Janet Garaguso Photo

Mage tunes up for G1 Travers with six-furlong breeze

by NYRA Press Ofiice

• Mage tunes up for G1 Travers with six-furlong breeze
• Uncashed returns to Saratoga for $150K Mahony; Rivelli excited to debut New York homebred Richies Princess
• G1-winner Leave No Trace breezes; Queen’s Plate-winner Safe Conduct to the Oceanport
• Trainer Adam Rice looking to continue Spa success
• Rookie Report: Moquett to debut $950K purchase in Saturday maiden special weight
• Sunday’s all-stakes Cross Country Pick 5 to feature racing from Ellis Park, Monmouth Park and Saratoga Race Course

Grade 1 Kentucky Derby winner Mage logged his penultimate breeze on Friday at Saratoga Race Course in preparation for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers on August 26. The chestnut son of Good Magic covered six furlongs in 1:12.98 over the Spa’s main track around 7:45 a.m. under regular exercise rider J.J. Delgado.

“He did pretty good. He was a little more in the bridle today,” said Gustavo Delgado, Jr., son and assistant to trainer Gustavo Delgado. “His exercise rider was happy about it and the best thing is how he came back. He took a couple rounds [cooling out] and that was it. It’s always good to see that.”

Owned by OGMA Investments, Ramiro Restrepo, Sterling Racing and CMNWLTH, Mage put in a more serious effort than last week when covering five furlongs in 1:01.03 over a Spa main track that held some moisture after steady rains in the days leading up to the breeze.

Delgado, Jr. said he expects Mage to have one more maintenance breeze next week ahead of the 1 1/4-mile Travers.

“It will depend on the weather, but hopefully Friday on the main track again,” said Delgado, Jr.

In addition to his win in the Kentucky Derby, Mage boasts two runner-up efforts in Grade 1s this year in the July 22 Haskell at Monmouth Park and the April 1 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park where he was defeated one length by the reigning Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Forte. He was a closing third two starts back in the Grade 1 Preakness 2 1/4 lengths back of the victorious National Treasure, who he will likely face again in the Travers.

The Delgado barn will look to kick off their Spa stakes action on a high note in Saturday’s $150,000 Galway, a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf sprint for sophomore fillies, with Isabel Alexandra, who seeks her first stakes victory for owners Restrepo, OGMA Investments, Global Racing Stables and Inverdeco. The daughter of Expert Eye was a last-out winner by a neck on June 24 in a five-furlong allowance over the Horseshoe Indianapolis turf.

Delgado, Jr. said he is hopeful Isabel Alexandra is back to her best form after finishing fifth in her two other starts this year in the one-mile Ginger Brew in January at Gulfstream Park and an off-the-turf allowance sprinting five furlongs in May at Pimlico Race Course.

“She’s doing pretty good and we like her in here,” said Delgado, Jr. “When horses get here to Saratoga, they start improving and you see things in them you didn’t see before. We had tried to get her to go longer at Gulfstream and then we made a mistake in Pimlico when they took the race off the turf and we still raced her. We wanted to regroup and put her in a good spot to get confidence, which she did, so now we’ll see. It’s a tough race.”

Isabel Alexandra enters the Galway from a sharp half-mile bullet in 47.60 seconds on July 30 over Saratoga’s Oklahoma turf training track. Delgado, Jr. said he was impressed with the work and is pleased to have the opportunity to breeze horses over turf at Saratoga.

“She likes it here and she was able to breeze on the turf, and that helped,” said Delgado, Jr. “We have galloping on turf in Lexington, but we can’t breeze them. It’s 100 percent a big plus to have that here.”

Isabel Alexandra boasts a lifetime record of 6-2-1-0 with $60,785 in earnings. The Irish-bred filly is out of the Dutch Art mare Duchess Power, a half-sister to multiple group-winner and French stallion Slade Power. She will be ridden from post 3 by Reylu Gutierrez with a morning line assessment of 8-1.

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Uncashed returns to Saratoga for $150K Mahony; Rivelli excited to debut New York homebred Richies Princess

Rain or shine makes no difference to trainer Larry Rivelli on Sunday as he sends out Quick Call presented by Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation winner Uncashed for his anticipated turf debut in the $150,000 Mahony for sophomores travelling 5 1/2 furlongs over the Mellon turf at Saratoga Race Course.

The dark bay gelded son of Uncaptured rides a four-race win streak after capturing an off-the-turf edition of the Quick Call on Opening Weekend by 5 1/2 lengths under returning rider Irad Ortiz, Jr. The winning effort, which garnered a career-high 96 Beyer Speed Figure, was Uncashed’s first start over a sloppy and sealed track and came following a victory in May in the Golden Circle at Prairie Meadows, which he won by 8 1/2 lengths.

While Rivelli has been anxious to get Uncashed started on turf, he said an off-the-turf running of the Mahony would be fine by him.

“It won’t hurt our feelings if it’s not [on turf],” Rivelli said. “The only thing that would stop me from running is if the turf was really, really wet and they didn’t take it off. But I think he’s going to run well.

“I’m looking to find out if the horse likes the turf for the future as far as different options are concerned,” Rivelli added. “The horse is a gelding so we aren’t looking to run in any of those stallion-making races if he gets to be that good. We can just sort of pick our spots at different venues against straight 3-year-olds.”

Bred in Florida by Nicksar Farms, Uncashed is out of the War Chant mare Charlie B, who was a four-time winner on dirt. His second dam, Debit Account, produced Lomaki, a graded stakes winner on turf. He hails from the prominent maternal bloodlines of La Troienne.

In Race 6 on Saturday, Rivelli will debut Patricia’s Hope and breeder Richard Ravin’s promising New York-bred sophomore filly Richies Princess in a six-furlong maiden test over the Spa main track.

The Laoban bay is a half-sister to multiple prominent Rivelli alumni, including graded stakes winner Jean Elizabeth, New York-bred stakes winners Dugout and Adios Asher as well as graded stakes placed What’s Up Dude. All the aforementioned horses are out of the Lit de Justice mare Rooney Doodle.

Richies Princess worked a bullet over the Saratoga main track Saturday, going a half-mile in 47 flat.

“She’s a runner,” Rivelli said. “She took a while to get going because she’s such a big filly so we took our time with her. She’s ready to roll now. We got her down there in plenty of time to get acclimated and everything. We’ve been pointing for this race since I saw it in the book. It’s her first time running but the whole family, they’re all runners so we feel pretty high on her.”

Jean Elizabeth, an Illinois-bred by Adios Charlie, was a 15-time winner of 21 starts and captured her career debut as well as several stakes against her state-bred counterparts. She retired in the midst of an eight-race win streak which included Grade 3 Woodbine victories in the 2019 Ontario Fashion and 2020 Whimsical. Dugout also won his career debut at Arlington Park on the heels of winning Saratoga’s 2018 Funny Cide.

“Even though Dugout was a gray she’s probably a little more like Dugout,” Rivelli said. "All these horses end up being really, really big. Jean Elizabeth was probably the smallest one of the whole group and ended up being the best one. We like the fact that it’s only the second filly out of that mare in a while.

“They were all big and they were all sprinters. She kind of resembles the same thing,” Rivelli added. “If I had to give an assessment at this point, I’d say she’s a sprinter unless she proves differently down the line.”

Richies Princess will break from the outermost post 11 under Irad Ortiz, Jr.

“She’s the real deal,” Rivelli said. “I don’t know about the post being all the way out there but it’ll give Irad a shot to do whatever he needs to do, whether it’s sit off the pace or go to the lead.”

Rooney Doodle now resides at Sequel Stallions in New York.

Rivelli said there’s a strong possibility that Rooney Doodle could be bred next year to the Rivelli-trained graded stakes winner Two Phil’s, who finished second in this year’s Grade 1 Kentucky Derby and now resides at WinStar Farm in Central Kentucky.

“We’ve been starting to toy around with that,” Rivelli said. “We have a couple of horses that nicked well with him that we’re trying to figure out what we’ll do with.”

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G1-winner Leave No Trace breezes; Queen’s Plate-winner Safe Conduct to the Oceanport

WellSpring Stables’ Leave No Trace breezed a sharp half mile over the Saratoga main track in 47.44 seconds on Thursday, leaving trainer Phil Serpe with a decision to make regarding when his Grade 1 winning filly should return to the starting gate.

“She did very well. We’re very happy with the work,” said Serpe. “We’re just looking at some options for some races and will know more in a couple of days.”

Leave No Trace certainly left her mark at Saratoga during her juvenile campaign, winning her debut by 2 3/4 lengths sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs here en route to a 14-1 upset in the Grade 1 Spinaway, 1 1/2 lengths ahead of eventual Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Wonder Wheel.

Serpe’s Outwork filly next tried the Grade 1 Frizette in October at Belmont at the Big A and finished third despite a troubled break. Her 2-year-old campaign concluded in November with a second to Wonder Wheel in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Keeneland.

Leave No Trace returned as a sophomore in March in the Grade 2 Davona Dale, going one mile over the Gulfstream Park dirt. The dark-bay broke sharply to the lead setting a fast quarter of 23.01, but was eased after a half-mile by jockey Tyler Gaffalione.

She returned to the work tab on July 2 and has worked weekly since, with her fastest coming in Thursday's move which ranked second out of 76 workers.

“She’s doing really well. She’s pretty close to a race,” Serpe said. “We want to get her in a race before we leave Saratoga, so hopefully towards the end of the meet. She’s going to get to run.”

A potential landing spot could be the Grade 2, $250,000 Prioress on September 2, a six furlong sprint for sophomore fillies.

Serpe will send out WellSpring Stables’ Safe Conduct in Sunday’s Oceanport at Monmouth Park, a 1 1/16 miles turf route for 3-year-olds and up.

The 5-year-old horse was entered in an allowance optional claimer on July 30 at Saratoga, but scratched and re-routed to New Jersey.

“He doesn’t like soft turf and the ground was pretty soft. I think the race down there looks like a decent spot, hopefully he can rebound and get something done,” said Serpe.

Safe Conduct broke his maiden going 1 1/16 miles over the Saratoga turf in August 2020. Since then, his earnings have climbed to $768,694 through a lifetime record of 18-4-3-3, featuring a stakes win in the 2021 Queen’s Plate at Woodbine.

Last summer, Safe Conduct became graded stakes placed with a runner-up effort in the Grade 3 Monmouth, earning a lifetime high Beyer Speed Figure of 94 before heading into the Lure at Saratoga, where he ran fifth after a wide trip.

The Bodemeister bay last ran third in an optional claiming race for older horses on July 4 at Belmont, three lengths behind Portfolio Company, who returned to finish a neck off of a win in the Fasig-Tipton Lure on August 5 here.

Bred in Ontario by Mitchell Kursner, Safe Conduct is out of the Congrats mare Duchess Dancer, who is a half-sister to Canada’s 2008 Horse of the Year Fatal Bullet.

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Trainer Adam Rice looking to continue Spa success

Trainer Adam Rice ships with intent to Saratoga, sporting a record of 7-4-0-1 dating to a debut maiden special weight score at 9-1 odds with Don't Be So Salty in August 2015. The Tiz Wonderful gelding followed up two weeks later with a third-place finish in the Spa’s Schenectady.

“I don't see any reason to go places or venture off unless I feel strongly about it,” said Rice, who oversees a stable of nine horses at Presque Isle Downs. “I don't like to be wrong. If I'm right, I'm right, but if I have a question mark about it then I should probably stay away. New York is no place to get really adventurous unless you feel good about it."

The 32-year-old conditioner's other Spa winners include Moster Bea [MSW, 2015], Shekky Shebaz [CLM, 2019] and Closethegame Sugar, who won a restricted maiden special weight over good turf here last summer and is entered in Sunday's $150,000 Mahony, a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf sprint for sophomores.

The runner-up in Closethegame Sugar’s maiden score, Webslinger, is now a graded-stakes winner with more than $1 million in purse earnings.

"We were prepared that day. I don't like to come unprepared. My horse is an honest animal and it was one of those things where he gave me everything he had and we managed to get there that day,” Rice said. “That horse [Webslinger] has really excelled as a 3-year-old, and I've been sitting around trying to find a place where I'd like mine to be at.”

Co-owned by Rice with Sugar Diaz, the Girvin gelding, a $10,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, enters from a prominent runner-up effort to the dual stakes-winner Dreaming of Kona in the six-furlong Tom Ridge on June 5 over the Presque Isle Downs synthetic.

He will now face an experienced field of turf sprinters, as well as a pair of accomplished surface switchers in dual graded stakes-placed Drew’s Gold and Uncashed, who enters from a win in the off-the-turf Quick Call presented by Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation on July 16 here.

Rice said his lightly-raced charge needed time to mature and may have been at a disadvantage to his more experienced foe in the Tom Ridge.

“It was just baby stuff. He needed to grow up a little bit. It seemed to help. He's not changed drastically - he's still the same little horse he was - but he got stronger and grew up,” Rice said. “I was worried he would be a little bit short going into the Tom Ridge, but he made a nice effort. I had entered him back in a '3-and-up' stake here that also ended up being pretty tough, so I scratched out of that and was waiting to find my spot. I was looking at the Quick Call and passed on that. I like to choose my spots. I don't want to beat the horse up.”

Rice indicated he would likely scratch Closethegame Sugar should the race come off-the-turf.

"That race has come up pretty tough. It looks like everybody entered according to the weather. If it stays on the turf, we'll look pretty good. If it comes off, I think we would scratch out of it," Rice said.

The Kentucky-bred Closethegame Sugar drew post 3 with Jose Lezcano aboard and a 15-1 morning-line assessment.

Rice will also send out Dancing Spirit in Race 2 on Sunday, a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight over the inner turf for juvenile fillies.

The Pennsylvania-bred Social Inclusion bay is owned outright by Rice and enters from a runner-up effort in a five-furlong maiden special weight on July 17 at Presque Isle, earning place honors by a head over next-out maiden winner Rotondo.

“We might be reaching a bit there. She's a Pennsylvania-bred filly that I ran in open company and the horse that ran third behind her came back and won here last week going five [furlongs],” Rice said.

But Rice is cautiously optimistic of his chances with a filly he said is training forwardly for a stretch out in distance, which often leads to a prominent trip.

“I don't think she needs to be on the lead. She's handy. I like her. I think the distance will suit her well,” Rice said. “The more I ask of her here, the better she's gotten for me. I don't necessarily need the front end. If we can get there, it's nice to be in charge, but the filly will tell me what it's like.”

Dancing Spirit, listed at 8-1 on the morning line, will exit the outermost post 10 in rein to Rice's brother-in-law Jose Ortiz – husband of Taylor Ortiz, née Rice.

Rice, the nephew of the Spa’s current co-leading trainer Linda Rice, also boasts a 3-1-1-0 record at Belmont Park led by a maiden win last July from Oxymore, who was sold privately and subsequently won Saratoga’s Skidmore.

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Rookie Report: Moquett to debut $950K purchase in Saturday maiden special weight

Trainer Ron Moquett will saddle Gus King’s first-time starting juvenile Chaperone in Saturday’s sixth race, a seven-furlong maiden special weight over the Saratoga Race Course main track.

Chaperone is by multiple Champion-producing stallion Curlin and out of the Grade 1-winning millionaire Arch mare It Tiz Well, whose 2017 sophomore season saw two-turn triumphs in the Grade 1 Cotillion at Parx, the Grade 3 Delaware Oaks at Delaware Park and the Grade 3 Honeybee at Oaklawn Park. The chestnut colt comes from the same family as Solid Appeal, who was Canada’s 2013 Champion Grass Mare.

Chaperone arrives at his debut off a pair of five-furlong breezes over the Saratoga main track. Last Saturday, he went the distance in 1:01.21 eight days after working in 1:01.71.

Moquett said Chaperone will improve with distance given his two-turn laden pedigree.

“He’s a nice horse. His mare is a Grade 1 winner going a route,” Moquett said. “He’s a 17-hand horse, so we understand that one turn may be just a starting point for him. We bought him to run route races, but this is a good place to get started.”

Chaperone’s rich bloodlines led to his $950,000 purchase price at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale.

“He reminded me of all the good things about the Curlins that you would like to see,” Moquett noted. “He’s a good-sized horse and had a certain sense of class about him. We thought there was a possibility that he would get well over a million and it worked out in our favor. You’d always rather have a horse with expectations and, as a trainer, it’s your job to manage the expectations until you get him where he needs to be.”

Chaperone will break from post 2 under Jose Ortiz.

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Sunday’s all-stakes Cross Country Pick 5 to feature racing from Ellis Park, Monmouth Park and Saratoga Race Course

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will host an all-stakes Cross Country Pick 5 on Sunday featuring racing from Ellis Park, Monmouth Park and Saratoga Race Course.

The Cross Country Pick 5 requires bettors to pick the winner of five select races from tracks across the country. The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is available on ADW platforms and at simulcast facilities across the country with each week featuring a mandatory payout of the net pool. The Cross Country Pick 5, boasting a low 15 percent takeout, offers sequences with races from Saratoga Race Course and partner tracks across the country.

Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence will be available for download at https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/cross-country-wagers.

Cross Country Pick 5 – Sunday, August 13

Leg A: Ellis Park - Race 7, $150K Audubon Oaks (3:50 p.m. Eastern)

Leg B: Ellis Park - Race 8, $250K Ellis Park Derby (4:22 p.m.)

Leg C: Monmouth Park - Race 9, $100K Oceanport (4:23 p.m.)

Leg D: Ellis Park – Race 10, $150K Groupie Doll (5:25 p.m.)

Leg E: Saratoga Race Course – Race 10, $150K Mahony (6:18 p.m.)

Saratoga Live will present daily coverage and analysis of the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the best way to bet every race of the Belmont spring/summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.