Saratoga Race Course Notes 8.31.17

by NYRA Press Office

One day removed from the announcement of the retirement of multiple graded stakes winning New York-bred Lubash, trainer Christophe Clement was in good spirits outside of his barn at Saratoga Race Course Clement reflected on the 10-year-old Freud gelding's illustrious career, who Clement took over conditioning in 2012 and campaigned through more than half of his career.

Owned and bred by Leonard Pivnick, Lubash most notably won the 2013 Grade 3 Fort Marcy at Belmont Park and the 2014 Grade 3 Tropical Turf Handicap at Gulstream Park West under the care of Clement.

"Mr. Pivnick decided on retiring him and he's been absolutely great to all of us involved," said Clement. "He did not do his entire career with me, but he did some of his career with us and I'm very proud of him. He was a very tough campaigner."

Sired by Freud, Lubash won 12 stakes among his 18 career wins, which also included 9 second-place finishes and seven thirds. A perennial contender on the New York Racing Association circuit, in addition to his victory in the Fort Marcy, he also won two editions of the Ashley T. Cole at Belmont, along with two victories in the West Point for New York-breds at Saratoga.

"He's perfectly sound and is retiring as a sound horse," said Clement. "I'm going to find him a place where he can enjoy life. When he was right he had two or three amazing races in New York going seven-eighths of a mile. He's a very good and well-balanced horse and had a great turn-of-foot."

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Phillips Racing Partnership's Grade 1 winner Time and Motion will have her next start delayed again after suffering a minor foot injury during her Monday breeze on the Oklahoma turf track, said trainer Jimmy Toner.

The 4-year-old daughter of Tapit was originally on target to enter the Grade 3, $200,000 Glens Falls on Saturday before being pushed back.

"We're not going to run; when she breezed three days ago, she came back with a foot abscess," Toner said. "It's nothing major, but we have to drain it, so we won't be able to make it this weekend."

Time and Motion, coming off back-to-back third-place finishes in the Grade 3 Beaugay on May 13 at Belmont Park and the Grade 3 Modesty on July 8 at Arlington, was scratched from the Grade 2 Woodford Reserve Ballston Spa on Travers Day, with Toner saying at the time the Glens Falls set up better with Lady Eli, the race's eventual winner, headlining the Ballston Spa.

Time and Motion won the 2016 Grade 2 Lake Placid at Saratoga, setting her up to win the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup to cap her 3-year-old campaign. Her 2017 year started with back-to-back sixth-place efforts in the Grade 1 Matriarch and the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley before rebounding in the Beaugay.

"As long as it's nothing major, it's something we can deal with it," Toner said. "We haven't been able to get any type of rhythm with her this year. We'll just get her ready for Belmont.

"There's no chance of making the Breeders' Cup; I think that's out for this year," he added. "We're just trying to get her back into a race and rhythm. Every time we do something, something else comes up, but we'll be fine."

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Stronach Stable's multiple Grade 1 winner Shaman Ghost is doing well following his throat surgery last week and is recuperating at Jimmy Jerkens' barn at Belmont Park, the trainer said.

Shaman Ghost was forced to miss his title defense in the Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward this weekend after Jerkens said the 5-year-old son of Ghostzapper was making noise during training two weeks ago. He was sent to Cornell Ruffian Equine Specialists near Belmont and had the procedure on August 21.

"I saw him the other day after his surgery," said Jerkens. "He's at Belmont and he's just going to hand walk until the staples come out of where the incision is. You never know exactly until you get them going, but there weren't any problems while they were doing it, and they didn't find anything more than they thought."

This year, Shaman Ghost was second to Arrogate in the inaugural Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup in January and followed up with wins in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap and Grade 3 Pimlico Special. He was second last time out to Keen Ice in the Grade 2 Suburban at Belmont on July 8 and was training up to the Woodward, which he won by a head last year.

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Two-time champion filly Songbird was retired Thursday morning after an evaluation by Dr. Larry Bramlage at Rood & Riddle in Lexington, Kentucky, showed an enlargement of both her hind suspensory ligaments, owner Rick Porter announced in a statement on Fox Hill Farm's Facebook page.

Last time out, the Medaglia d'Oro filly suffered her first loss of the year - and only the second in a 15-race career - when she was caught late by Forever Unbridled in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign on August 26 at Saratoga Race Course.

Songbird's 4-year-old campaign was delayed as she recovered from bone bruising over the winter, Porter wrote.

When she returned to the races, though, she did so with back-to-back Grade 1 wins, kicked off by a length victory in the Odgen Phipps on the June 10 Belmont Stakes undercard, before her loss by a neck in the Personal Ensign.

"After this past race, we thought something seemed off in her hind end, so we sent her to Rood & Riddle for an evaluation," Porter wrote. "Her lameness was readily apparent to Dr. Bramlage, and ultrasounds proved both hind suspensories were enlarged. Since suspensories are usually the result of something else amiss and he knew of her history, Dr. Bramlage shot a set of x-rays of the area of bone Songbird had issues with over the Winter. A distinct line on the bone was present. We followed up with a bone scan, and then an MRI."

"Unfortunately, the results weren't what we wanted to see," he continued. "We have a situation where it'd be dangerous for Songbird to continue training, and Dr. Bramlage isn't optimistic that the site will fully resolve even if given ample time."

Named champion 2-year-old filly in 2015 and champion 3-year-old filly in 2016, Songbird put together 11 straight wins through her first two seasons of racing, including a pair of Grade 1 victories last summer at Saratoga, winning the Coaching Club American Oaks and Alabama by a combined 12 ¼ lengths, before finishing second by a nose to the venerable Beholder in the Breeders' Cup Distaff last fall to close her sophomore campaign. Songbird retires with 13 wins and two seconds from 15 starts and $4,692,000 in lifetime earnings.

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Picking up his seventh victory of the Saratogameet with 5-year-old New York-bred mare Barrel of Dreams, who earned her second allowance victory this summer in Wednesday's seventh race, trainer Charlie Baker said he was looking to keep the winning momentum going through closing day on Monday.

"She came out of the race great," said Baker. "She loves it here and does everything well so it was a good result. Initially, we entered her in the Yaddo, but I thought the race came up a bit too tough a race than what we want to run her against right now. It ended up being the right choice."

Earning a stakes victory earlier in the meet with Love You Dearly in the Shine Again on August 3 and wins in maiden special weight through allowance levels, Baker is satisfied with how the meet has gone so far following a banner year last meet where he had 10 wins.

"It's been a solid meet," said Baker. "All of our horses are running great and competitively for the most part. We have a couple more live shots coming up in the week so we still have a chance to win a few more hopefully."

Looking forward to the Belmont Fall Championship meet, Baker is encouraged with some young prospects in his care getting ready to make their debut.

"We have a lot of young horses on the edge of getting ready and decent horses too so it's great looking forward to Belmont," he said.

* * *

Trainer Barclay Tagg said both Tale of Silence and Tale of S'avall came out of their respective races on the Travers undercard in good order and are pointing toward their next starts during the Belmont fall meet.

Tale of Silence finished fourth in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens, overcoming a bump at the start to finish just a nose out of the money behind American Anthem in the seven-furlong sprint. Tale of S'avall also had trouble right after the break, bumping with Tommy Macho before finishing fifth in the Grade 1 Forego.

"They both came out of the race fine," Tagg said. "It was a shame he [Tale of Silence] couldn't finish third, he just got beat for it, but we were pleased with both of them."

Tagg said Tale of Silence will return to Belmont Park, where he finished second in the Grade 3 Dwyer on July 8. The 3-year-old Tale of the Cat colt will now face older horses in targeting the Grade 2, $300,000 Kelso Handicap on September 23 with the Grade 3, $200,000 Bold Ruler on October 28 a possibility after that in building up to the Grade 1, $750,000 Cigar Mile on December 2 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

"We'll probably go in the Kelso, the Bold Ruler and the Cigar Mile, that's what we'll pencil in," Tagg said. "Unfortunately, there aren't any more 3-year-old races. We might look around for it, but those will be the three we'll probably look at."

Tale of S'avall, a 4-year-old son of Tale of Ekati, is also looking at those same three races on the NYRA circuit, Tagg said. Both horses are owned and bred by Charles Fipke.

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Set to make his first start since just missing at the wire to finish second in the Grade 2 Play King at Woodbine Racetrack on August 19, Ganing Ground Racing'sDowse's Beach will headline a field of nine in Friday's $100,000 Lucky Coin for 4-year-olds and up going 5 ½ furlongs on the Mellon turf course.

Claimed from Patricia Generazio last May at Belmont and now under the care of trainer Brad Cox, Dowse's Beach went on to capture back-to-back optional claiming races at Belmont before running second in the Play King.

With an impressive three wins from four starts at Saratoga, Dowse's Beach will depart from post 5 as the 2-5 morning line favorite with Rajiv Maragh aboard.

Forwardly placed and showing a quick turn-of-foot late only to be caught at the wire in the Tale of the Cat on August 11, Loose On the Town will look to regroup in the Lucky Coin for owners Jim and Susan Hill and trainer Brian Lynch.

The 5-year-old Speightstown gelding has two wins and two second-place finishes from five starts this year. Reunited with Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, the pair will leave from post 8.

Multiple graded stakes winner Undrafted for owners Wes Welker and Monomoy Stables will also look to get back on track for trainer Wesley Ward following a fourth-place finish in the Troy Handicap on August 6. With two wins, a pair of seconds and two thirds at the distance from nine starts, Undrafted will leave from post 9 with Hall of Famer John Velazquez aboard.

Rounding out the field is Big Rock for trainer Christophe Clement and New Phoenix Stable who enters off an optional claiming win on August 3 at the distance; Ready for Rye for Chalk Racing and trainer Tom Albertrani who will make his first start of the turf since a fifth-place finish in the Belmont Turf Sprint in October of 2016; Dream Mover for trainer Jimmy Jerkens and Team Valor International; We Deer You for trainer Michael Trombetta and Like Oak Plantation;Spring to the Sky for trainer Bruce Brown and owner Anthony McCarthy and Doctor J Dub for Drawing Away Stable and trainer Jena Antonucci.

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Saratoga Race Course Notes 8.31.17

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