmont Oaks, so it was worth a whirl.”

Papilio won two races from five starts in Ireland for Stack, while also finishing second in the Listed Churchill and sixth-of-11 behind champion Tahiyra and Breeders’ Cup winner Meditate in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud. Now trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, she has won Keeneland’s Grade 2 Appalachian and was third behind Aspen Grove in the Belmont Oaks.

“She’s a stronger filly than she was as a 2-year-old and has come along well,” Stack said regarding Aspen Grove. “Hopefully she’ll keep improving, because she’ll need to on Saturday. She’s won a Group 1, won a Group 3 and been placed in a Group 3 and the breeders own her, so hopefully we can do well. Saratoga is a beautiful place, so it would definitely be one of the better places to win one.”

Stack had the option of sending Aspen Grove west for the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks, but opted to stay in New York where she will exit post 3 in rein to Hall of Famer John Velazquez after winning the Belmont Oaks under Oisin Murphy, who will ride rival Lion of War.

“We thought about it, but she had done enough travelling and going from here to California is almost the same as going from Europe to here - she would have to settle into a different set of circumstances - so we decided to stay and focus on the races here,” he explained. “She ran very well here. She travelled well in the race and Oisin gave her a great ride on the day. Hopefully she gets another great ride. She accelerates well - we saw that in the last race and last year when she won the Group 3 [Newtownanner Stud], when she came from last in the final furlong.”

Stack did not come empty-handed on the flight back, bringing along 5-year-old gelding Chazzesmee for the restricted $135,000 Fasig-Tipton Lure over a turf mile. Murphy will get the ride on the patiently campaigned son of triple Group 1 winner and Breeders’ Cup Mile fourth Excelebration.

Owned by the Stack family, the dual winner from nine starts exits his three best career efforts - a five-length win in a minor handicap over Dundalk’s tight-bended, left-handed all-weather; a 1 3/4-length tally in the King of Change Handicap at Naas; and a strong effort to be second-of-18 on July 2 in the Festival Handicap on Irish Derby Day.

“He’s been improving all year, so hopefully he keeps improving,” Stack said. “I don’t know how to work out the form of the American horses. He got here well, so we’ll see what happens. He’s won at Dundalk, which rides fast, and he’s won on soft ground at Naas and then it was very hard on Irish Derby day when he was a very unlucky second in a big field.”

***

Clearly Unhinged steps up in G1 Test

Rock Brother Racing’s Kentucky homebred Clearly Unhinged will look to make a successful return to graded company in Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Test, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies.

Trained by Michael McCarthy, the Into Mischief bay will race outside of Santa Anita Park for the first time where she has won 2-of-3 starts, graduating on debut in February at 6 1/2-furlongs and battling to a game head win at the same distance last out on June 16 in an optional-claiming sprint.

Her lone loss came around two turns in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks where Clearly Unhinged broke a step slow, but forged her way forward, taking control with three-eighths to run. She would duel with the eventual winner – the then undefeated multiple graded-stakes winner Faiza - through the turn before fading to fourth. The third-place finisher of that event, Window Shopping, came back to win the Grade 2 Summertime Oaks.

"A roughly run race, but she probably doesn't want to run that far. At the time, it seemed like it was worth taking a shot,” McCarthy said of the Oaks effort. "She seems like she's doing very well. She always puts herself in the game right away. It seems like she likes a good fight. She's been a model of consistency around one turn.”

Clearly Unhinged, out of the Smart Strike mare Smart Win, hails from strong family lines. Her granddam, the graded stakes-winning Crafty Prospector mare Win Crafty Lady, produced multiple graded stakes-winner Harmony Lodge, who won the Spa’s 2003 Grade 1 Ballerina, and multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Graeme Hall, who captured the 2000 edition of the Grade 2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga.

McCarthy said he is hopeful Clearly Unhinged can follow her successful family line and win a graded race of her own at the Spa.

"We wouldn't have sent her if we didn't think she was that type of horse. It's never easy to go from Del Mar to Saratoga with a relatively inexperienced horse, but there are very few options here in California for straight 3-year-olds, so this seemed like the right spot,” McCarthy said.

Clearly Unhinged will have a six-pound weight break on the favored Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks-winner Pretty Mischievous on Saturday, leaving post 2 and carrying 118 pounds with Hall of Famer Javier Castellano signed on to ride.

McCarthy said he is confident Clearly Unhinged doesn’t necessarily need the lead in a race that features the speed of undefeated Maple Leaf Mel and the pacey Munnys Gold.

"She's kind enough that I think she would rate if need be,” McCarthy said.

Clearly Unhinged, who worked a sharp five-eighths in 58.20 on July 29 at Del Mar, boasts a record of 3-2-0-0 for purse earnings of $102,000.

***

G1W Speaking Scout gets class relief in $135K Lure; Nagirroc rerouted to G2 Secretariat

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners’ Speaking Scout, winner of last year’s Grade 1 Hollywood Derby, will drop into restricted company on the back of six consecutive graded stakes starts in Saturday’s $135,000 Fasig-Tipton Lure, a 1 1/16-mile inner turf test restricted to older horses who have not won a graded event this year, at Saratoga Race Course.

“He’s really good,” said trainer Graham Motion. “He’ll come up tomorrow and I think it’s a little shorter than maybe he wants to do, but I think it’s a good spot for him with the restriction. It helps, especially since he won a nice race last year.”

The son of Mr Speaker enters from a rallying third in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Monmouth on June 17 at its namesake track. He pounced from 4 1/2 lengths off the pace under Jorge Ruiz to make a five-wide bid and settle for show honors 1 1/2 lengths back of the victorious Catnip.

Motion said patience is key with Speaking Scout, who will be ridden by Flavien Prat from post 5 [9-2 ML] on Saturday.

“We gave him a lot of time between races this time. He’s pretty honest,” said Motion. “He was a little unlucky at Monmouth last time – the race kind of unfolded awkwardly where he and another horse moved early in the race. He wasn’t beaten much, and I think if Flavien is patient with him, he can be right there.”

In addition to the Hollywood Derby, Speaking Scout boasts a five-length win in last year’s Hawthorne Derby, as well as graded placings when second, beaten a half-length, in the Grade 2 Twilight Derby in October, and third in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational in January. He has banked $637,993 in total purse earnings through a record of 18-4-4-2.

Motion added that Little Red Feather Racing, Madaket Stables and William Strauss’ graded stakes-winner Nagirroc will skip Friday’s Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame at Saratoga and instead target the Grade 2 Secretariat on August 12 at Colonial Downs.

The Secretariat would give Nagirroc extra time to prepare for his first start since finishing third in the Grade 3 Manila on July 7 at Belmont Park, as well as a chance to avoid a softer turf course as rains are forecasted for Friday in Upstate New York.

“I think he’ll run at Colonial next weekend. We were kind of on the fence, but I think that’s what we’re going to do,” said Motion. “There’s the weather, and it gives him an extra week.”

The son of Lea boasts a perfect in-the-money record from eight lifetime outings, including a win in the Grade 3 Futurity in October at Belmont at the Big A, and a game third in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf in November at Keeneland.

***

Thin White Duke aims for upset in G3 Troy

Philip A. Gleaves, Steven Crist, Ken deRegt, and Bryan Hilliards’ New York-bred Thin White Duke looks to make the grade and launch an upset in Saturday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Troy, a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf sprint for older horses.

Trained by David Donk, Thin White Duke has found a home sprinting on the grass, where he won at the stakes level in the $150,000 Lucky Coin last September at Saratoga. Prior to that victory, the then 4-year-old hit the board versus Grade 3 company in last year’s edition of the Troy. Thin White Duke came with a powerful kick in late stretch, but the elite turf sprinter Golden Pal had just enough of a jump on him to win by a neck.

Donk said Thin White Duke’s affinity for Spa turf warrants taking another shot in Saturday’s test when facing the reigning Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint-winner Caravel.

“It’s a [deciding] factor that he likes this turf course. Last year, the first time he ran a five and half in Saratoga was an allowance race. He ran really well. Then we knew were taking a shot running against Golden Pal, not thinking we could beat him,” said Donk. “We knew he liked the course, so when they are doing well, you shouldn’t be afraid to run them.”  

Thin White Duke is the only entry in the eight-horse field to have run at Saratoga so far this summer. He ran fifth in a five-and-a-half-furlong allowance on July 26.

“Last week was a really good effort by everybody in there, he finished up, but they were really running. It was a fast race,” Donk said. “He came out of it really well and we know that he loves this turf and a five and a half, so we aren’t afraid to run him back. I don’t know if anyone is beating Caravel. She’s a legitimate heavy favorite, but it is still $300,000.”

Thin White Duke faced Caravel in the Grade 1 Jaipur on June 10 at Belmont Park, finishing tenth, as the mare went gate-to-wire to beat the boys for a third consecutive time.

The Dominus gelding found himself in the ambitious Jaipur spot after a strong fourth despite a wide trip in the Elusive Quality in May at Belmont. His 5-year-old campaign began with an off-the-board effort in an allowance in April at Aqueduct, which earned a respectable Beyer Speed Figure of 88.

“I’m a realist. I don’t know if he catches Caravel,” Donk said, regarding the 20-1 morning line on Thin White Duke. “But I’d sure love to see him make a run at her.”

Hall of Famer John Velazquez, who piloted Thin White Duke to victory in last year’s Lucky Coin, will be in the irons from post 1.

***

Rookie Report: Pletcher debuts regally-bred pair in Saturday maiden test

A field of 10 potential rising stars, plus one also-eligible, will line up for Race 2 on Saturday’s Grade 1 Whitney Day card in a six-furlong main track maiden special weight over the Saratoga Race Course main track.

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher will saddle two blue-blooded first-time starters in Be You [post 1, Irad Ortiz, Jr.] and Locked [post 4, Jose Ortiz].

Owned by Repole Stable, Be You was a $320,000 purchase at the 2022 Keeneland September Sale. By multiple Champion-producing sire Curlin, he is the fifth progeny out of the graded stakes-winning Congrats mare Jacaranda, who produced stakes-placed American West.

Be You has fired a pair of bullets from the gate, most recently covering a half-mile over the main track in 47.11 seconds on July 29 – the fastest of 101 recorded works at the distance.

“He seems like a Curlin that has some speed. He had a very good gate work, and he’s a professional colt that’s been training well since his arrival,” said Pletcher, who has already won three juvenile maiden tests this meet. “He drew the rail, so we need to be away alertly. I was happy with his last gate work, so hopefully he has a good debut.”

Be You’s dam Jacaranda is a half-sister to Grade 1-winning Pletcher alumnus and leading sire Constitution. Pletcher said Be You and Constitution have, “different physical types, but hopefully similar talent.”

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm’s Locked, by leading third crop sire Gun Runner, enters his debut from a string of half-mile moves. He most recently went 48.82 seconds over the main track on July 29.

A $425,000 acquisition from the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Locked is out of the Malibu Moon mare Luna Rosa, whose dual-continent stakes-winning dam Gabriellina Giof also produced dual Grade 1-winner Gabby’s Golden Gal and graded stakes winner Always a Princess.

“I think he’s a really nice colt,” Pletcher said of Locked. “It seems like the further he goes, the better he gets. It’s a good starting point, but I think he’s a two-turn horse that has a lot of promise.”

***

Saratoga Race Course Week 5 stakes probables

Wednesday, August 9

Johnston Mile (NYB)

Probable: Bustin Bay (Linda Rice), Early Edition (Stacy Machiz), Know It All Audrey (Oscar Barrera, III), Mia Bea Star (Randi Persaud), Sunset Louise (Bruce Levine), Sweetie (Gary Sciacca), Venti Valentine (Jorge Abreu)

Thursday, August 10

John Morrissey (NYB)

Probable: Rotknee (Mike Maker), Scilly Cay (Patrick Reynolds), Sheriff Bianco (Rice), Today’s Flavor (George Weaver), Who Hoo Thats Me (Abreu)

Possible: Ny Traffic (Saffie Joseph, Jr.)

Friday, August 11

Union Avenue (NYB)

Probable: Bank On Anna (Phil Serpe), Betsy Blue (Rice), Grannys Connection (Tom Morley), Kant Hurry Love (David Duggan), Vallelujah (Robbie Davis)

Evan Shipman (NYB)

Probable: Americanrevolution (Todd Pletcher), Bankit (Steve Asmussen), Barese (Maker), Dr Ardito (Chad Brown), Lobsta (Rachel Sells)

Possible: Sundaeswithsandy (Michelle Nevin), Whittington Park (Jeremiah Englehart)

Saturday, August 12

G1 Fourstardave (BC WAYI)

Probable: Annapolis (Pletcher), Casa Creed (Bill Mott), Emmanuel (Pletcher), Ice Chocolat (Mark Casse)

G2 Herb Moelis Memorial Saratoga Special

Probable: Divieto (Antonio Sano), Edified (Asmussen), Haul (Pletcher), Lasso (Juan Alvarado), Market Street (D. Wayne Lukas), Rhyme Schemes (Norm Casse) South America (John Kirby)

Galway

Probable: Daring Do (Wesley Ward), Isabel Alexandra (Gustavo Delgado), Love Appeals (Christophe Clement), Redifined (Michelle Lovell), Secret Money (Brendan Walsh), Stone Silent (Asmussen), Unified Alliance (Morley), Weekend Rags (Abreu), You Gotta Have Fun (Maker)

Possible: Anna’s Arabesque (Philip Bauer)

Sunday, August 13

Mahony

Probable: Eye Witness (Ward), Harry Time (Saffie Joseph, Jr.), No Nay Hudson (Ward), Private Creed (Asmussen), Uncashed (Larry Rivelli)