Francesca Le Donne Photo

Saratoga Race Course Notes 7.27.17

by NYRA Press Office

• Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas saddles triple-digit longshot winner
• Fayeq, half to HOY Rachel Alexandra, 'under discussion' for G1 Travers
• Miss Ella finds a rhythm at the Spa; Untamed Domain targeting G3 With Anticipation
• Mott looking forward to seeing Good Samaritan on the dirt in G2 Jim Dandy
• Combat Controller gives Al Stall first win of summer meet

Carlton Hing's Perplexed jolted historic Saratoga Race Course's tote board - and rewarded a few bold horseplayers - by winning a maiden claiming race for 3-year-olds and up at 115-1 in the opening race on Monday's card.

The longshot, trained by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, paid $232.50 on a $2 win wager, making it one of the largest payouts in track history.

Jockey Luis Reyes piloted the big-price colt over favorite Your Secrets Safe by a half-length at the wire. The victory not only made an impression at the windows, but also served as a personal milestone for the 22-year-old Reyes, who won his first race at Saratoga.

"The groom showed up the next morning, everybody was trying to borrow money from him," Lukas said. "I think that can only happen at Saratoga. That would never happen anyplace else. Up here everybody is a handicapper, and they get very opinionated. You don't have the opinions like you do around here, like the Pink Sheets, and all that stuff every place else. You have one guy that establishes the morning line like at Churchill, and that's probably it.

"We remarked [on the odds] during the post parade," he added. "I said, 'Look at this, he's jumping up to 80-1 already,' and I turned to friends of Zayat that were standing there next to us. I said, 'He's not this bad, he's training excellent. He's liable to pull this off.' We weren't going to win or anything, but we felt like we would be maybe second or third or fourth, but they beat the field a long way.

"We got a big kick out of it. We got a lot of texts, but Justin Zayat said he got [a slew of] texts after that. Of course, you know the two-dollar bettor is always suspicious."

Perplexed was making his 10th career start and second at Saratoga since his debut last summer where he finished sixth in a field of eight under jockey Luis Saez in the slop. This year, it was Saez who helped the young rider Reyes get his first Spa winners' circle picture.

"That was a calculated move there," said Lukas. "Luis Saez has been riding horses for me, and I told Richie [DePass], that I thought he need to take every edge here. I asked Luis about these bug boys, and Luis actually said this kid [Reyes] can ride. He got him the mount, and I said, 'Well okay, I'm going to take the seven pounds,' that was planned."

Reyes, a seven-pound bug rider from Puerto Rico, said he was thrilled to win his first Saratoga race under the unusual circumstances. 

"For me, it was very emotional," Reyes said. "That first win at Saratoga is very tough. The best jockeys in the country are here. It's very big to win my first race here for a Hall of Fame trainer. It's unbelievable.

"The trainers have helped me here and we've been working hard every day," he added. "My horses have been running pretty good for me so far and I'm hoping to pick up more horses. I'm very happy with how it's been going."

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Shadwell Stable's regally bred Fayeq exited his impressive allowance victory on Wednesday in good order and will be "under discussion" for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers on August 26, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said Thursday morning.

By Malibu Moon, the 3-year-old half-brother to 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra posted a 3 ½-length victory in Wednesday's fourth race, beating a talented group of 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles. The win was the second straight for Fayeq, who broke his maiden by 2 ¾ lengths in his third try on June 11 at Belmont Park.

"He ran well even without switching leads. He didn't switch leads in his last two races," said McLaughlin. "I'll speak to Shadwell and Rick Nichols and discuss the Travers. It's a big step up but we've got a lot of respect for him and we'll see what the options are. We think he wants the distance and he likes the track."

McLaughlin said the bay colt has matured since making his debut in March, most significantly making progress to get over his initial disinclination to stand in the starting gate, largely due to the efforts of his brother Neal and sister-in-law Trish McLaughlin.

"He almost injured himself the first time we took him to the gate, kicking the back door really bad," he said. "He didn't like someone up around his head, so Neal moved his straw up above his stall and then Trish started working with him. She would step on a bucket next to him and get up to try to get him to be more comfortable with people up above his head. The gate crew here and in Florida all did a great job with him. He wore a Monty Roberts blanket because of his gate issues, but he's come a long way."

Godolphin's Grade 3 Ben Ali winner Watershed breezed on the main track Thursday morning for a possible bid in the Grade 1, $1.2 million Whitney on August 5. Exiting a fourth-place finish in the Grade 2 Suburban on July 8, the 5-year-old son of Bernardini worked a half-mile in 48.76 seconds. 

"He worked this morning, 48 3/5, and he looked good," McLaughlin said. "We're not exactly looking for Gun Runner or Keen Ice, but we are looking at that race."

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Jack Swain III's homebred Miss Ella came out of Monday's victory in the Caress in good order and shipped back to Fair Hill from Saratoga on Wednesday evening, trainer Graham Motion said.

The 5-year-old Exchange Rate mare has finished on the board in five of her last six starts dating back to 2016. Miss Ella rallied from ninth in the Caress as jockey Joel Rosario took her four-wide and outkicked Fair Point to win by one length.

It was also the second straight year Miss Ella won the Caress but the first on turf, as the 2016 edition was moved to the main track.

"I was really pleased with the race and she obviously really likes it up there [at Saratoga]," Motion said. "I'm glad we got to see her run on turf with a little give in it. It could be something she really likes. To me, it was her most impressive race.  I give NYRA credit for keeping it on the grass because it was a big, important race and I'm glad we had the opportunity to run on the grass.

"I think there's a really good chance we'll run her again in Saratoga," he added. "We tried to do some different things earlier this year. I wanted to try Woodbine with the idea of possibly running at Presque Isle but she doesn't seem to fire on the Tapeta [racing surface] like she does on the grass, which was kind of surprising because she worked so good on it in the mornings. But now that we experimented, we'll stick with what we know works, and we know she likes Saratoga."

Untamed Domain broke his maiden in his second start, beating a seven-horse field by 1 ½ lengths on Saturday. The 2-year-old Animal Kingdom colt is now looking to move up to stakes company and will target the Grade 3, $150,000 With Anticipation on August 30. Contested at 1 1/16 miles on the turf, Motion would be aiming for his first With Anticipation win since State of Play in 2011.

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The news that graded stakes-winning turf horse Good Samaritan would make a switch to the dirt in Saturday's Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy presented by NYRA Bets undoubtedly drew more than a few puzzled queries from curious onlookers, but Bill Mott, the colt's Hall of Fame trainer, said the move is actually a long-term plan finally coming to fruition. 

"The discussions had been going on for some time about running him on the dirt," said Mott. "We finally got around to it."

As a 2-year-old, the Harlan's Holiday colt broke his maiden at first asking at Saratoga last August and followed up with a win in the Grade 2 Summer Stakes at Woodbine. 

He was cross-entered that fall in both the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Juvenile Turf, eventually finishing third against the grass competition. Good Samaritan began his 3-year-old campaign with a second-place finish in the Grade 2 American Turf at Churchill Downs, and went on to run second in the Grade 3 Pennine Ridge. He finished fourth last time out in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby on July 8.

"We wanted to get through the Belmont Derby on the grass and try something after that. We weren't ready for any of the Triple Crown races so we'll take our shot here."

Accustomed to stalking and coming from off the pace on the turf, Mott added that he sees no reason to change Good Samaritan's running style in his first start on the dirt.

"I think there's a lot of speed in there," said Mott. "He's been a deep closer since he ran the first time and I wouldn't be surprised if he was initially far back to start the race."

Mott added that graded stakes winner Yoshida, fifth as the tepid post-time favorite in the Belmont Derby, was doing well and would be pointed for the Grade 2, $200,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame on Friday, August 4.

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Carl Gessler, Jr.'s homebred Combat Controller got trainer Al Stall off to a perfect start to the Saratoga meet, going 1-for-1 with his first win of the season when he won a claimer in Race 3 on Wednesday. 

Originally trained by Kenny McPeek, Combat Controller has won two of his past three starts, all for a tag. 

"He's a horse that came in ready to run and Ken recommended to take a little drop with him, and I agreed," Stall said.

Jockey Javier Castellano, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame next month, piloted Combat Controller to the win. Stall said his relationship with Castellano and jockey agent Mike Lakow goes back years.

"I've known them for a while and Javier has been riding for me for a long time, so I'm happy to get him in any time," Stall said.