Francesca Le Donne Photo

Saratoga Race Course Notes 8.28.17

by NYRA Press Office

• Gun Runner puts in final breeze before G1 Woodward
• Givemeaminit gallops ahead of G1 Hopeful
• Giuseppe the Great possible for Pennsylvania Derby after G1 Travers effort
• Awesome Slew in good order, awaiting next assignment
• Orbolution steps up to stakes company in P.G. Johnson
• Eighth annual Run For The Horses 5K to be held Saturday
• Week 7 stakes probables

Multiple graded stakes winner Gun Runner put in his final breeze Monday morning before Saturday's Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles.

The 4-year-old son of Candy Ride worked four furlongs in 50.16 seconds on the Oklahoma training track with exercise rider Angel Garcia aboard, which Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen said was a solid work.

"It was just an easy half-mile the week of; I love how he's moving," Asmussen said. "We've been very fortunate with the weather. It's been nice, cool mornings and everyone is feeling good. We're hoping to have a smooth rest of the week for him."

Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys' Gun Runner put in his third breeze on the Saratoga training track since winning the Grade 1 Whitney on August 5. The ultra-consistent Kentucky bred has finished on the board in all but two of his 16 career starts. 

Of Gun Runner's nine wins, seven have come against graded stakes competition, including back-to-back Grade 1s in the Stephen Foster Handicap on June 17 and the Whitney earlier this month.

"We've talked about him quite a bit, how he just spoils us with his consistency," Asmussen said. "He's a very generous horse in the mornings. I thought Angel did a great job with him. He went around real smooth."

J. Kirk and Judy Robison's Vertical Oak also breezed Monday, going three furlongs in 37.89 seconds on the Oklahoma track in working towards the Grade 2, $250,000 Prioress on Sunday.

Vertical Oak finished fifth in the Grade 1 Test last out on August 5, weakening late in the seven-furlong sprint. The 3-year-old Giant Oak filly will cut back to a distance in which she is 4-1-1 in eight starts, including the Grade 3 Miss Preakness on May 19 at Pimlico.

"Backing her up to three-quarters has always suited her, and it's the same situation where the cool mornings have helped, and we're looking forward to a big race," Asmussen said.

Lookin At Lee will receive a freshening following a 10th place finish in the Grade 1 Travers presented by NYRA Bets on Saturday. Asmussen said he hasn't decided on the next spot for the Lookin At Lucky colt, who has raced eight times this year, including all three legs of the Triple Crown and a third-place finish in the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby on August 5 before the Mid-Summer Derby.

"He's tired and he's going to get a little break," Asmussen said. "He's done a lot for us this year. He's been a tremendous ride. We're going to give him a significant amount of time off and ready him for his 4-year-old year."

Lookin At Lee was the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby runner-up before running fourth in the Preakness. After a seventh-place effort in the Test of the Champion on June 10 at Belmont Park, he didn't race until nearly two months later with a solid effort in the West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Park. In the Travers, Lookin At Lee saved ground near the rail on the far turn before weakening in the stretch.

"He was a little hesitant and got a little spot at the head of the lane and  just didn't pick it after that," Asmussen said.

 Gun Runner put in his final breeze Monday morning before Saturday's Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles.

The 4-year-old son of Candy Ride worked four furlongs in 50.16 seconds on the Oklahoma training track with exercise rider Angel Garcia aboard, which Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen said was a solid work.

"It was just an easy half-mile the week of; I love how he's moving," Asmussen said. "We've been very fortunate with the weather. It's been nice, cool mornings and everyone is feeling good. We're hoping to have a smooth rest of the week for him."

"We've talked about him quite a bit, how he just spoils us with his consistency," Asmussen said. "He's a very generous horse in the mornings. I thought Angel did a great job with him. He went around real smooth."

J. Kirk and Judy Robison's Vertical Oak also breezed Monday, going three furlongs in 37.89 seconds on the Oklahoma track in working towards the Grade 2, $250,000 Prioress on Sunday.

Vertical Oak finished fifth in the Grade 1 Test last out on August 5, weakening late in the seven-furlong sprint. The 3-year-old Giant Oak filly will cut back to a distance in which she is 4-1-1 in eight starts, including the Grade 3 Miss Preakness on May 19 at Pimlico.

"Backing her up to three-quarters has always suited her, and it's the same situation where the cool mornings have helped, and we're looking forward to a big race," Asmussen said.

Lookin At Lee will receive a freshening following a 10th place finish in the Grade 1 Travers presented by NYRA Bets on Saturday. Asmussen said he hasn't decided on the next spot for the Lookin At Lucky colt, who has raced eight times this year, including all three legs of the Triple Crown and a third-place finish in the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby on August 5 before the Mid-Summer Derby.

"He's tired and he's going to get a little break," Asmussen said. "He's done a lot for us this year. He's been a tremendous ride. We're going to give him a significant amount of time off and ready him for his 4-year-old year."

Lookin At Lee was the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby runner-up before running fourth in the Preakness. After a seventh-place effort in the Test of the Champion on June 10 at Belmont Park, he didn't race until nearly two months later with a solid effort in the West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Park. In the Travers, Lookin At Lee saved ground near the rail on the far turn before weakening in the stretch.

"He was a little hesitant and got a little spot at the head of the lane and  just didn't pick it after that," Asmussen said.

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Valene Farm's Givemeaminit is on target to run in the Grade 1, $350,000 Hopeful on Saratoga's Closing Day, September 4, trainer Dallas Stewart said Monday. The 2-year-old Star Guitar colt made his career debut on July 22, closing well in the field of eight to finish as the runner up.

Givemeaminit was sent to the Oklahoma training track on Friday morning to put in his final work towards the Hopeful, logging a five-furlong breeze in 1:02.3.

"He's a real nice horse," Stewart said. "He trains better than I've ever seen a 2-year-old train. We sent him to Becky Baker, she's got two farms up in Lexington, Kentucky. She can get them going, so about a week ago, she called me and said, 'Dallas, I got a lot of horses, [but] this horse looks better than all these 300, 400-thousand-dollar horses.' She galloped him a couple of weeks, and then [we] sent him into Churchill, and we started working him. He started beating everybody, he just never got beat. He galloped today, and if you saw his gallop, he looked like American Pharoah out there. It was unbelievable."

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Mossarosa's Giuseppe the Great returned from Saturday's Grade 1 Travers in good shape, and could run in the Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby on September 23 at Parx, Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito said Monday.

"Maybe the Pennsylvania Derby," Zito said. "[It's] straight 3-year olds again; a lot of money. He certainly belongs with them. We watched the race; you break that sharp, well, what are you going to do? He was a longshot. Obviously, there's a reason for everything, but he ran terrific."

The Lookin At Lucky colt finished sixth in the Travers after closing to place second in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy after removing the blinkers for the first time. Giuseppe the Great is still in search of his first graded stakes victory and was the runner-up in the Grade 2 Woody Stephens before running fourth in the Grade 3 Dwyer. 

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Sent off at odds of 12-1, Live Oak Plantation's multiple graded stakes winner Awesome Slew delivered another giant effort after breaking second-to last from a field of 10 and rallying up to finish second in last Saturday's Grade 1, $600,000 Forego, leaving Norm Casse, assistant and son to father Mark, encouraged.

"He laid it on the line for us so we're proud of him," said Casse. "He's a horse that's ran in some really good races. He always gives a top effort."

The 4-year-old homebred son of Awesome Again has one win from seven starts this year picking up a victory in the Grade 3 Commonwealth at Keeneland and second four times from six graded stakes starts.

"You can't measure how big a horse's heart is, but he shows his 'A' game anytime he runs," added Casse. "He's very happy. Tired but happy. There's nothing in the timetable for him as far as where he might go next. We'll see how he comes back in the next couple of days and go from there."

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StarLadies Racing's Orbolution will look to thrive in her stakes debut in Thursday's feature, the $100,000 P.G. Johnson, for juvenile fillies at Saratoga Race Course.

Orbolution, trained by Todd Pletcher, is the only entry in the seven-horse field to run previously at the P.G. Johnson distance of 1 1/16 miles on the inner turf, breaking her maiden with a 2 ½-length score on July 23. After starting her career with back-to-back third-place efforts on dirt, Orbolution will look to go 2-for-2 both on turf and at the Spa, drawing post 3 with Hall of Famer John Velazquez aboard.

Orbolution, a daughter of Orb, was a $370,000 purchase as a yearling from the2013 Kentucky Derby winner's first crop.

Robert Masterson's Wild N Ready will be looking for her first win after rallying for third in her debut August 11 at 5 ½ lengths. Off a quick turnaround, the More Than Ready filly drew the outside post with Julien Leparoux.

"We expect her to move forward off her last race, she was compromised last time ironically by her own horse [stablemate Bridaled Temper]," said Norm Casse, assistant and son of trainer Mark Casse. "If you watch the head-on, she pushed her out to the middle going into the turn. But she's come back and training really well. She's breezed awesome and she should be ready.

"We want to get a two-turn race, we feel she'd be much better going two turns," he added.

Life Time Citizen is the field's most experienced runner and the only one with stakes experience, coming off a fourth-place effort in the Bolton Landing on August 16. The Phil Serpe trainee, who started her career on dirt before breaking her maiden on turf, will break from post 4 with Irad Ortiz, Jr.

Mentality won her debut June 16 at Belmont and will look to go 2-for-2 for trainer Wesley Ward. A daughter of Freud, she will break from the rail with Ricardo Santana, Jr. in the irons.

Rounding out the field is Oldfashioned Style, for trainer Gary Contessa, from post 2; Romantic Babe, a debut winner for trainer David Donk, out of post 5; andSassy Sienna, who also won her first start for trainer Brad Cox, out of post 6. 

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The eighth annual Run For The Horses 5K run/walk to benefit several area horse rescue organizations that make up Racehorse Aftercare Charitable Endeavors of Saratoga (RACES) will be held Saturday morning at the Orenda Pavilion at the Saratoga State Park.

Pre-registration is currently available for the 5K ($27.50) and Kids' Fun Run ($7.50) at https://runsignup.com/Race/NY/SaratogaSprings/RunForTheHorses5kss. Online registration for the Kids' Fun Run closes on Friday. On-site registration for just the 5K ($30) starts at 7 a.m. Post time for the Kids' Fun Run is 8 a.m. and the 5K at 8:30 a.m.

Awards are given to the top three finishers in each age division, plus a canine division.

The Run for the Horses will benefit both the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and RACES that include the following organizations: ACCT Naturally, Heading for Home, Old Friends at Cabin Creek and Saratoga Warhorse.

                                                 
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The $100,000 Lucky Coin - Friday, September 1
Probable: Big Rock (Christophe Clement); Doctor J Dub (Jena Atonucci); Dowse's Beach (Brad Cox); Dream Mover (Jimmy Jerkens); Loose on the Town (Brian Lynch); Platinum Prince (Michael Tomlinson); Ready for Rye (Tom Albertrani); Spring to the Sky (Bruce Brown)

The Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward - Saturday, September 2
Probable: Discreet Lover (Uriah St. Lewis); Gun Runner (Steve Asmussen); May B (Anthony Quartarolo); Neolithic (Todd Pletcher); Rally Cry (Todd Pletcher); War Story (Jorge Navarro)

The Grade 1, $350,000 Spinaway  -  Saturday, September 2
Probable: Lady Freedom (Rodolfo Garcia); Lady Ivanka (Rudy Rodriguez); Maya Malibu (Graham Motion); Pure Silver (Pletcher); Seperationofpowers (C. Brown); Snowfire (Mark Casse)

The Grade 3, $300,000 Saranac - Saturday, September 2
Probable: Bricks and Mortar (Chad Brown); Master Plan (Pletcher); Mo Maverick (George Weaver); Mr Havercamp (Catherine M. Day Phillips); Rocketry (Jerkens); Tiz a Slam (Roger Attfield); Yoshida (Bill Mott)

The Grade 3, $200,000 Glens Falls - Saturday, September 2
Probable: Estrechada (Mike Puype); Grateful (Pletcher); Lottie (Motion); Sarandia (Peter Schiergen); Summersault (Mark Hennig); Sweet Sandy (Danielle Hodsdon); Time and Motion (Jimmy Toner); War Flag (Shug McGaughey)

The Grade 2, $250,000 Prioress - Sunday, September 3
Probable: Dawn the Destroyer (Kiaran McLaughlin); Downtown Mama (Linda Rice); Libby's Tail (Rodriguez); Nonna Mela (Pletcher); Royal Inheritance (Dave Cannizzo); Student Body (Christopher Davis); Yorkiepoo Princess (Eddie Barker)
Possible: American Gal (Simon Callaghan)

The Grade 1, $350,000 Hopeful - Monday, September 4
Probable: Firenze Fire (Jason Servis); Free Drop Billy (Dale Romans); Givemeaminit (Dallas Stewart); Mojovation (Pletcher); National Flag (Pletcher); Oskar Blues (Ken McPeek); Psychoanalyze (Lynch); Sporting Chance (D. Wayne Lukas) 

The Grade 2, $250,000 Bernard Baruch - Monday, September 4
Probable:  American Patriot (Pletcher); Delta Prince (Jerkens); Heart to Heart (Lynch); Highland Sky (Tagg); Ring Weekend (Motion)