Saratoga Race Course Notes

by NYRA Press Office

* Hollendorfer on hand for Songbird's G1 Alabama bid

* Lull returns in good order; G1 Travers hopeful to breeze Friday

* Albany, not Travers, for Hit It Once More

* Baker in midst of career-best Saratoga meet

* Carrumba turned out; Ironicus doubtful for Spa appearance

* Highland Sky targets G3 Saranac

* Ready for Rye on Target for G1 Forego, plans for Twilight Eclipse uncertain

Songbird's Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer has arrived at Saratoga Race Course to put the final touches on his star 3-year-old filly ahead of Saturday's Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama.

Stabled at Saratoga since before her eye-catching 5 ¼-length victory in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks, Fox Hill Farm's Songbird has held to Hollenforfer's typical training regimen ahead of race day, going out for a routine gallop and schooling in the starting gate Thursday morning.

In the absence of her West Coast-based conditioner, the dark bay daughter of Medaglia d'Oro has been primarily under the care of Hollendorfer's traveling assistant Christina Jelm during her summer sojourn at the Spa.

"She looks great. She's settled in beautifully at Saratoga," Hollendorfer reported. "She had a real good day today. She galloped strong and stood in the gate very nicely. We're just trying to cover all the bases. We have one more day to train [and] we'll do a little [paddock] schooling in the afternoon and then we'll be all set."

The reigning 2-year-old champion filly will take on six rivals, including graded stakes winner Go Maggie Go and Family Tree, as she looks to extend her unbeaten streak to 10 while trying the 1 ¼ miles of the Alabama for the first time, a distance Hollendorfer describes as "right up her alley."

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Making her second career start following an impressive winning debut on July 16 at Belmont Park, and sent off as the 6-5 favorite in yesterday's Bolton Landing Stakes for trainer Christophe Clement and owners Claiborne Farm and Adele B. Dilschneider, Lull clipped heels at the quarter-pole and unseated jockey Manny Franco, but seems to have emerged unscathed by the fall.

"Luckily, she came back in good shape," said Clement. "A bit of bad racing luck, but she looks well and we live to fight another day."

Clement also reported his Travers hopeful Governor Malibu will breeze Friday on the Oklahoma training track with jockey Joel Rosario aboard.

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Trainer Gary Sciacca and owner Bill Parcells flirted with the idea of running their New York-bred Hit It Once More in the Travers, but ultimately decided not to reach for the stars . . . at least yet. The 3-year-old son of Hard Spun will run instead in the $250,000 Albany at Saratoga Race Course August 26. The Albany is one of six New York-bred stakes, totaling more than $1 million in purses, that will be contested that afternoon.

Hit It Once More won the New York Derby at Finger Lakes in his most recent start. He captured the two-turn race by 6 1/2 lengths and earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 102. His performance in the Albany will dictate whether Hit It Once More, who runs for Parcells' August Dawn Farm, will step out of New York-bred company for his next start.

"If he comes out of the Albany with a big number, like he did when he won the New York Derby, we are considering going and meeting the big horses at Parx [in the Pennsylvania Derby]," Sciacca said. "We figured we would let these horses butt heads in the Travers, and then maybe we will meet them at Parx. Our horse is really doing tremendous right now."

Hit It Once More worked five furlongs in 1:00.99 on Saratoga's Oklahoma track on August 15. It was the fastest of eight works at the distance. 

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With a record of 6-2-0 from 14 starters at the current Saratoga meet, trainer Charlie Baker has already won more races here this year than in any year past.

And he is looking forward to more trips to the winner's circle.

"We bought horses here we thought would be competitive and if everything went right, we could have a good meet. And everything has gone the right way," Baker said Thursday morning at his Saratoga barn. "I do think we have a lot of live horses still to run."

One of his Saratoga winners was Moonlight Song, who won the John Morrissey for the  second consecutive year, without any starts in between. Moonlight Song is being pointed to a fall campaign at Belmont Park, but Baker, who also has a division of horses at Finger Lakes, is pointing several New York-breds to stakes starts before this meet ends.

Freud's Friend, who broke his maiden against state-breds in his career debut on July 29 at Saratoga, is 4-1 on the morning line for Friday's $100,000 Skidmore Stakes for 2-year-olds on the grass.

"The race doesn't appear that tough on paper," Baker said. "He is a nice horse and he is getting better. He's on the improve, so I'm thinking he should be competitive in there."

Provided she runs well, Riot Worthy, who is entered in Friday's seventh race, a New York-bred allowance dirt sprint, is possible to return in the $200,000 Fleet Indian August 26, Baker said.

The Baker-trained Gold for the King, another New York-bred 2-year-old who broke his maiden in his career debut at Saratoga, is on target for the $200,000 Funny Cide August 26. In the filly counterpart to the Funny Cide, the $200,000 Seeking The Ante, Baker said Tiznow's Smile, fourth in her career debut earlier in the meet, is a possible starter.

Meanwhile, Baker's first graded stakes winner of his career, Joking, a horse he also owns, is back in training at Belmont Park after a minor setback, and is being pointed to the Grade 1 Vosburgh October 1. 

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Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey said that Phipps Stable homebredCarrumba has been turned out for 60 days of R&R following her runner-up finish in the Grade 3 Shuvee Handicap.

Winner of the Grade 3 Top Flight Invitational in April, the 4-year-old Bernardini filly finished second and third to Cavorting in the Grade 2 Ruffian and Grade 1 Ogden Phipps, respectively, before checking in 9 ¼ lengths behind multiple graded stakes winner Curalina in the Shuvee on July 31 at Saratoga. 

"She's fine, she's sound," said McGaughey. "I just didn't like the way she had been finishing. Even after the race here, I breezed her on the turf one day and I didn't really like the way she went on that, so I said, 'let's just give her a little bit of time.'"

McGaughey reported that Ironicus, second last time out to Flintshire in the Grade 1 Manhattan, has been in good order since his return to galloping a few weeks ago but added that the 5-year-old son of Distorted Humor is unlikely to be ready in time to defend his title in the Grade 2 Bernard Baruch Handicap on closing day, September 5.

"He's back training," he said. "He's doing fine but where I'm going to run him, I don't know."

Ironicus' half-sister On Leave, meanwhile, is preparing to make her stakes debut in the $100,000 Riskaverse on Thursday, McGaughey said. A 3-year-old filly by War Front, On Leave proved a game winner against optional claimers on July 17 at Belmont Park, boosting her lifetime record to 2-1-1 from four starts. 

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Opting to skip last week's Grade 1 Secretariat Stakes at Arlington Park, trainer Barclay Tagg reported he would instead point 3-year-old Highland Sky to the Grade 3, $300,000 Saranac Stakes on September 3 at the Spa. 

A son of Sky Mesa for owners Joyce B. Young and Gerald McManis, Highland Sky has two wins from seven career starts with a pair of second-place finishes in his last two starts. He lost the Grade 3 Pennine Ridge and Grade 1 Belmont Derby both by the margin of a neck.

"He usually runs wide but in the Belmont Derby he was wider than wide. It doesn't take much more than that to cost you a nose," said Tagg. "I was considering going to Chicago following that race, but he's been doing pretty good up here. He's already had a couple of really tough races so I'd prefer to just run him here where he's been training."

Following the Saranac, Tagg is eyeing the Grade 3, $500,000 Hill Prince at Belmont Park. 

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Ready for Rye will breeze Friday morning ahead of his anticipated start in the Grade 1, $700,000 Forego on August 27, trainer Tom Albertrani said.

With two seconds and three thirds from five starts, the 4-year-old gelding will be looking for his first victory of 2016. The Chalk Racing color-bearer was third last out in the Grade 3 Belmont Sprint Championship in June with Javier Castellano on board. 

Twilight Eclipse breezed five furlongs this morning in 1:01.55, the ninth-fastest of 16 at the distance.

Third last out in the Grade 2 Bowling Green, the gelded son of Purim is nominated to the Grade 1 Sword Dancer on August 27, but Albertrani was not sure if he would run.

"Hopefully, I would like to get him back to the Breeders' Cup again because he has run a couple of good races in the past," he reported. "At seven years old, he's still going strong!"