Saratoga Race Course Notes - 8/10/16

by NYRA Press Office

• Comfort a possibility for G1 Woodward
  
• No Hiding Place lands in tough spot in Tale of the Cat
  
• Rodriguez hopes for 'splashtastic' repeat with Libby's Tail
  
• Handicapping seminar on tap Saturday in NYRA Bets Lounge

Comfort came out of his second-place finish in the Grade 1 Whitney in good order, trainer Todd Pletcher said on a rainy Wednesday morning. The bay Indian Charlie colt finished just two lengths behind winner Frosted in his first career Grade 1 start on Saturday and could be a possibility for the Grade 1, $600,000 Woodward on September 3, Pletcher said.

"[He] went back to the track this morning and seemed in good order," he said. "We'll give it some time to digest and see what we want to do."

Comfort registered a 104 Beyer Speed Figure in the Whitney, marking the third straight race in which he's registered triple digits. 

Sweet Loretta breezed four furlongs in 48.58 seconds on Monday on Saratoga Race Course's main track. The winner of the Grade 3 Schuylerville last out on June 22 is on target for the Grade 1, $350,000 Spinaway on September 3. 

"She was due for a work and I got a little worried looking at the forecast that if I waited another day, it could be rained out," Pletcher said. "She looked good and came out of it well."

Stopchargingmaria registered her first official workout this month when she breezed four furlongs in 50.88 seconds on Sunday. The 2015 Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff champion has not raced since a sixth-place finish in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps on Belmont Stakes Day, June 11. Pletcher said the 5-year-old Tale of the Cat mare will have a couple more workouts before he decides where to start her next.

"She came out of the breeze well. We're just waiting to see how she breezes back and then make a decision on either the [Grade 1] Personal Ensign, the [Grade 1] Ballerina [both August 27] or something else," Pletcher said. 

Destin, the third-place finisher in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy on July 30, is scheduled to breeze this weekend and is being pointed for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers on August 27.

A pair of 2-year-olds recently enjoyed stellar debuts for the Pletcher barn. Fact Finding, a son The Factor, broke his maiden on August 6 as Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez kept him just off the pace before overtaking Casses Story in the stretch.

Another 2-year-old drew national attention as Syndergaard, who was also piloted by Velazquez, took the early lead and held on for a three-length victory in a maiden special weight on Monday. Named after the New York Mets' All-Star pitcher, Noah Syndergaard's victory drew attention for Fox Sports, ESPN, and MLB.com among other media outlets. Syndergaard is the son of Majesticperfection.

"That was fun," Pletcher said. "He had been training well so we thought he could run well; glad he did."

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Michael Tabor's No Hiding Place has won four of his five career starts and is among the contenders entered in Friday's Tale of the Cat, but trainer Wesley Ward wasn't expecting the six-furlong race to come up quite as salty as it did.

No Hiding Place, whose only loss was a fifth-place finish in the Grade 3 Commonwealth at Keeneland earlier this year, drew post 8 in a field of 11 older sprinters that includes dual Grade 1 Carter Handicap winner Dads Caps, the Grade 1-placed Stallwalkin' Dude, and Marylou Whitney's stakes-winning pair of Gorgeous Bird and Viva Majorca.

"The race has kind of come up tough - a lot tougher than I thought it would," said Ward, who flew back to Kentucky this morning and will return later in the week. "There's a lot of speed. [No Hiding Place] doesn't have to be on the lead, which is a good thing. Still, it's a very contentious field, that's for sure. You wouldn't think a listed would be as tough as that one, but it's Saratoga right?"

Although Ward is responsible for one-third of the 27 nominees to Sunday's Grade 2, $200,000 Saratoga Special, none are likely to run.

"We just kind of nominated to take a look at it," he said. "But we're probably not going to have anything going."

Ward will send out the talented Silvertoni in Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 Adirondack. The Tapit filly won her first two starts, beating the boys in the $100,000 Kentucky Juvenile, before finishing unplaced in the Coventry Stakes over soft turf at Royal Ascot.

"She's a big filly and she just kind of sunk into the ground over there, but I do think she'll grass," noted Ward.

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Rudy Rodriguez, who saddled 2014 Spinaway winner Condo Commando for a partnership headed by Michael Dubb, is looking forward to running the Dubb-owned Libby's Tail in Saturday's Adirondack.

Like Condo Commando - whose Spinaway was described as "splashtastic" by Tom Durkin in his farewell race-call - Libby's Tail is a daughter of Tiz Wonderful. Purchased for $350,000 at the Ocala Breeders' Sale in April, Libby's Tail was a sharp maiden winner on July 1 at Belmont, coming from last to first to win by 1 ½ lengths.

"Hopefully fingers crossed, she can step up Saturday," said Rodriguez. "They're two different horses, but she has shown us right from the beginning she is very professional."

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Saratoga Race Course fans are invited to join Peter Fornatale and Steve Davidowitz for a free handicapping seminar in the NYRA Bets Lounge in the Saratoga Pavilion, presented by Time Warner Cable News, from 11 a.m. to noon on Saturday, August 13.

Fornatale, the Daily Racing Form's tournament editor and author of "The Winning Contest Player," and Davidowitz, longtime turf writer and author of the influential handicapping guide "Betting Thoroughbreds" as well as the newly released "Cashing Big on Racing's Biggest Days," will offer handicapping tips and analysis to horseplayers of all skill levels with a focus on Saturday's stakes races at Saratoga, highlighted by the Grade 1, $500,000 Fourstardave, and the Arlington Million at Arlington Park.

Guests will also be able to discuss handicapping tips and strategies with NYRA handicapper and on-air personality Ernie Munick beginning at 1 p.m.