Susie Raisher Photo

Mind Your Biscuits turns in maintenance half for G1 Whitney

by NYRA Press Office

• Good Samaritan targeting Whitney; Yoshida may dabble with dirt
• Well-traveled Bigger Picture tackles familiar foes in G2 Bowling Green
• Romans excited about having ‘Promises Fulfilled’ in G3 Amsterdam
• G1 Test on the horizon for undefeated filly Minit to Stardom
• Old Time Revival stays sprinting for graded stakes return in Amsterdam
• Saratoga Race Course Week 3 stakes probables

Multiple graded stakes winner Mind Your Biscuits registered his final work before a planned start in the Grade 1, $1.2 million Whitney at 1 1/8 miles on August 4.

With jockey Joel Rosario aboard, the strapping chestnut breezed a half-mile in 49.88 seconds over the main track listed as fast just before 9 a.m. Friday. Rosario, who will be aboard the 5-year-old son of Posse for the 14th time in his 23rd career start in the Whitney, sat chilly through an opening quarter-mile in 25 seconds which was followed by a second quarter in 24 4/5. Trainer Chad Summers said the work was everything he wanted heading into next week's race.

“It was a good work,” Summers said. “We're eight days out, so I wasn't looking for anything serious just to open up his lungs down the lane which is what we did. The time didn't matter, we'll just wait and see how the field takes shape now. The racing strategy will take over from here on out. He may gallop one day next week, he'll school in the gate, and school in the paddock, but this is the rest of it. The heavy lifting is done.”

The Whitney will be the first time the strong-closing Mind Your Biscuits will run further than a mile, which comes off his strong runner-up finish by a nose to Bee Jersey in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap on June 9. The added distance is something Summers said he has been wanting to try for a while and will now have the chance to answer any doubts.

“I feel good. There's a lot of people out there saying he can't do it, but maybe they know something I don't know,” Summers said. “Maybe they talked to Miss Cleo or something like that. He’s never gone two turns before, so I don't know why he can't do it now. We'll find out next Saturday. Either we're right or wrong; that's what horse racing is about. We’ve got to keep it honest.”

Mind Your Biscuits kicked off 2018 with a near miss by a head as the runner-up against claiming company on February 9 at Gulfstream Park. His next start came in Dubai where he captured his second straight Group 1, $2 million Golden Shaheen after closing hard to win by a head on March 31 at Meydan. The victory put him over the top as the highest-earning New York-bred in history with $3,719,286. The Whitney was a race that Summers had on the map as early as January.

"If the Met Mile went how I thought the Met Mile would go, and he came out of it well, the Whitney was kind of the next logical step to see if he could stretch out,” he said. “The timing of the race to the Breeders' Cup is kind of perfect. The new ownership group [Shadai Farm] has been very supportive behind our decision to run him here. They're fine with him being a sprinter, but if he wins this race, to become a stallion I think to win Grade 1s and Group 1s at [different distances], there aren't a lot of horses in the last 20 or 30 years that can claim that they can do that.”

The Whitney winner will earn an all-fees-paid berth in the Breeders' Cup Classic as a “Win and You're In” qualifier. The $6 million race on November 3 at Churchill Downs was always part of the connections’ plans, Summers said. With two third-place finishes in the 2016 and 2017 Breeders' Cup Sprint, respectively, the goal is to return and win in what would likely be the last start before being sent to stud in Japan at the end of the year.

“It all depends on the Whitney,” Summers said. “We've spent his entire career not ducking anybody, so were not going to start now. It will be all on him.”

The success Summers has had with his horse who has taken him to six different racetracks across two continents since he took over training in early 2017. Mind Your Biscuits’ career has given the young trainer plenty of memories and triumphs. With a limited amount of time left together, Summers said he is enjoying the time at hand.

“I just don’t think about it really,” he said. “We know this is probably going to be his last year. I'll beg and plead my case to try and keep him in training one more year, but that decision will be up to Mr. Yoshida [of Shadai Farm] and his team in December. At the end of the day, [I have] appreciation for the horse and what he's meant.

“We came here as an underdog for so many years, and then we came last year with a big target on your back and things kind of changed,” he added. “Now there’s the big question mark. Everybody wants to know, can he go that far or not? We're going to find out. There will be a lot of sleepless nights over the next eight days but were used to it.”

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Good Samaritan targeting Whitney; Yoshida may dabble with dirt

Last year’s Grade 2 Jim Dandy winner Good Samaritan is on target for the Grade 1 Whitney, while Yoshida, also nominated to the 91st running of the Whitney, is likely to stay on the turf for the interim, pointing for the Grade 1, $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap on August 11, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said from his barn Friday morning.

“We want to keep our options open just in case Good Samaritan wouldn’t be ready to go for some reason, we can switch them at the last minute if we had to,” Mott said of Yoshida’s nomination.

Owned by Winstar, China Horse Club, SF Racing and Head of Plains Partners, Yoshida ended his 2017 campaign with a win in the Grade 3 Hill Prince on October 7 over Belmont Park’s inner turf course and started his year with a win in the Grade 1 Old Forester Turf Classic on May 5 at Churchill Downs.

Following that effort, Mott took the 4-year-old Japanese-bred colt by Heart’s Cry across the Atlantic to run in the Group 1 Queen Anne going a straight mile at Royal Ascot on June 19, where he finished a close fifth in his first career start outside of the United States.

“He stepped up and ran good and got beat by a length and quarter for the whole thing. It was a good effort,” said Mott. “He poked his head in front coming up the hill and gave us a thrill for a moment. Just as he was coming to the wire, he kind of idled a little bit and didn’t have enough to finish it off. 

“It’s a different type of race,” he added. “Speaking to Wesley Ward, he told me that if you’re able to run the same race over again, the second time, those horses seem to perform a little bit better. I don’t know if it’s the conditioning part of it or the mental part of it, where they learn that they actually aren’t going to turn. Maybe these horses are waiting for a turn.”

Yoshida is likely to try his luck over the dirt, a surface switch that could be flattered by his pedigree, Mott said. Yoshida’s dam is multiple graded stakes winner Hilda’s Passion, who capped a solid career with her 9 ¼-length victory in the 2011 Grade 1 Ballerina on Saratoga’s main track.

“The ownership and management of the horse want him to try the dirt at some point in his career because he’s bred somewhat for the dirt,” Mott said. “He’s been very good and effective on the turf, but his mother was a Grade 1 winner on the dirt here in Saratoga. He’s worked well enough on the dirt, so you can see it happening and at some point, we want to try him in the afternoon on dirt. I don’t think there’s anything like the proof you find out in the afternoon.”

Good Samaritan ran seventh last out in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap on Belmont Stakes Day, June 9. A deep closer, the 4-year-old Harlan’s Holiday colt was unable to make up much ground on the frontrunning Bee Jersey to finish 7 ¼ lengths behind the winner.

“He closed well but we didn’t have the pace scenario we were really looking for,” Mott said. “We were hoping for a real hot pace, but it was an honest pace, just average.”

Good Samaritan won the last time he raced at the Whitney’s distance of 1 1/8 miles, capturing the Grade 2 New Orleans Handicap by 2 ¼ lengths. That built on his runner-up finish in the Grade 1 Clark Handicap on November 24 at Churchill at the same distance, earning him a personal-best 102 Beyer Speed Figure. 

Good Samartian also won at the distance at Saratoga last year, rallying from last of five to beat Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming and Preakness winner Cloud Computing in the Jim Dandy before running fifth in the Grade 1 Travers later in the meet.

“Just given the Jim Dandy here last year, the mile and an eighth at Saratoga seems like a good [spot] for him,” Mott said.

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Well-traveled Bigger Picture tackles familiar foes in G2 Bowling Green

Three Diamonds Farm’s well-traveled multiple graded-stakes winner Bigger Picture will face a familiar cast of characters when the 7-year-old gelding makes his 33rd career start in Saturday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green.

Trained by Mike Maker, Bigger Picture will carry co-topweight of 124 pounds including jockey Jose Ortiz from post 3 in a nine-horse field that includes fellow millionaire graded-stakes winners Sadler’s Joy, Hi Happy and Money Multiplier.

“I would think he might be overlooked,” said Maker. “You’ve got Sadler’s Joy in there and Money Multiplier and [Hi Happy]. It’s a tough group, but that’s Saratoga.”

Bigger Picture opened 2018 by defending his title in the Grade 3 John B. Connally in January at Sam Houston, then finished behind Hi Happy in the Grade 2 Pan American and both Hi Happy and Sadler’s Joy in the Grade 1 Man o’ War. Last time out, he rallied to be third in the Grade 1 United Nations – a race he won in 2017 – 1 ½ lengths behind runner-up Money Multiplier.

“He just came up short last time, but he ran his race. I was glad to see him get back to his old self,” Maker said. “He came out of it well, looks a picture, and has been training as well as he ever has. We expect him to run a big race. Hopefully, it’s good enough to win it.”

For his career, Bigger Picture has won 11 races and $1,149,635 in purse earnings, primarily with Maker. He has made 11 consecutive starts and 14 of his last 17 in graded-stakes, winning four times.

Saratoga is one of six tracks where Bigger Picture has won, taking an optional claiming allowance in 2016 and finishing second in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer in his subsequent start. In last year’s Sword Dancer, he was nailed at the wire and finished third to Sadler’s Joy and Money Multiplier by a half-length.

“It looked like he was going to win it, and then it was like it swift punch to the gut,” Maker said. “It’s nice that he’s had some success here, but having said that, he’s an old-timer that’s run well wherever he’s gone.

“He just loves his job, and getting him stretched out has helped, too. I think a mile and three-eighths, mile and a half is his best game,” he added. “We’re hoping somebody presses [Hi Happy] early and we can sit there in a stalking position and come running.”

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Romans excited about having ‘Promises Fulfilled’ in G3 Amsterdam

Bob Baron’s Grade 2 winner Promises Fulfilled, third after setting a wicked pace in the Grade 2 Woody Stephens June 9, will make a slight cutback for his return in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Amsterdam.

The 6 ½-furlong Amsterdam for 3-year-olds will be the second straight sprint for Dale Romans-trained Promises Fulfilled, a chestnut son of Romans’ 2011 Preakness winner Shackleford, after getting a break following an off-the-board finish in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby.

In the seven-furlong Woody Stephens, Promises Fulfilled ran splits of 21.46 and 43.68 seconds and went six furlongs in 1:08.43 but was passed late by Still Having Fun and Engage and wound up beaten 4 ½ lengths.

“I love him in there,” Romans said. “He’s training great, and he ran huge at Belmont. To throw up a 43 and change and keep going, that’s a very rare horse that can do that. He ran a very game third. So, we’ll send him out there again and see what happens.”

As a 2-year-old, Promises Fulfilled won his first two starts and was third by 2 ½ lengths to Enticed in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club. In his sophomore debut, Promises Fulfilled was able to set a moderate pace and had plenty left to win the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth by 2 ¼ lengths at Gulfstream Park, beating a field that included Strike Power and Good Magic.

“He made it to the Derby [but] he’s probably right now a top up to a miler and under the right circumstances like the Fountain of Youth, can keep on going. But, he’s a good horse,” Romans said. “He’s one of the few I’ve had that can go that fast early and keep running to the wire and doesn’t collapse. It’s very rare. We’ll push the gas leaving there tomorrow and see what happens.”

Romans said a strong effort would land Promises Fulfilled a chance at the Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on the Travers undercard August 25.

“We’d like for him to run well enough to take him there,” he said. “I would like to win that race. [Jerkens] was one of my good friends.”

Romans is pointing both Seven Trumpets, second in the Grade 3 Dwyer July 7, and Cove Blue to the Jerkens. Cove Blue has gone unraced since winning an optional claiming allowance May 28 at Churchill Downs.

In addition, Romans is targeting both of Saratoga’s premiere events for 3-year-olds with King Zachary for the Grade 1, $1.5 million Travers and filly Coach Rocks for the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama August 18.

Co-owned by Troy, New York native Roddy Valente, Coach Rocks won the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks March 31 and coming off back-to-back runner-up finishes in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico and Grade 3 Delaware Park Oaks, the latter July 7.

“With Roddy, the Alabama was the plan all along,” Romans said. “She’s here. She just galloped today. She’s doing great. Every day’s been good. She doesn’t have a bad day.”

Thomas Conway’s King Zachary, a son of two-time Horse of the Year and Hall of Famer Curlin, won the Grade 3 Matt Winn June 16 at Churchill and most recently was fourth in the Grade 3 Indiana Derby July 14 at Indiana Grand, both at 1 1/16 miles.

In 2016, Romans sent out Keen Ice to upset Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in the Travers, his lone victory in the Mid-Summer Derby. American Pharoah was trained by Romans’ friend, Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, who also trained recently retired Justify to a sweep of the 2018 Triple Crown.

“We had the Travers in the back of our mind when we started breaking him. He’s a good horse, really good,” Romans said. “I was kind of hoping Baffert would show up and we could repeat history.”

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G1 Test on the horizon for undefeated filly Minit to Stardom

Brittlyn Stable’s Louisiana homebred filly Minit to Stardom, undefeated through three starts, is expected to make her graded-stakes debut in the Grade 1, $500,000 Longines Test August 4 at Saratoga.

Trainer Al Stall Jr. said Friday that Minit to Stardom, who has breezed twice over Saratoga’s main track since her arrival from Kentucky earlier this month, earned a shot at the Test off her 6 ¼-length optional claiming allowance romp May 27 at Churchill Downs.

Making her 3-year-old debut, Minit to Stardom took over the lead in the six-furlong sprint after going a half in 44.86 seconds and kept going, hitting the wire in 1:09.30 under Corey Lanerie. Her three victories have come by a combined 18 ¾ lengths.

“She won the last one in 1:09 and if you watch the video she was in the bridle and doing it easy. So, now it’s on to the Test. We’re planning on running,” Stall said. “We wouldn’t have considered it if she had done anything less. They went in 21 and change and 44 and change and she just kept going. It was a big-time effort.

“This will be a monster class/acid test for her, but we don’t have a Plan B,” he added. “We’re not going to stretch her out just yet. We’re excited to see how she does.”

Stall said Minit to Stardom gets her speed from broodmare sire Wildcat Heir and the rest from sire Star Guitar, also owned and co-bred by Brittlyn’s Evelyn Benoit and trained by Stall. Racing primarily in Louisiana, Star Guitar had 24 wins – 22 in stakes – and more than $1.7 million in purse earnings from 2007-12.

“In our little world down there, he was an absolute beast of a horse. He epitomized what a racehorse should be – physically, the way he won, his dominance, how long he ran for,” Stall said. “This filly doesn’t look like a Louisiana-bred. She’s big and strong and the whole deal. She’s way faster than Star Guitar.”

Minit to Stardom debuted with a win November 18 at Fair Grounds and returned to take the Louisiana Champions Day Lassie three weeks later. She was set to make her sophomore debut at Delta Downs in February but spiked a temperature and was given plenty of time to recover.

“We just loved her as a 2-year-old and she got sick, that’s why the big gap. She was on the overnight at Delta Downs and got a fever,” Stall said. “When a nice horse gets sick for us, I just shut them down for a long time. We knew we had that a-other-than condition, so we were able to take advantage of that.”

Stall also trains Minit to Stardom’s full sister for Benoit, Wild About Star, who is being pointed to the Louisiana Cup Distaff at Louisiana Downs the same day the Test is being run.

“She’s by Wildcat Heir and she’s so fast, we’re just going to worry about this and try and hit the board,” Stall said. “Eveyln owns the mare [Wild About Marie] and her full sister is going to run in a stake the same day in Louisiana. So, it could be a good day or a bad day.”

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Old Time Revival stays sprinting for graded stakes return in Amsterdam

Jacks or Better Farm’s homebred Old Time Revival will make his Saratoga debut in the Grade 3 Amsterdam, which marks his return to graded-stakes company for the first time since an eighth-place finish in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial April 7 knocked him off the Triple Crown trail.

Old Time Revival has not gone further than a mile since the 1 1/8-mile Wood, which followed runner-up finishes in the Miracle Wood at Laurel Park and Grade 3 Gotham at Aqueduct, both at one mile. Most recently, he set the pace before giving way late and finishing second by less than a length in the seven-furlong Concern July 7 at Laurel.

Trainer Ken Decker removed the blinkers Old Time Revival had worn in his previous four starts for the Concern, and he will race without them again Saturday. Rosario Montanez, aboard last out, has the return call from post 4.

“We took the blinkers off him and it looked like he kind of came back to being in control again. He ran a nice race and just got caught there the last part of it,” Decker said. “There were some nice horses in there, and there’s some nice horses in here Saturday. But, his numbers were good and this one fit in the schedule. We’ll see what happens.”

Decker said he plans to sprint Old Time Revival for the foreseeable future. His lone win from 11 starts came in a maiden-breaking seven-furlong sprint last December at Laurel, where he also finished third in a six-furlong allowance against older horses in April.

“He’s come up against some good company before. We had him on the Derby trail and he was doing good, but I just think he wants to sprint. We’ll see if 6 ½ is far enough for him. I know seven [furlongs] to a mile is where he looks like he’s real good,” Decker said. “Without the blinkers it’s helped him relax a little bit and see what’s going on. It’ll be a good bunch of horses tomorrow. If we can compete there, we’ll be well satisfied.”

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Saratoga Race Course Week 3 stakes probables

Wednesday, August 1: The $100,000 Shine Again
Probable: Cairenn (Graham Motion); Heavenly Score (John Terranova); Impasse (D. Wayne Lukas); Torrent (Ron Moquett); Treble (Moquett); Wheatfield (Nick Zito); Wonderment (Kenny McPeek); Yorkiepoo Princess (Eddie Barker); Your Love (Chad Brown)

Thursday, August 2: The $100,000 Birdstone
Probable: Archanova (Ian Wilkes); Big Dollar Bill (Wilkes); Carlino (Mark Hennig); Hard Study (Todd Pletcher)
Possible: Backsideofthemoon (Leo O’Brien); You’re to Blame (Pletcher)

Friday, August 3: Grade 2, $200,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame
Probable: Combatant (Steve Asmussen); Gemonteer (Jena Antonucci); Gidu (Pletcher); Maraud (Pletcher); Raging Bull (Brown); Sand Dancer (Tim Hills); Sniper Kitten (Mike Maker); Up the Ante (Christophe Clement) 

Saturday, August 4: Grade 1, $1.2 million Whitney 
Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” for Classic Division
Probable: Backyard Heaven (Brown); Dalmore (Bob Hess, Jr.); Good Samaritan (Bill Mott); McCraken (Wilkes); Mind Your Biscuits (Chad Summers); Tapwrit (Pletcher) 
Possible: Yoshida (Mott) 

Saturday, August 4: Grade 1, $500,000 Test
Probable: Classy Act (Bret Calhoun); Dixie Serenade (Eddie Coletti, Jr.); Kelly’s Humor (Brad Cox); Mia Mischief (Asmussen); Minit to Stardom (Al Stall, Jr.); Separationofpowers (Brown); Smokinpaddylassie (Coletti); Spectator (Michelle Nevin); Take Charge Paula (Kiaran McLaughlin) 

Saturday, August 4: Grade 3, $200,000 Fasig-Tipton Waya
Probable: Homeland Security (Brown); Lottie (Motion); Mom’s On Strike (Joe Sharp); Palinodie (Clement); Queen of Connaught (Michael Bell); Summersault (Hennig); Tricky Escape (Lynn Ashby)
Possible: Responsibleforlove (Neil Drysdale); Santa Monica (Brown)

Saturday, August 4: The $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Lure
Probable:  Blacktype (Clement); Conquest Panthera (Mark Casse); Mr Cub (Wilkes); Zennor (McLaughlin)
Possible: Voodoo Song (Linda Rice)

Saturday, August 4: The $100,000 Fasig-Tipton De La Rose
Probable: Bletchley (Casse); Lido (McLaughlin); Off Limits (Brown); Pas De Soucis (Jorge Abreu); Stormy Victoria (Clement); Thundering Sky (George Weaver)

Sunday, August 5: Grade 3, $200,000 Troy Handicap
Probable: Commend (Mott); Disco Partner (Clement); Long On Value (Brad Cox); Ready for Rye (Albertrani); Square Shooter (Jeremiah Englehart); Will Call (Cox) 
Possible: Tombelaine (Robertino Diodoro)

Sunday, August 5: The $100,000 Alydar
Probable: Kurilov (Brown); Outplay (Pletcher); Patch (Pletcher); Timeline (Brown)
Possible: Flowers for Lisa (Jorge Navarro); Monongahela (Kelly Rubley); Term of Art (Cox)