Saratoga Race Course Notes 7.21.17

by NYRA Press Office

Quidura will make her Saratoga debut in a small-but-talented field in Saturday's Grade 1, $500,000 Diana for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up at 1 1/8 miles on the Mellon turf course.

Trainer Graham Motion said the 4-year-old British-bred is coming into the race well after posting a personal-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure in a runner-up effort last out in the Grade 2 New York on June 9 at Belmont Park.

The Diana, the first of 18 Grade 1 races on Saratoga's 40-day calendar, will pit Quidura in a rematch against Dickinson and 4-5 morning-line favorite Lady Eli, the 1-2 runners in the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley on April 15 at Keeneland.

Quidura finished third in that start, her first Grade 1 race, and will run in the Diana with an eight-pound advantage against Lady Eli, who will carry the highweight of 123 pounds.

"It's a solid group and she gets a nice break in the weight," Motion said. "She got within a length of these fillies at Keeneland. She'll have to step up but I feel that she'll be competitive in this race."

After starting her career with two wins in Germany, including a win in her debut, Quidura is 2-1-1 in four starts in North America. She will break from post 4 with jockey Junior Alvarado.

"Physically she's really grown up," Motion said. "She was a lightly raced filly when she came over. She's a pleasure to be around. She's very straight-forward and she's one of the few horses who has worked with Miss Temple City. She should be ready for this race."

Motion added that Miss Temple City will be pointed to the Grade 3 Matchmaker on July 30 at Monmouth Park. It will be her first start since finishing 13th in the Group 1 Queen Anne on June 20 at Royal Ascot in her seasonal debut.

* * *

Fresh off an impressive three-length debut victory last month at Churchill Downs, Albaugh Family Stable's Free Drop Billy steps straight into stakes company in Saturday's Grade 3, $150,000 Sanford.

The six-furlong Sanford is the first of a three-race series for juveniles at Saratoga followed by the Grade 2, $200,000 Saratoga Special at 6 ½ furlongs August 13 and the Grade 1, $350,000 Hopeful September 4 at seven furlongs.

A chestnut son of 2012 Grade 1 Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags, Free Drop Billy has worked once since his maiden triumph, logging a half-mile breeze in 49 seconds over Saratoga's main track July 16. He drew post 4 in a field of eight and will be ridden by Kentucky-based Robby Albarado.

"He came out of it good and he's trained great. It looks like it sets up the right way, where he can sit right behind some of the speed and try to run like he did last time," trainer Dale Romans said. "Any 2-year-old stake at Saratoga is a tough task, but I feel comfortable coming into it. He's a really good horse."

Free Drop Billy was a $200,000 buy at Keeneland's September yearling sale last fall. The Iowa-based ownership group headed by Dennis Albaugh and Jason Loutsch also purchased two other colts at the auction - Dak Attack, a $625,000 son of Ghostzapper, and Hollywood Star, a $550,000 son of Malibu Moon.

Both Free Drop Billy and Dak Attack broke their maidens on June 15 at Churchill Downs, followed 13 days later by Hollywood Star. The latter two colts remain in Kentucky but could wind up at the Spa later this summer.

"I'm used to losing first time and then winning second time, and then we're into the fall. But, they've put me on a little faster track this year," Romans said. "[Free Drop Billy] was actually the cheapest horse we bought. I call him the cheap horse, but 10 years ago that would have been my whole barn. When he came in he was just a great mover, and he's done everything right.

"Dak Attack could come in for the Special. Hollywood Star could come in for the Special or just go in the Hopeful," he added. "They're all the same owners, so we'll try to keep them separated."

Romans said J Boys Echo, winner of the Grade 3 Gotham at Aqueduct in March, is getting some time off following his ninth-place effort in the June 10 Belmont Stakes last time out. The Mineshaft colt has run five times this year, finishing third in the Grade 3 Withers and fourth in the Grade 2 Blue Grass prior to the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, where he was 15th.

"We just gave him a little break after the Triple Crown," Romans said. "We'll let everybody keep beating their heads up and we'll have him fresh in the fall. He's back in Kentucky and doing well."

* * *

Trainer Chad Brown's impressive resume includes the 2016 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer and eight Breeders' Cup victories. But the 38-year-old added another accolade on Tuesday when the Tri-City Valley Cats, a short-season Class A minor league affiliate of the Houston Astros based in Troy, N.Y., honored him with a bobblehead giveaway.

Between games of a doubleheader against the Connecticut Tigers, Brown, a native of nearby Mechanicville, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

"It was a lot of fun and a great night," Brown said. "The team couldn't have treated me better. I had my kids and other family there and a lot of my friends, so I was pretty happy with it."

Brown said he played baseball in high school, manning centerfield. The bobblehead features a smiling Brown in a gray suit with a blue-and-black striped tie holding an Eclipse Award.

"It was fine, I don't get too particular about it," Brown said with a laugh. "You'll probably see it smashed out in the grandstand if I don't win a race."

That theory will put to the test on Saturday as Brown saddles two of the six horses entered in the Grade 1 Diana. The race will feature the return of Lady Eli to the Spa, where the 2014 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner was victorious in her debut in 2015.

Brown wrapped up his second consecutive Belmont spring/summer training title, saddling 40 winners from 148 starts for an impressive 27.03 percentage, posting earnings of more than $4.9 million. His entries finished on the board more than 56 percent of the time.

Brown will be aiming for his second straight Saratoga training title after setting a single-meet record of 40 wins in 2016.

* * *

Fresh off victories in the Grade 3 Kent at Delaware Park and the Grade 2 Penn Mile at Penn National, Green Lantern Stable's Frostmourne will arrive at Christophe Clement's Saratoga barn sometime in the coming weeks, the trainer said Friday morning.

"I thought he went very well," Clement said of the Speightstown colt's Kent effort. "[It was] impressive. He won going away. He's still at Belmont, but he'll come up to Saratoga. Most probably he will be trained for the [Grade 1] Secretariat [August 12 at Arlington Park]. If I was going to run him here I'd run him in the [Grade 3, $300,000] Saranac [on September 2]. Let's see how he trains and we'll make our mind up. If he trains well, he'll go to the Secretariat; if he needs more time, he'll go to the Saranac."

Patricia Generazio's powerful duo of Disco Partner and Pure Sensation are on target to try and extend their winning ways in the upcoming weeks. Disco Partner has been victorious in his last three starts, highlighted by his world-record performance in the Grade 3 Jaipur on Belmont Stakes Day. Clement reported that Disco Partner has continued to train well, as has Pure Sensation following his victory in the Grade 3 Parx Dash.

"Both are doing great," he said. "The idea would be to run Pure Sensation in the Troy Stakes, and then to run Disco Partner in the Fourstardave. They're both coming in this weekend so we can train them in the coming week, and then we can make our final decision afterwards, but that will be the plan. So we won't have to run them against each other which will be nice."

The 5 ½-furlong, $250,000 Troy will be contested on Sunday, August 6 and the Grade 1, $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap at a mile on the turf will run on Saturday, August 12.

China Horse Club International's Yellow Agate might try turf for the first time in her next start, but Clement is unsure as to where the daughter of Gemologist will run next.

Undefeated in her first two starts, including a win in the Grade 1 Frizette, Yellow Agate finished 10th in the 14 Hands Winery Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies to close out her 2016 campaign. She returned to begin her sophomore year with a fourth-place finish in the Alma North Stakes at Laurel Park on June 17.

"Yellow Agate is training well," said Clement. "She trained on the grass so we might actually run on the grass. We have to think about it and talk to the owner. But the filly is well and it could be fun to try something different. She ran a really good race back. It was a tougher race than we thought it was. She's coming up here this weekend, but we just have to keep an open mind and run her where she can be competitive."

* * *

John Oxley's reigning Eclipse Award winner Classic Empire is scheduled to resume galloping Saturday morning following an easy week at Saratoga Race Course, said Norm Casse, assistant trainer to his father Mark. If all goes to plan, he added, 3-year-old Pioneerof the Nile colt will breeze the following weekend.

Classic Empire, named Champion 2-Year-Old in 2016, was fourth in the Kentucky Derby and second in the Preakness this spring before a foot abscess took him out of consideration for the Belmont. The three-time Grade 1 winner was targeting the Grade 1 Haskell on July 30 at Monmouth Park for his comeback, but his connections called an audible last week and he will point instead to the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers on Saturday, August 26.

"We're giving him a little bit of time between works with the idea of training him up to the Travers and, so far, it's worked," said Casse. "He's looked really good the last two mornings and he'll start galloping again [Saturday]."

Classic Empire had a history of erratic behavior going back to his Saratoga debut last summer in the Grade 1 Hopeful, when he wheeled out of the gate and unseated jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. at the start of the race. One of the early favorites on this year's Triple Crown trail, the talented colt has had a somewhat unorthodox work pattern, punctuated by minor injuries and a recurring reluctance to train. His most recent recorded workout was a 50-second half-mile on June 2 at Churchill Downs.

"Hopefully we can just get him into a regular work routine leading up to the Travers," Casse said. "His problems are well documented, we just kind of embrace it now. He's kind of like an athlete that doesn't really like training too much.

"The good thing here has been the Oklahoma track," he added. "We've never had any difficulties there. After the Hopeful debacle last year, we started taking him to the training track immediately and we've never had a bad day over there. He likes the Oklahoma track, so we've got that in our back pocket. That's where he'll do the majority of his training and hopefully he'll have a good month, month and a half going into the Travers, and we'll be comfortable knowing that he's ready to run."

* * *

Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito is keeping his options open for 3-year-old Lookin At Lucky colt Giuseppe the Great following a sharp half-mile breeze in 48.45 seconds over Saratoga's main track Friday morning.

Fifth-fastest of 42 horses at the distance, it was the first work for Mossarosa's Giuseppe the Great since his fourth-place finish behind Practical Joke in the Grade 3 Dwyer July 8 at Belmont Park.

"He worked very nice. He was in hand and did everything right, so I was happy," Zito said. "We'll see what happens this week. I've made no plans. I need to talk to the owner about it and go from there, but we'll see. If he's good, who knows."

The Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy at 1 1/8 miles and the Grade 2, $200,000 Amsterdam at 6 ½ furlongs, both Saturday, July 29, are possible targets for Giuseppe the Great. The Jim Dandy is the traditional local prep for the centerpiece of the Saratoga summer, the Grade 1 Travers August 26.

"We'll let him have a good week and see what happens. One thing about us, if there's a race and we've got a horse we're going to be in it," Zito said. "I've got a couple ideas but we'll see what happens. Either race is good. I wouldn't rule either one out."

Giuseppe the Great went unraced at two before finishing third and second, respectively, in a pair of maiden special weights at Gulfstream Park over the winter. He graduated with a three-quarter-length victory April 8 at Keeneland then ran a solid second behind American Anthem in the seven-furlong Grade 2 Woody Stephens June 10 at Belmont.

In the one-mile Dwyer, Giuseppe the Great raced close to a lively pace under jockey Tyler Gaffalione before tiring late and wound up beaten 3 ¼ lengths.

"It was a funny race. He was real close that day and that wasn't him. He was just sharp," Zito said. "Gaffalione did a good job, and they left there flying. They kind of pressed the pace a little bit and the track was different that day. It wasn't an ideal track for anybody. Don't get me wrong, Practical Joke is a good horse and he obviously was very, very good that day.

"My horse runs with the best. He ran a good race in the Woody Stephens," he added. "He never runs a bad race. He's a good horse."

* * *

Silverton Hill's Meantime is scheduled to breeze Saturday on the Belmont Park training track, trainer Brian Lynch said outside his Saratoga barn on Friday morning.

The work will mark the son of Shackleford's third since finishing eighth in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes on June 10. Lynch said previously that he wanted to give Meantime a break after he made his debut as a 3-year-old in February and raced five times in five months, which included a runner-up effort in the Grade 3 Peter Pan on May 13 at Belmont before running the 1 ½-mile "Test of the Champion" in the Triple Crown's final leg.

"He's doing well we're planning for him to come to Saratoga eventually," Lynch said. "Later in the meet, we'll pick a day for him."

* * *

Multiple-stakes winner Miss Ella makes her third 2017 stakes start for owner Jack Swain, III and trainer Graham Motion in the $200,000 Caress, a 5 ½-furlong turf sprint for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up on Monday at Saratoga Race Course.

The 5-year-old Exchange Rate filly comes off a fourth-place finish in the Grade 3 Hendrie at Woodbine on June 4 and a second-place effort in the License Fee April 30 at Belmont Park.

"I'm very happy with her; her races have been a little disappointing this year but I can't blame her for the Polytrack up in Canada since it was a bit of an experiment," Motion said. "Physically, she's done well this year.

"In theory she'd want to go further, but she doesn't seem to want to," he added. "She handles the dirt but I think she handles the grass a little better. But having said all that she's been a great filly to have around."

Jockey Joel Rosario has the mount from post 9.

Coming off a win in the Grade 3 Intercontinental, Mike Rutherford's Mississippi Delta leads the field of 12 in the ninth running of the Caress. Mississippi Delta's head victory the June 8 Intercontinental at Belmont Park marked the first stakes victory for the 5-year-old daughter of Giant's Causeway since winning the 2015 Alywow at Woodbine.

Mississippi Delta will break from post 2 with Jose Lezcano aboard.

The Caress is named after the multiple-graded stakes winning mare trained by late Hall of Famer H. Allen Jerkens. His son, trainer Jimmy Jerkens, sends out Joseph Shields Jr.'s Summer Reading, a four-year-old Hard Spun filly who will break from post 3 with rider Javier Castellano.

Rounding out the field is Everything Lovely for trainer Kathy Demasi, who breaks from post 7 with Kendrick Carmouche riding; Paquita Coqueta will break from the rail for trainer Chad Summers; the Ralph Nicks-trained Eila breaks from post 4; Ruby Notion will depart post 5 for trainer Wesley Ward; Pretty Perfection will occupy post 6 for trainer Kelly Breen; trainer Jeremiah Englehart will send out Animal Appeal from post 8 with Irad Ortiz, Jr. aboard; Carolina Shag will exit from post 10; Blue Bahia leaves post 11 for trainer Jason Servis; and from the outside post; and Hall of Famer Shug McGaughery sends out Fair Point with jockey Jose Ortiz. Appealing Maggie is entered for the main track only.

* * *

Grade 2, $200,000 Honorable Miss - Wednesday, July 26
Probable: By the Moon (Michelle Nevin); Clothes Fall Off (Kiaran McLaughlin); Finley'sluckycharm (Bret Calhoun); Paulassilverlining (Chad Brown)
Possible: Disco Chick (Miguel Penaloza)

Grade 1, $150,000 A.P. Smithwick Memorial - Thursday, July 27
Probable: All the Way Jose (Jonathan Sheppard); Andi'amu (Leslie Young); Balance the Budget (Julie Gomena); Charminster (Cyril Murphy); Diplomat (Kate Dalton); Modem (Elizabeth Voss); Mr. Hot Stuff (Jack Fisher); Portrade (E. Voss); Schoodic (J. Fisher); Simenon (Richard Hendricks); Swansea Mile (Hendricks)

The $100,000 John Morrissey (NYB) - Thursday, July 27
Probable: Breakin the Fever (Debra Breed); Brimstone (David Jacobson); Bustin It (Robert Falcone, Jr.); Candid Desire (Gary Sciacca); Celtic Chaos (K. McLaughlin); Eye Luv Lulu (Rudy Rodriguez); Gypsum Johnny (Linda Rice); Weekend Hideaway (Philip Serpe)
Possible: Fish Trappe Road (B. Calhoun)

The $100,000 Curlin - Friday, July 28
Probable: Emancipation (Shug McGaughey); Everybodyluvsrudy (R. Rodriguez); Hemsworth (Tom Albertrani); Outplay (Todd Pletcher); Small Bear (G. Sciacca); You're to Blame (C. Brown)
Possible: Fayeq (K. McLaughlin); Patch (T. Pletcher)

Grade 1, $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap - Saturday, July 29
Probable: A.P. Indian (Arnaud Delacour); Awesome Banner (Kenneth Decker); El Deal (Jorge Navarro); Green Gratto (Gaston Grant); Limousine Liberal (Ben Colebrook); Spartiatis (Leon Blusiewicz); Whitmore (Ron Moquett)
Possible: Bird Song (Ian Wilkes); Ready for Rye (T. Albertrani)

Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy - Saturday, July 29
Probable: Always Dreaming (T. Pletcher); Cloud Computing (C. Brown); Pavel (Doug O'Neill)
Possible: Giuseppe the Great (Nick Zito)

Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green - Saturday, July 29
Probable: Ascend (Graham Motion); Bigger Picture (Mike Maker); Closing Bell (Bill Mott); Frank Conversation (D. O'Neill); Hunter O'Riley (Jimmy Toner); Sadler's Joy (T. Albertrani); St. Louie (M. Maker); Wake Forest (C. Brown)

Grade 2, $200,000 Amsterdam - Saturday, July 29
Probable: Aquamarine (Wayne Lukas); Coal Front (T. Pletcher); Mo Cash (Ronald Spatz); Singing Bullet (Dale Romans); Toga Challenger (R. Rodriguez)
Possible: Guiseppe the Great (Zito); Jewel Heist (John Kimmel); Long Haul Bay (C. Brown)

Grade 2, $200,000 Shuvee - Sunday, July 30
Probable: Apologynotaccepted (Bill Mott); Paid Up Subscriber (C. Brown); Terra Promessa (Steve Asmussen)
Possible: Carrumba (S. McGaughey); Highway Star (Rodrigo Ubillo); Mom's On Strike (Joe Sharp)

The $100,000 Coronation Cup - Monday, July 31
Probable: Epping Forest (Christophe Clement); Heavenly Score (John Terranova); Hidden Mystery (Jason Servis); Morticia (Rusty Arnold); No More Babies (Phillip Bauer); Yorkiepoo Princess (Eddie Barker)

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Saratoga Race Course Notes 7.21.17

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