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Runhappy Travers Day contenders on the work tab

by NYRA Press Office

• Runhappy Travers Day contenders on the work tab
• Mean Mary could look to extend Belmont success with choice of fall meet spots
• Rookie Report: Half-sister to G1 winner Mind Control debuts on Sunday for Pletcher, Red Oak

A number of prominent graded stakes contenders for next Saturday’s Runhappy Travers Day card breezed this morning at Saratoga Race Course, including Grade 1 Belmont Stakes-winner Essential Quality, the likely favorite for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers.

The 152nd edition of the Travers is the centerpiece of a blockbuster day of racing featuring seven stakes, including six Grade 1 events, offering $4.6 million in total purse money with automatic berths in the Breeders’ Cup to the winner of the Grade 1, $750,000 Resorts World Sword Dancer [Turf], the Grade 1, $600,000 Personal Ensign presented by Lia Infiniti [Distaff], and the Grade 1, $500,000 Ketel One Ballerina [Filly & Mare Sprint].

In addition, the Travers Day card will also include the Grade 1, $600,000 Forego, a seven-furlong sprint for 4-year-olds and upward, and the Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial for 3-year-olds going seven furlongs. Rounding out the signature day at the Spa is the Grade 2, $400,000 Ballston Spa on turf for older fillies and mares.

Godolphin homebred Essential Quality, the reigning 2-year-old Champion and last-out Grade 2 Jim Dandy winner, breezed at 8:45 a.m. after the break, going five furlongs in 1:01.58 on the main track in company with Juddmonte homebred Bonny South, who is targeting the Personal Ensign.

Essential Quality, with Luis Saez up, worked outside of Bonny South and was caught by NYRA clockers working five-eighths from the half-mile pole through splits of 11.40, 23.22, 47.81, and out in 1:15 flat.

“He seems to be a little more forward leading up to this race than he was in the Jim Dandy,” said trainer Brad Cox. “We’ve tried to sharpen him up the last few weeks and I feel like we have mentally. He’s ready to go. Luis was super excited with how he worked. His last two works were better than his first two leading up to the Jim Dandy, so I feel like we have a horse who is every bit as good as we were leading into the Jim Dandy; maybe even better.”

Cox said the work was a good follow-up to the bullet five-eighths in 59.40 last weekend that was also over the main track.

“Last week we were looking to do a little more, we weren’t going quite as quick this week,” Cox said. “Overall, he was doing everything the right way.”

FTGGG Racing’s Masqueparade, winner of the Grade 3 Ohio Derby in June at Thistledown, worked four furlongs in 48.11 seconds in company with Sum Kinda Pretty on the main track after the break.

“I got him in 47 and four and out in a minute and change. He was traveling like a winner, hopefully. Visually, with what I saw, I'm happy,” Stall, Jr. said. 

Stall, Jr. said the Upstart bay, who was a prominent third last out in the Jim Dandy, should improve second time out over the Spa main track.

"With the shipping, I only worked him twice from the Ohio Derby to the Jim Dandy,” Stall, Jr. said. “When we got up here we noticed the track was a little deeper than it was in the past or at least it seemed that way. I think he got a little bit out of that race and it should help him for this race."

Cypress Creek Equine, Arnold Bennewith and Spendthrift Farm’s Keepmeinmind, runner-up in the Jim Dandy last out, worked a solo half-mile in 47.55 under exercise rider Dennis Means on the main track after the break.

“He went very good,” said trainer Robertino Diodoro. “He was doing it nice and easy all on his own and with a strong gallop out once again. Touch wood, everything is on schedule. This was easy as could be and I thought Dennis did a good job because he's not an easy horse to slow down.”

A number of the morning works, including those for Essential Quality and Masqueparade, were moved back due to a wet track from overnight rain.

“I thought the maintenance crew did a great job. The track, after the break here, looked good,” Diodoro said. 

Keepmeinmind, who graduated in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill in November, competed in two-thirds of the Triple Crown finishing seventh in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby and fourth in the Grade 1 Preakness.

Diodoro said the Laoban bay will need to bring his best to topple Essential Quality.

“He needs to have his game face on for game day and be ready to run the race of his life,” Diodoro said.

Trainer Kenny McPeek sent last year’s Grade 1 Preakness-winner Swiss Skydiver out to breeze on the Oklahoma training track at 7:30 a.m. under Jose Ortiz, covering five furlongs in 1:00 flat.

Peter Callahan’s Swiss Skydiver, who is targeting the Grade 1 Personal Ensign, maneuvered around a work team down the lane and galloped out strong.

“We tried to time it so it wouldn't be so crowded out there but it was,” McPeek said. “I think she needed that. She galloped out great and cooled out good. No problem.”

Three Chimneys Farm and Fern Circle Stables’ King Fury went to the Oklahoma dirt training track at 9:30 a.m. under Jose Ortiz and covered five furlongs in 1:01.13 solo in preparation for the Travers.

“It was a solid breeze. We caught him in a minute,” McPeek said. “It was a nice solid maintenance breeze. The horse can run all day. He's coming into the race great. I think a mile and a quarter will be right up his alley.”

The Curlin chestnut captured the Grade 3 Lexington in April in his seasonal debut and followed with a rallying second in the Ohio Derby, finishing a half-length back to Masqueparade.

Last out, King Fury finished tenth in the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational after a wide trip in his turf debut.

“He's a horse that won't have any trouble with the distance. He fits fine,” McPeek said. “The horses that ran in the Jim Dandy, he'd actually beaten the horse that ran second [Keepmeinmind] in the Ohio Derby and he had a troubled trip when he did that. If he jumps to another level, I think we're good. The turf race was probably a bad idea in hindsight.”

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher worked a number of his stakes contenders on the Oklahoma dirt training track Saturday, including Repole Stable, Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stables’ Dynamic One, the last-out winner of the nine-furlong Curlin on July 30 at the Spa.

With Irad Ortiz, Jr. up, Dynamic One worked in company with graded-stakes winning filly Spice Is Nice through a half-mile in 50.67.

“I caught them in 50 and 1. I thought it was a good steady work with a solid gallop out over a track that's not very fast,” Pletcher said. “He’s had two solid works back now and two good gallop outs.”

Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stable’s Mind Control, last out winner of the Grade 2 John A. Nerud in July at Belmont, breezed a half-mile in 49.52.

The 5-year-old Stay Thirsty bay captured the 2018 Grade 1 Hopeful at the Spa as a juvenile and followed up a year later with a score in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens.

“It was a very straightforward work. He's a good workhorse,” Pletcher said. “He's easy to train and likes to do his job. He was very professional as usual.”

CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm’s Life Is Good, undefeated in three starts, worked five-eighths in 1:00.61 under exercise rider Amelia Green.

The Into Mischief bay captured the Grade 3 Sham in January and Grade 2 San Felipe in March, both at Santa Anita for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert before being transferred to Pletcher.

Pletcher said he was impressed by the colt’s fifth breeze at Saratoga in preparation for the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens.

“Another very impressive breeze with a tremendous gallop out,” Pletcher said. “He seems to do things effortlessly. He's impressive to watch and it should have him ready to go in what is a demanding task going seven-eighths in a Grade 1 off a layoff. He seems to be training extremely well.

“I would argue that today was his best work of all, particularly the gallop out,” Pletcher continued. “I had him out the mile in 1:39 and one under a motionless rider. He has a good foundation of fitness.”

Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith will travel to Saratoga to retain the mount.

“I would expect some pretty fast fractions, so we’ll just have to play it by ear off the break and see how it unfolds,” Pletcher said.

Whisper Hill Farm’s Graceful Princess, the last-out winner of the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher, worked four furlongs in 48.95 in preparation for the Grade 1 Personal Ensign.

“It was a very good work. She's a very good workhorse and seems to be in good form at the moment,” Pletcher said. 

Pletcher also noted that Travers-nominated Bourbonic will instead point to the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby on September 25 at Parx.

Trainer Chad Brown, in pursuit of his first Grade 1 Runhappy Travers triumph, worked Peter Brant and Robert V. LaPenta’s stakes-placed Miles D five furlongs over the Oklahoma training track in 1:01.16 in company with maiden-winner Southern District. 

“He looked fine,” Brown said. “His last piece of work was on the training track because the main track was still wet and such, but he went well.”

Miles D, a son of Curlin, was a last out second to fellow Runhappy Travers aspirant Dynamic One in his sire’s namesake sake on July 30 at Saratoga. He broke his maiden off an eight-month hiatus going a one-turn mile on June 12 at Belmont Park. 

Trainer Fausto Gutierrez sent multiple Grade 1-winner Letruska to the main track just after 8:45 a.m. for a five-eighths work in 59.02 in her final breeze for the Grade 1 Personal Ensign. 

Piloted by Ortiz, Jr., the 5-year-old daughter of Super Saver clocked eighth-mile fractions of 12, 23.20, 35.20 and galloped out in 1:12.00. 

“Normally, she is a horse who likes to work fast and she worked well today,” Gutierrez said. “The idea was to feel full of horse and she’s a horse that is ready to run.”

A graded stakes-winner over four different ovals this year, Letruska arrives at the Personal Ensign off a coup in the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis on June 26 at Churchill Downs. 

Drain the Clock, the winner of the Grade 1 Woody Stephens and the last-out runner-up in the Grade 2 Amsterdam, recorded his final work on Saturday ahead of the Grade 1, H. Allen Jerkens.

The Maclean’s Music colt registered a four-furlong work in 47:47 seconds over the Saratoga main for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. The ultra-consistent Drain the Clock enters the seven-furlong H. Allen Jerkens with momentum, posting four wins and a pair of second-place finishes through the first six starts of his 3-year-old campaign.

Joseph, Jr. also saw two contenders for the Grade 1, $600,000 Forego work Saturday at Saratoga, with Chance It and Mischevious Alex logging four furlongs in 48.12 and 48.48, respectively, on the main track.

The Forego, for 4-year-olds and up sprinting seven furlongs, will give four-time graded stakes-winner Mischevious Alex a chance to add to that total.

Chance It, second last out in the Grade 3 Smile Sprint going six furlongs on July 3 at Gulfstream, has compiled a 4-4-0 record in nine starts entering his Saratoga debut.

***

Mean Mary could look to extend Belmont success with choice of fall meet spots

Alex Campbell, Jr.’s Mean Mary is 2-for-2 competing in graded stakes races at Belmont Park and could look to extend that streak in the fall, with trainer Graham Motion saying the 5-year-old Scat Daddy mare is a possibility to return to the Elmont-based track.

After running second to winner Santa Barbara in the Grade 1 Beverly D. on August 14 at Arlington Park, Motion said Mean Mary is a possibility to compete in the Grade 3, $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Waya for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up at 1 3/8 miles on the turf on October 3. But Motion also left open the possibility that she could face males in the Grade 1, $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic held at 1 1/2 miles on October 9.

“She’s good. I do plan to point her to the races at Belmont in October,” Motion said. “I would say both options are on the table.”

Mean Mary overcame challenging circumstances to finish as the Beverly D. runner-up, breaking through the gate and needing to be re-loaded. She still served as the pacesetter and finished strong enough to outkick Lemista by a neck.

“I definitely think it had an effect on her and her style. I thought she was courageous to run on and be second,” Motion said. “It’s just disappointing because she didn’t run her ‘A’ race.”

A closer effort to that A-grade race was her gate-to-wire triumph in the Grade 2 New York on the eve of Belmont Stakes Day June 4, when she held off next-out winner Thundering Nights by a nose to win the 1 1/4-mile contest and earn triple digit speed figures for the third time in her career, garnering a 101 Beyer.

The win helped Mean Mary repeat in the prestigious stake, as she cruised to a 5 1/2-length score in the 2020 edition of the New York in her Belmont debut. 

She followed with a thrilling second to Rushing Fall in the 2020 Grade 1 Diana at Saratoga, finishing a neck short in the elusive quest to give Motion his first win in the stakes, but still earned a personal-best 102 Beyer.

Starting her current campaign after ending 2020 with a seventh in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf in November at Keeneland, Mean Mary won the Grade 3 Gallorette in May at Pimlico in returning from a five-month freshening before going on to the New York and Beverly D.

While Mean Mary could be running in a stakes at a NYRA track, stablemates Ziyad and Invincible Gal will be skipping potential starts at Saratoga this upcoming week.

Wertheimer and Frere’s Ziyad, who was targeting the $120,000 John’s Call on Wednesday, will skip that start in favor of additional rest. His previous start was a sixth-place effort in the Grade 2 Belmont Gold Cup on June 4.

“Unfortunately, I can’t make that race with him, which is disappointing,” Motion said. “I haven’t been happy with him the last week or so; I didn’t feel good about doing it. He also got sick, which was part of the problem. He needs more time.” 

The British-bred Ziyad, who arrived from Europe last fall and transferred into Motion’s care, capped his 2020 with consecutive third-place finishes in the Grade 3 Sycamore at Keeneland and the Grade 3 Red Smith at Aqueduct, respectively. The now 6-year-old Rock of Gibraltar gelding made his seasonal bow in a sixth-place Grade 1 Man o’ War finish in May at Belmont before the Belmont Gold Cup.

Invincible Gal, who was possible for the $120,000 Riskaverse on Thursday at Saratoga, will likely target another race closer to where she is training at Motion’s base in Fair Hill, Maryland, her conditioner said.

“She probably won’t go there,” Motion said. “She’s doing fine, but I just think there are probably other spots for her without going back up there.”

***

Rookie Report: Half-sister to G1 winner Mind Control debuts on Sunday for Pletcher, Red Oak

Red Oak Stable’s Goddess of Fire debuts for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher in a 6 ½-furlong maiden special weight in Sunday’s opening race at Saratoga.

The bay daughter of Mineshaft is a half-sister to Mind Control, a two-time Grade 1-winner at Saratoga. Both are out of the Lightnin N Thunder mare Feel That Fire and come from the same family as stakes-winners King for a Day and Ima Jersey Girl. 

Goddess of Fire has worked consistently for Pletcher since arriving at Saratoga in late June from Good Chance Farm. On August 8, she worked from the gate in company with unraced juvenile colt My Prankster, who is set to debut in Race 7 on Saturday at the Spa, and completed a half-mile in 47 seconds flat – the second fastest of 114 recorded works at the distance. 

“The filly is doing well. I was up there last weekend and watched her breeze with My Prankster,” said Rick Sacco, Red Oak Stable’s racing manager. “They popped out of the gate together. I think he got the best at the end, but it was a good fast breeze from a stand still.”

Sacco said Goddess of Fire, who will break from the outside of a six-horse field under Hall of Famer John Velazquez, is a straightforward and professional filly. 

“We like her. She’s doing well and she’s been breezing right along with some very nice fillies of Todd’s,” Sacco said. “It’s a short field, we’re on the outside and there’s a lot of rain. We’ve never breezed on an off track, but that’s something we have to deal with like everyone else. She’s a big filly, a smart filly. I think she’s responded well to everything that Todd has put her up to and we look forward to running her.”

Trainer Chad Brown will send out a pair of fillies in pursuit of a debut victory, including CHP Racing’s Saffron Moon [post 2, Joel Rosario] and Dover Dreams [post 4, Ortiz]. 

Saffron Moon, a dark bay or brown daughter of Malibu Moon, is out of the well-bred Medaglia d’Oro mare Crocus Hill, whose dam was Grade 1-winner Vacare. 

Dover Dreams, a gray Arrogate filly, was bought for $460,000 from the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.