Francesca Le Donne Photo

Saratoga Race Course Notes 8.20.17

by NYRA Press Office

• Good Samaritan impresses Mott in final breeze before G1 Travers
• Unchained Melody 'seems sound' after being pulled up in G1 Alabama; Meantime comes back strong off Belmont Stakes freshening
• Brown's turf contingent put in final works for Travers Day assignments
• 'Cool customer' Proctor's Ledge exits G2 Lake Placid in good shape
• Arriving at Spa, Gunnevera settles in for Travers bid
• McCraken gallops, gate schools as part of pre-Travers routine
• Awesome Slew on point for G1 Forego
• Girvin frisky out of final Travers work
• Divining Rod still possible for Forego
• Red Rifle stretches out in Wednesday's John's Call

Grade 2 Jim Dandy winner Good Samaritan turned in in his last breeze Sunday before his start in next Saturday's Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers presented by NYRA Bets. The Harlan's Holiday colt flashed a strong 1:01.65 for five furlongs over the Oklahoma training track with regular exercise rider Juan Quintero aboard. The work, in tandem with Boule, a filly in Mott's care, pleased the Hall of Fame trainer.

"He went good," Mott said. "Went 1:01 and 2, broke off as you can see, a length behind his company, joined up and finished together, finished their last quarter in 24, galloped out well, and galloped out a good six furlongs, I was pleased with what I saw."

Good Samaritan will make only his second start on dirt after his first six career starts came on grass, and his strong performance in the Jim Dandy could prove tough to duplicate next Saturday.

"We've got to see it again. I guess he did it effectively enough the first time," said Mott. "He didn't look like he was struggling, so it would lead you to believe he could reproduce his last race, but it's a different group of horses. Maybe he'll have to be better to win. It's going to be a bigger field, and some new shooters in there. I don't know that I'd trade places with anybody today."

Now the plan is for everything to go smoothly, and to schedule up until post time for the 'Mid-Summer Derby,' according to Mott.

"I'm just hoping he stays healthy and sound, stays in one piece, that's it. He's doing good and he's training good. I hope he stays the way he is," he said.

Mott added that everything is fine with Saturday's Grade 1 Alabama winner Elate, and sixth-place finisher Lockdown the morning following the race. The daughter by Medaglia d' Oro, who missed by a head to Abel Tasman in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks, claimed her biggest victory of her career yet with her 5 ½-length victory over It Tiz Well on Saturday. Mott will wait to decide where to point the filly next.

"She ran that type of race last time, maybe it possibly was the best," said Mott. "She was beaten a nose but it was certainly a good race. They've go races around the country, she might have to jump in with the older mares now, the Beldame, the Spinster, races like that. I probably wouldn't want to back up to a mile and a sixteenth, there's no point in me doing that. I'd look for a mile and an eighth somewhere."

As for Mott's success at Saratoga his summer, and his nine victories which include the Jim Dandy and Alabama, the 64-year-old has a legitimate shot to win his first Travers next Saturday. Even with nine Saratoga training titles under his belt, in addition to three Eclipse Awards (1995, 1996, 2011), Mott remains humble, but aims high.

"We come here to win those kind, you never know if you're going to connect or not, but that's the ones we certainly want," he said.

*         *         *

Unchained Melody seemed to be in good order after being eased in Saturday's Grade 1 Alabama, trainer Brian Lynch said from his barn Sunday morning. Unchained Melody, the third choice at 9-2, dropped back near the half-mile mile pole and was pulled up by jockey Joel Rosario.

She was vanned off but appears to be fine, according to her connections. As a precaution, Lynch said she will be examined at Cornell Ruffian Equine Specialists in Elmont, New York.

"She seems very sound and scoped clean, so we'll do our due diligence and send her down to the Ruffian Clinic, but there's nothing apparent at this stage," Lynch said. "He [Rosario] said she gave him a little run and he asked her again and she just kind of sulked. He felt something wasn't right. We'll live to fight another day. The good news is she isn't scheduled for surgery and we're not putting in any screws or taking out any chips."

Unchained Melody was making her first start since winning the Grade 2 Mother Goose on July 1 at Belmont Park. The 3-year-old Smart Strike filly had won three of her first four races before the Alabama, won by Elate.

Lynch enjoyed a better moment on Saturday when Meantime came back from a freshening to finish second in an allowance race. The Hard Spun colt made his first start since an eighth-place effort in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes more than two months ago, as Race Me Home won by a neck in the 1 1/8 mile route on the main track.

"I thought he ran really well, maybe at a mile and an eighth he got a little bit tired in the last part of it, but I thought it was a really game effort," Lynch said. "I was hoping that race would come back a mile and a sixteenth in the [condition] book, but other than that, it was the effort I wanted. He rated kindly and put himself in the race when he needed to. He just got out-finished."

Meantime is targeting another allowance race at Belmont Park for the fall meet and could be on target to go back to stakes company in the winter, Lynch said.

Oscar Performance is still pointed to the Grade 1, $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic on September 30 at Belmont, Lynch said. The son of Kitten's Joy has won three straight races, including the Grade 3 Pennine Ridge on June 3 and the Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational on July 8 at Belmont. The Amerman Racing homebred notched his second straight Grade 1 win with an impressive effort in the Secretariat on August 12 at Arlington Park.

With another Grade 1 win in a qualifier for the Grade 1, $4 million Longines Breeders' Cup Turf, Lynch said Oscar Performance should warrant consideration for an Eclipse Award as the top 3-year-old despite being a turf horse.

"I've never seen them give it to a grass horse, but he's certainly the boss of his category, it seems like, and if he were to beat older horses in the Joe Hirsch, then he definitely deserves a nomination at least," Lynch said. "I'm a bit skeptical whether they'd give it to a grass horse. But I feel like if he does win, he's at least entitled to be nominated."

*         *         *

Trainer Chad Brown's turf stakes contingent was in full force over the Oklahoma turf course Sunday morning as graded stakes winners Lady Eli and Antonoeworked in company, breezing four furlongs in 48.55 seconds, followed shortly by graded stakes winners Roca Rojo and Fourstar Crook, going the same distance in 50.03 in company.

"All four worked really well," said Brown. "Antonoe and Roca Rojo are on point for the [Grade 2, $400,000 Woodford Reserve] Ballston Spa. I think the time off since the Just a Game has benefitted Roca Rojo. She's freshened up a little bit. She's put in a good string of works and I'm really happy with her. With Antonoe I think the cutback in distance from the [Grade 1] Diana will benefit her. She obviously won going a mile in the Just a Game, so I think a mile and a sixteenth should be fine for her."

Brown also reported Lady Eli would most likely make her next start in the fall at Belmont while he was still looking for a spot where to run Fourstar Crook next.

One day removed from sending Preakness winner and probable Travers entrant Cloud Computing to the main track on Saturday, along with multiple graded stakes winner Practical Joke, pointing for the Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial, for breezes, Brown reported that both have come back in good order.

"Cloud Computing looks really good this morning and came out of his work well," said Brown. "We're waiting to make a final decision for tomorrow. Practical Joke looked terrific as well."

*         *         *

Patricia Moseley's homebred sophomore filly Proctor's Ledge, an impressive winner of Saturday's Grade 2 Lake Placid, exited her triumph in top form, according to conditioner Brendan Walsh. The 3-year-old daughter of Ghostzapper completed a sweep of the two major sophomore filly turf stakes, having annexed the Grade 3 Lake George earlier in the meet. 

"She came out great," Walsh said. "Even yesterday, after the race, she cooled out perfectly. She is a cool customer and a delight to train because of how easy she does things. 

"She's just been a great filly for us and we know that she has always had that kind of performance in her," he continued. "The [Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland October 15] is the likely next spot for her, obviously. We won a Grade 1 with her and then a Grade 2, so we'd like to get a Grade 1 and race her against 3-year-old fillies while we can."

*         *         *

Salomon del Valle's Gunnevera, a five-length winner of the Tangelo last time out, has settled into his temporary digs at Saratoga ahead of his bid in Saturday's Grade 1 Travers. The 3-year-old colt by Dialed In travelled by van from Antonio Sano's South Florida training base and arrived at the Spa around 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, accompanied by his groom, Luis Cabello.

"They told me the trip went good," Sano said by phone. "The horse shipped OK, so everything is good."

Gunnevera is scheduled to walk Monday and gallop Tuesday, said Sano, who will be on hand that morning for the multiple graded stakes winner's first time out on the track.

With a lifetime record of 5-2-1 from 12 starts and more than $1.2 million in earnings, Gunnevera will be making his first start at Saratoga since winning last year's Grade 2 Saratoga Special by a length as a 2-year-old. 

A $16,000 yearling purchase, Gunnevera also had a 5 ¾-length victory in the Grade 3 Delta Jackpot under his belt when he kicked off his 3-year-old season with a runner-up finish to Irish War Cry in the Grade 2 Holy Bull in February before posting a 5 ¾-length victory in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth on March 4. Gunnevera was third as the even-money favorite in the Grade 1 Florida Derby the following month before finishing seventh in the Kentucky Derby and fifth in the Preakness.

The chestnut colt has breezed once since his successful comeback race in the August 6 Tangelo at Gulfstream Park, working five furlongs in 1:00 flat on August 18. Jockey Edgard Zayas, aboard for the both the breeze and the Tangelo win, will have the mount for the Travers.

*         *         *

Whitham Thoroughbred's homebred Travers contender McCraken galloped 1 ¼ miles over Saratoga's main track and schooled in the starting gate on Sunday morning for trainer Ian Wilkes.

"He's doing well; I'm very happy with the horse," said Wilkes. "It's all just routine. He walks in [the gates] fine and stands with no problems."

Sunday's training session marked the Ghostzapper colt's second day on the track following a prescheduled walk day on Friday. McCraken breezed six furlongs in 1:16.23 over the Oklahoma track Wednesday morning and jogged Thursday, part of Wilkes' normal post-breeze regimen.

Wilkes said McCraken is likely to breeze once more before Saturday's 'Mid-Summer Derby,' though the trainer said the details are still to be determined.

"I'll do something with him one day this week," he said. "How I do it and when I do it, I'm not sure."

Marylou Whitney Stable's Grade 2 Alysheba winner Bird Song is scheduled to turn in his final breeze for the Grade 1, $600,000 Forego Monday morning, said Wilkes.

The 4-year-old Unbridled's Song colt wore blinkers in his breeze last Tuesday, when he worked four furlongs in 48.70 seconds over the Oklahoma track. Bird Song cut back considerably in distance in his last race, following an eighth-place finish in the 1 1/8-mile Grade 1 Stephen Foster, to six furlongs in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt on July 29, where he raced wide to finish fourth, 9 ¼ lengths behind front-running winner El Deal.

*         *         *

Live Oak Plantation's Mark Casse-trained Awesome Slew continued to please his connections and is on target for next Saturday's Grade 1 Forego over seven furlongs on the main track. The $600,000 Forego is a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series "Win and You're In" event for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint on November 4 at Del Mar.

"He's doing great and our plan is to run him in the Forego," Casse said. "His fitness level is great and he's on top of his game. Obviously, the race will be tough with Mind Your Biscuits and Baffert's [Drefong] likely showing up, but as long as he's happy and healthy, I think he has a chance to win the race. They'll be tough, but we can't change who comes and doesn't come."

Noticeably improved since moving over to the Casse barn and back in form, the son of Awesome Again has flourished around one turn in his 4-year-old season thus far. His top performances include a victory in the Grade 3 Commonwealth Stakes at Keeneland and seconds in both the Grade 2 Belmont Sprint Championship and Grade 2 Churchill Downs. All three of those races were at the Forego's seven-furlong distance.

"He's done very well since shortening up and we like the seven-eighths with him," Casse said. "Will he run two turns again? Maybe."

Casse also expressed satisfaction in sophomore filly Salty's third-place performance in Saturday's Grade 1 Alabama. The Grade 2 winner by Quality Road nearly snagged second with a steady rally and placed in her third Grade 1 of 2017 in the process for owners Gary Barber, Baccari Racing Stable and Chester Prince.

"I was very proud of Salty," Casse said. "All you can ask for is a good trip and a good effort and that's what she gave. I know there's a lot said about how far she can go, but she ran very well going a mile and a quarter yesterday. We will shorten her up a little bit next out. If all goes well, she goes in the [Grade 1] Cotillion [on September 23] next and then we may even shorten her up some more.

Casse confirmed that Salty will be under consideration for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, if all goes well.

Saturday was a solid day for the far-flung Casse operation. Its Saratoga-based Dream Dancing shipped to Del Mar and landed the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks in order to separate from fellow John Oxley-owned stablemate La Coronel, who placed fourth in the Grade 2 Lake Placid. The barn also saw Barber's Conquest Panthera take the Grade 2 Play the King Stakes at Woodbine. 

"Dream Dancing ran a great race and I'm really happy with her," he said. "It was definitely the cherry on top of a good day where we won a race at Saratoga and a Grade 2 at Woodbine."

*         *         *

Brad Grady's Grade 1 Haskell Invitational hero Girvin was on his toes Sunday morning, walking the shed row with marked enthusiasm, much to his hotwalker's chagrin. The nearly black colt exited his Saturday morning work - five furlongs in a bullet-of-11 59.98 seconds over the Oklahoma training track - in good order, according to trainer Joe Sharp. 

Girvin, first or second in six of seven starts, will be Sharp's first Travers starter. The 32-year-old native of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, expressed confidence in his star pupil, whose only poor showing was a 13th-of-20 in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby. That effort came after a rough trip over the wet going and on the heels, literally, of a quarter-crack that has since healed.

"You definitely take a deep breath after you've won a Grade 1 with a horse like we did in the Haskell, both for the horse and the barn, being our first Grade 1," said Sharp. "It's good to get that behind us on the big stage. I haven't really thought about a championship, but I think that if he wins another Grade 1 it definitely moves him to the top of the list as far as the 3-year-old division, especially with all the graded stakes wins he has."

In addition to the Haskell, Girvin won the Grade 2 Risen Star and Grade 2 Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds Racecourse. Always keeping good company, he defeated Grade 2 Amsterdam runner-up Excitations on their co-debut in December. 

"He's always been very talented and I think our biggest concerns are behind us as far as anything physical," Sharp continued. "He's getting through every work perfectly and doing everything the way you want to see a horse do it coming up to a race like this. He's going in great and is a bit cocky and full of himself."

*         *         *

Lael Stables' regally bred graded stakes winner Divining Rod is under serious consideration for next Saturday's Grade 1 Forego, according to trainer Arnaud Delacour. The son of Tapit and triple Grade 1 winner Precious Kitten made his delayed 4-year-old bow in the August 12 Polynesian Stakes at Laurel Park, defeating four others by a facile 6 1/4 lengths. The dark bay colt finished his final three-eighths that day in under 35 seconds.

"He's doing great and his race back was very good," said Delacour, who won the 2016 Forego with A. P. Indian. "We're considering the Forego with him because we really want to keep him going one turn. His best numbers are going one turn and his race last fall in the [Grade 1] Cigar Mile was a great race. He will breeze Tuesday and if he breezes well and is 100%, we will probably go."

In addition to his photo-finish loss against older horses in last autumn's Cigar Mile, Divining Rod placed in six stakes - five graded - including the Grade 1 Preakness. His lone graded victory was the Grade 3 Lexington Stakes at Keeneland. A slight injury delayed his 4-year-old season, but Delacour remains optimistic about the remainder of the year.

"I like how he came back and won at Laure. It was obviously a softer field, but he showed good tactical speed and finished well," he explained. "He had a little problem with his right front ankle about a month after the Cigar Mile and we decided to give him extra time.

"I think the Forego, [Grade 2] Kelso and Cigar Mile will likely be his goals this year," Delacour concluded. "He's a very nice horse and we'd like to keep him performing at his best and those kinds of races are where he seems to be at his best."

*         *         *

Twin Creeks Racing Stables' Red Rifle will stretch out in distance in headlining a field of seven in the $100,000 John's Call for 3-year-olds and up at 1 5/8 miles on the Mellon turf on Wednesday.

Red Rifle rallied for second last out in the Alydar on August 6 at the Spa, overcoming a bump at the start to tie a season-high Beyer Speed Figure of 97. The Todd Pletcher trainee finished in the money in a stakes for the first time since a runner-up effort in the 2016 Mountainview at Penn National.

The 7-year-old son of Giant's Causeway is the 9-5 morning-line favorite and will break from the outside with jockey Jose Ortiz.

Amerman Racing's Infinite Wisdom will make the first stakes start of his 6-year-old campaign following back-to-back second-place finishes in optional claimers, including last out when Mugtaser beat him by a head in the final jumps on July 21 at the Spa.

Trained by Brian Lynch, Infinite Wisdom, a son of Smart Strike, will run at the John's Call distance for the first time in 16 career starts.

"We're excited about running him over that distance; he certainly as the pedigree that says he can stay on," Lynch said. "I think he's ready to win and I'm ready to win one myself."

Listed at 2-1, Infinite Wisdom will break from post 3 with Irad Ortiz, Jr. aboard.

Nessy returns to stakes company for the first time since a sixth-place performance in the Grade 3 Louisville Handicap. After consecutive starts in allowance races, trainer Ian Wilkes will run the 4-year-old Flower Alley gelding at 1 5/8 miles for the first time.

"He's made a few mistakes in his races, but he's learning," said Wilkes. "He's won at a mile and a half and he can stay all day. For this horse, the longer the better."

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano will be in the irons of the 4-1 morning-line choice from post 6.

Trainer Elizabeth Voss will saddle a pair of entries in Mr Singh and Renown. The English-bred Mr. Singh is looking for his first win in four starts since arriving in North America. His American debut was a second-place finish in the Secretariat on May 6, and Voss said the Group 3-winner will be looking to impress in his Saratoga debut.

"He's just a horse who runs all day at one pace, last race out they ran slow, which didn't help, but he kind of kept plugging away," Voss said.

Mr Singh drew post 2 at odds of 15-1. Jockey Chris DeCarlo will ride. 

Renown, who beat his stablemate in the Secretariat, has experience at long distances, competing in the two-mile Grade 3 Belmont Gold Cup on June 9. The 6-year-old, who is also English bred, finished sixth last out in the Cape Henlopen on July 8 at Delaware Park but was sharp in his first breeze at Saratoga on August 14, according to Voss.

"He loves it up here and kind of likes to show himself off and has been training great here," she said. "He worked really well the other day. I'm very happy with him."

Julien Leparoux will have the call for the first time from post 5. Renown is 10-1 on the morning line.

Rounding out the field is St. Louie, for trainer Mike Maker, who drew the rail, and the Irish-bred Montclair, trained by George Weaver, who will exit post 4.