Pletcher, Velazquez steal show on New York Showcase Day

by NYRA Press Office

Trainer Todd Pletcher and Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez teamed up for four victories, three of them in stakes, to dominate New York Showcase Day on Friday at Saratoga Race Course.

"Winning four races with Todd today is just like the old days," said Velazquez after they took the final stakes of the day, the $200,000 Fleet Indian, with Mike Repole's Super Surprise. "We've been together for a long time."

Syndergaard got Showcase Day off to a sizzling start for Pletcher and Velazquez with his 10 ¼-length romp in the $200,000 Funny Cide for 2-year-olds, which kicked off Friday's 11-race program, restricted to horses bred in the Empire State.

Favored at 3-5 off an impressive debut victory August 8 at Saratoga, the chestnut son of Majesticperfection was even more dazzling in his second start. He broke running and went straight to the front through a quarter-mile in 21.52 seconds and a half in 44.35, turning away a brief challenge from Bobby On Fleek and opening up once they straightened for home.

The winning time for 6 ½ furlongs on a fast main track was 1:16.75. Syndergaard, named for New York Mets flame-throwing right-hander Noah Syndergaard, returned $3.40 on a $2 win bet. Bobby On Fleek was second, followed by Gold for the King and Tribecca.

"Yeah, he came with the heater today," said Pletcher, who with Velazquez also won the day's second race, a 1 1/16-mile maiden turf race. "We were optimistic coming in. The horse trained very well and ran well in his debut. We felt like Bobby On Fleek was very impressive in his debut, so it was going to be an interesting matchup. He's just got so much early speed that I think he kind of forced everyone to chase him a little bit."

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August Dawn Farm's Hit It Once More won the New York Derby last month at Finger Lakes with such authority, the colt was considered possible for a run in the Grade 1 Travers.

Instead, trainer Gary Sciacca elected to keep the son of Hard Spun in with state-bred company for another race and once again he displayed his sizable talent, romping to a 3 ¾-length victory over Extinct Charm in the $250,000 Albany.

Ridden by jockey Kendrick Carmouche, Hit It Once More went right to the front breaking from post six in a field of seven and never looked back, completing the 1 1/8-mile race in 1:50.38.

As the even-money favorite, Hit It Once More paid $3.90 for a $2 win bet.

"He ran a great race up in Finger Lakes and came he came right back and did it again, so he's for real," Sciacca said, standing next to NFL Hall of Fame Coach Bill Parcells, who races as August Dawn Farm. "We liked him earlier and then he got little problems here and there, growing pains. But he got a little older and started doing really well after that. Then as we stretched him out, he started doing really well. The farther he was going, the better he was running."

Hit It Once More now has four wins from 10 lifetime starts with earnings of $355,202.

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Pletcher and Velazquez scored again in the $200,000 Seeking the Ante as Barry K. Schwartz's homebred Iron Mizz became a stakes winner in her first time on dirt, taking the lead in deep stretch and going on to a three-quarter-length victory over Code Red in the race for 2-year-old fillies.

Breaking from post 6, Iron Mizz stayed behind Twist 'n Shout and Wilburnmoney as they dueled through an opening quarter-mile in 22.24 and a half in 45.92 seconds. Widest of all turning for home, Iron Mizz dug in to stick her head in front 100 yards from the wire and inched ahead to complete the 6 ½ furlongs in 1:19.57.

"Her experience and conditioning in those [three previous] turf races really helped her in the final eighth of a mile," said Pletcher of the Mizzen Mast filly, who returned $8.60 for a $2 win bet. "She's a New York-bred, and the options were to run her against open company on the turf or give dirt a try, and we felt it was time to give dirt a try. This opens up plenty of options as well as giving us the added confidence in the event a race would come off the turf."

Following Code Red under the wire were Tiznow's Smile, Twist 'n Shout, Passporttovictory, Bliss to You, and Willburnmoney.

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King Kreesa, a 7-year-old New York-bred favorite, wheeled back from only six days of rest after taking on Grade 1 company in the Fourstardave to capture the$150,000 West Point for the second time in his career.

Unlike his victory in 2014, which came after a protracted layoff, Friday's win came less than a week after he was fourth behind Tourist in the Fourstardave.

Dispatched at 3-1 as the third choice in the field of seven, King Kreesa broke badly but recovered quickly under Jose Ortiz to take command, setting pedestrian fractions of 24.61 and 49.67 seconds through the first half-mile. Digging in gamely in the stretch when challenged to his inside and outside, he held off the fast-closing Kharafa to prevail by a nose in 1:42.96 for the 1 1/16-mile race on the inner turf.

"He didn't break good but was fast enough to get the lead anyway," said Ortiz. "We set slow fractions and that was the difference. He could feel the other horse [Kharafa] coming to him, and when he did, he gave me another gear. He always tries hard. He's got a huge heart and that made the difference today."

Trained by David Donk for Gerard and Susan Kresa, King Kreesa returned $8.30 for a $2 win bet as he added the West Point to the Forbidden Apple on his 2016 stakes resume.

Checking in third behind Kharafa was Offering Plan, who in turn was followed by Tapitation, Brother O'Connell, Notacatbutallama and With Exultation.

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After scratching in from the "also-eligible" list, Michael Dubb and Bethlehem Stable's Fourstar Crook delivered as the 2-1 favorite in the $150,000 Yaddo for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles on the Mellon turf course.

The 4-year-old Freud filly settled in fifth early, tracking Invading Humor, who led the field of 10 through an opening quarter-mile in 23.77 seconds and the half in 48.65. Kept clear through the backstretch by jockey Javier Castellano, Fourstar Crook picked off rivals through the far turn. The pacesetter faded as the Chad Brown trainee fought through a four-way battle for the front to prevail by three-quarters of a length over Flipcup.

Fourstar Crook completed the turf route in 1:43.56 and returned $6.30 for a $2 in wager.

"It was the first time I rode her and I felt great," said Castellano. "I stuck to the inside on the first turn and saved a little ground. I stepped up a little to the outside after that. She's a very straightforward filly. Everything she does is nice and easy. When I asked her, she took off. I'm very happy with the way she did it today."

Flipcup closed late from last for second, a neck ahead of The Tea Cups. Neck of the Moon, Freudie Anne, Distorted Beauty, Old Harbor, Selenite, Invading Humor and Jc's Shooting Star completed the order of finish.

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The Pletcher-Velazquez tandem ended the stakes portion of Friday's schedule the way they started, notching their fourth victory of the day with Super Surprise's four-length victory in the $200,000 Fleet Indian for 3-year-old fillies.

The even-money favorite, Super Surprise rallied from fourth at the top of the stretch, going four wide to take the lead at the sixteenth pole and hitting the wire in 1:51.67 for 1 1/8 miles on a fast main track.

It was her third straight victory dating back to last year and built on her successful Saratoga debut on July 24 in a six-furlong allowance.

"We were hoping that the first allowance race would be seven furlongs to help us get here, but we needed that race," Pletcher said. "I was more concerned about the shorter race than this longer one, because she's always given us the impression that farther is better."

Super Surprise paid $3.90 on a $2 win wager and improved her career earnings to $369,800.

Completing the order of finish were Riot Worthy, Highway Star, Mecke's Madalyn, Roman Ceres, Super Allison, Frosty Margarita and Melodic.