Flora Dora / Chelsea Durand Photo

Saratoga Race Course Notes - 8/14/16

by NYRA Press Office

Forever d'Oro headed to G1 Travers, Seeking Blame '50-50' for race
Rodriguez weighing decisions on Summer Revolution, Royal Posse
Flora Dora adding blinkers for Songbird rematch in G1 Alabama
Catch a Glimpse puts in final work before G2 Lake Placid
Travers among options for Hit It Once More
Obviously in consideration for rescheduled G1 Fourstardave
Carina Mia breezes in preparation for G1 Ballerina
Kimmel ponders turf for Bar of Gold
Recepta continues recovery at Rood and Riddle
Brown, Ortiz, Jr. lead at meet midpoint

Breeder-owner Charles Fipke will be represented by at least one horse in the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers August 27, and possibly two. Trainer Dallas Stewart said Sunday that Forever d'Oro is headed to the Mid-Summer Derby while he remains on the fence with Seeking Blame.

A son of 2002 Travers winner Medaglia d'Oro, Forever d'Oro was most recently third in the 1 1/8-mile Curlin Stakes July 29 behind Connect and Gift Box, each of whom are Travers-bound. It was his first start since a 13th-place finish in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes June 11 in his stakes debut.

Forever d'Oro has worked twice at Saratoga since the Belmont, going a half-mile in 48.34 seconds over the main track August 12.

"We're planning on running him in the Travers. He was third in the Curlin and ran a pretty good race. I think he'll love the mile and a quarter," Stewart said. "He'll work again. He ran great in the Curlin. I thought he was catching them a little bit. Coming out of a really bad race in the Belmont I thought it was a big step forward for him. He's trained well and I think he'll get the distance, too. Mr. Fipke, he loves the idea of having two in there so we'll see."

Seeking Blame is by 2010 champion older horse Blame, winner of the 2009 Curlin in his stakes debut who would go on to take the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga and defeat Zenyatta in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic in his championship season.

Unraced at 2, Seeking Blame was third in his debut May 14 before breaking his maiden June 19, both at Churchill Downs. He has not raced since making his stakes debut in the Grade 2 Indiana Derby July 16.

"I'm 50-50 for the Travers. We're just thinking about it," Stewart said. "The horse had a temperature after the Indiana Derby and I'm just trying to make sure he's in top form. He might need a little more time. We'll check his next work and see how he's doing. I know he can go a mile and a quarter. I just have to kind of analyze it and think it through."

Seeking Blame worked a half-mile in 48.77 seconds over the Oklahoma training track on Saturday, his second Saratoga breeze. In the Indiana Derby, run under the lights at Indiana Grand Race Course, he raced last of 12 for six furlongs before rallying to finish fifth.

"The jock said with the lights he just couldn't get him going the first three-eighths of a mile. He got to pushing on him and he started catching up down the backside a little bit. He was way, way back but he finished the race good and he galloped out in front of everybody," Stewart said. "If I can't get a real good gauge on him, I'll pass. He's a big horse. He's going to have a real good year next year as a 4-year-old so we're just being patient."

Stewart said 2015 Grade 1 Preakness runner-up Tale of Verve continues to do well following his Spa allowance victory July 24, while Forever Unbridled remains on course for the Grade 1, $750,000 Personal Ensign and Tom's Ready for the Grade 1, $500,000 Ketel One King's Bishop, both on August 27.

"We just have to keep them intact, keep them healthy and see how it goes from there," he said. 

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Trainer Rudy Rodriguez is still weighing his upcoming stakes options for Summer Revolution, an impressive Spa allowance winner August 6, and Alydar Stakes winner Royal Posse.

Jeff Drown's Summer Revolution will be nominated to both the 1 ¼-mile Travers and seven-furlong King's Bishop, Rodriguez said. The 3-year-old son of 2009 Grade 1 Belmont and Grade 1 Travers winner Summer Bird is undefeated in two career starts this year by a combined 10 ¼ lengths, including a maiden win July 4 at Belmont Park.

"He's doing good. He came out of the race good and he looks happy. I haven't had a chance to gallop him yet but he's fit and he's ready to go. We should be in good shape," Rodriguez said. "The owner was here today and he didn't mention anything. Maybe I'll breeze him a little bit and see what I'm going to do.

"I'm going to nominate him for both races; most likely we're going to see if we can go to the King's Bishop, but we'll see," he added. "We'll probably make the decision together. We're going to try to do the best thing for the horse and take it from there."

Rodriguez said 5-year-old gelding Royal Posse will most likely come back in the $100,000 Evan Shipman for New York-breds September 2, a race he won last year. The Grade 1, $600,000 Woodward - like the Evan Shipman for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles on September 3 - hasn't been ruled out.

"Royal Posse is doing very good. He came out of the last race very, very good," Rodriguez said. "We'll probably keep him with the New York-breds. We'll probably nominate for the big race, so we'll see. If the race falls apart and there's maybe only five horses maybe we'll take a chance. We've got some options."

Rodriguez said multiple stakes winner Good Luck Gus, based with his string at Belmont Park, is being pointed to the Evan Shipman. 

*         *         *

Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks third-place finisher Flora Dora will race in blinkers for the first time in Saturday's Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama as she looks to take another shot at Songbird, said trainer Marialice Coffey Sunday morning.

The Florida-bred daughter of First Dude has posted a pair of bullet works in the equipment since finishing 9 ¼ lengths behind the undefeated champion on July 24. In her first work after the CCA Oaks, Flora Dora breezed a half-mile in 46.46 seconds on August 4, the fastest of 134, followed up seven days later with another half-mile move under jockey Manny Franco, this time in 47.05.

"She's been a bit more focused," said Coffey. "Instead of looking at the horses as she's passing them, she seems to be looking down the lane a little bit better. She went like a monster, but she isn't trying; she's just doing it very easily. We're excited about her coming into this race. She's maturing, she's happy. She cannot wait to go to the track every day but she is so relaxed about everything in between. She's kind of a fun filly."

Before the CCA Oaks, Flora Dora was intended to run in the Delaware Oaks on July 9 but was scratched when the track came up sloppy. Then, encouraged by a work over the Oklahoma turf on July 15, Coffey said she entered the 3-year-old filly in the Grade 2 Lake George before making the last-minute decision to take on Songbird and Carina Mia later that weekend.

"Anytime you can get Grade 1 placing on a filly, it's huge," she said. "But we really weren't ready for that race. I think we're going to be a little bit better horse this time - actually I don't think, I'm pretty sure we will."

Like virtually all fillies her age, Songbird included, Flora Dora will be stretching out to the 1 ¼-mile Alabama distance for the first time, another facet of the race Coffey believes should work to the benefit of her filly.

"We're in tough with Songbird, obviously, but we're looking forward to this race," said Coffey. "I think we'll be at our best at that distance. The more ground the better for us. These big turns here, she goes around them like they're nothing for her. She's got a big long stride and she loves training up here. This is home for her, she's like the Saratoga horse - and I hope she proves it." 

*         *         *

Catch a Glimpse breezed four furlongs in 48.40 seconds over the turf course at the Oklahoma training track on Friday, marking her last official workout before the Grade 2, $300,000 Lake Placid on August 21.

A 3-year-old chestnut filly trained by Mark Casse, Catch a Glimpse has won eight straight races and is 5-for-5 this year, including a victory in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational in her previous start on July 9.

"Everything looks good with her," assistant trainer Norm Casse said on Sunday about the 2015 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf champion. "She's doing well and we're excited to get her going again."

A pair of talented 2-year-olds for the Casse barn, Classic Empire and Pretty City Dancer, both breezed five furlongs on Friday on Saratoga Race Course's main track. Classic Empire, a Pioneerof the Nile bay colt, and Pretty City Dancer, a Tapit filly, are both scheduled to work another five-eighths of a mile before their next respective races, Casse said.

Classic Empire has won his first two races, including the Grade 3 Bashford Manor on July 2. He is expected to make his Grade 1 debut in the $350,000 Hopeful on September 5. Pretty City Dancer, who broke her maiden on May 27 at Churchill Downs before winning the Debutante there on July 2, is on target for the Grade 1, $350,000 Spinaway on September 3. 

*         *         *

New York Derby winner Hit It Once More, who races for former NFL head coach Bill Parcell's August Dawn Farm, is under consideration for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers August 27.

Over the weekend, Gary Sciacca, the trainer of the Hard Spun colt, said the Travers and two other Saratoga races, the Grade 1 King's Bishop on the Travers undercard and the $250,000 Albany for New York-breds the afternoon before, were also in play for Hit It Once More.

"We're going to watch him work next week and we're going to take it from there, and make the best decision for the horse," Sciacca said.

Sciacca, who has not started a horse in the Travers previously, said Hit It Once More will work five furlongs on the main track, either Tuesday or Wednesday.

A winner of three of nine career starts, Hit It Once More won the New York Derby at Finger Lakes July 23. Among the horses he defeated that afternoon were Jimmy Winkfield Stakes winner Awesome Gent and Grade 3 Pegasus Stakes runner-up Extinct Charm. Hit It Once More earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 101 for his 6 1/2-length win in the 1 1/16-mile race. 

*         *         *

With the Grade 1 Fourstardave Handicap rescheduled for next Saturday due to yesterday's severe weather, the pace complexion of the field could change considerably. The $500,000 race is back in the mix as a potential next start for multiple graded stakes winner Obviously, said trainer Phil D'Amato.

"I'm going to look at the weather forecast and see - it's a possibility," he said. "He's going to breeze today at Del Mar on the grass over here. There is a plane going over there, too, so it's going to kind of depend on the forecast, how he breezes and all the above there. And you have that other race too [Grade 2, $250,000 Bernard Baruch, September 5] at the end of the meet, that's a possibility also. We need to play it by ear. Or, I could not run him in either of those races and wait and try him in the Woodbine Mile, too - we did that last year. He's doing great, he's ready to go, we're just kind of looking for a firm turf course is all."

Obviously, the pacesetter in each of the last three Breeders' Cup Miles, notched his 12th career win last out with a front-running score in Belmont Park's Grade 3 Poker Stakes. The 8-year-old gelding ran the mile in 1:31.65 seconds, .02 seconds off the stake and Widener turf course record set by Elusive Quality in 1998.

An earner of more than $1.7 million, Obviously was assigned 119 pounds for the Fourstardave. Should he run, he would be top-weighted along with Force the Pass, Ring Weekend and Takeover Target, who were in the original field. 

*         *         *

Carina Mia emerged from her four-furlong breeze in 48.37 seconds on Friday in good order as she prepares for the Grade 1, $500,000 Ballerina on August 27.

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said Carina Mia, who won the Grade 1 Acorn on June 11 at Belmont Park, is doing well following a second-place finish to Songbird in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks on July 24.

"She had a very nice work; nice and smooth," Mott said. "She's moving well and came back good. It looks like she was feeling good."

Mott will be inducted into the Saratoga Walk of Fame on August 26, joining a prestigious group of individuals whose achievements have been significant to the sport of thoroughbred racing and to the advancement of Saratoga Race Course. 

Mott, a three-time Eclipse Award winner, has amassed more than 4,600 career wins and has trained two-time Horse of the Year Cigar as well as Eclipse champions Theatrical, Escena, Paradise Creek, Ajina, Royal Delta and 2010 Belmont Stakes winner Drosselmeyer.

"It's nice to be honored with the people that are in there and the people that will be in there in the future," Mott said. "I'm sure there was a lot of people who qualified for that spot, so I'm flattered they chose me this year." 

*         *         *

Entering the Saratoga meet, trainer John Kimmel had big plans for his multiple graded stakes placed trainee Bar of Gold. The 4-year-old daughter of Medaglia d'Oro wrapped up Belmont's spring/summer meet with a win in the Critical Eye on May 30 followed by a third-place finish on June 25 in the Grade 3 Bed o' Roses Handicap. 

Initially, Kimmel's plans were to use the Grade 2 Honorable Miss as a prep for Grade 1 Ballerina on August 27. However, following her seventh-place finish in the Honorable Miss, Kimmel is now pondering a change of course.

"After her disappointing performance in the Honorable Miss, it kind of left us with a lot of question marks," said Kimmel. "Obviously, I was disappointed with the way the horse ran, but I think a lot had to with the way the horse was ridden. She's usually been off the pace sprinter, but my rider decided to engage her off the break and put her into a fast pace and got stuck six-wide. He was pretty much out of horse by the time they turned for home."

Following that subpar performance, Kimmel worked Bar of Gold on the Oklahoma turf course last Friday, where she covered a half-mile in 50.04, 

"I have been fooling around with the idea of trying her on the grass," said Kimmel. "She worked very well. She's by Medaglia d'Oro and out of a Lemon Drop Kid mare that won a graded Stakes on the turf so this may be the time to test her out on the turf."

Kimmel said the $150,000 Yaddo Stakes on Friday, August 26 for New York-breds could be an option.

"As the Ballerina, which was my original plan, kind of seems maybe a little too big a piece to bite off that bad performance we're still up in the air," he said. 

*         *         *

According to trainer Jimmy Toner, graded stakes winner Recepta is doing well at the Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Saratoga Springs as she continues to recover from a career-ending injury.

The 5-year-old daughter of Speightstown, owned by John Phillips and Pam Gartin, suffered a fractured pelvis while galloping over the main track at Saratoga on August 5.

"Our plan is to keep her here for a couple of months until she's okay to move and then send her back home to Kentucky. So far, she has been a good patient, she is handling everything well," the veteran trainer said this morning. "They love her out there [the staff at the equine hospital]. They give her plenty of attention and plenty of peppermints so they are taking good care of her."

Recepta was narrowly beaten by the Chad Brown-trained Dacita while seeking her first Grade 1 victory in the Diana Stakes on July 23 at the Spa, a race which Toner has won three times.

"Needless to say, when things like this happen, you get all upset, especially one as sweet as she is." Toner added. "I've been over there a few times. They had to move her because she chewed a hole in one of the stalls. She's in a concrete stall now so she's a little upset that she can't chew in there, but she's doing fine." Toner said.

Recepta holds a 5-3-4 career record from seventeen starts with just under $700,000 in earnings. 

*         *         *

Chad Brown, runner-up to Todd Pletcher in the Saratoga trainer standings each year since 2010, was ahead of the perennial Allen Jerkens training title champion, 21-16, at the halfway point of the 40-day meet.

Both Brown and Pletcher trailed the streaking Kiaran McLaughlin through the first seven days of the meet. Pletcher took his only lead thus far, 11-10, on Day 12, Thursday, August 4, but Brown came back with three winners on August 5 and four winners on August 6, to go ahead 17-12.

At the midway point in 2011, Pletcher had 21 winners (and a seven-win lead over Brown) en route to his record 38 wins for the meet. 

After Day 20, defending riding title holder Irad Ortiz, Jr. had 29 victories, good for a five-win advantage over both his younger brother, Jose, and Hall of Famer John Velazquez, who had 20 wins apiece.

Among owners, David Jacobson, Michael Dubb and Klaravich Stables had six wins each, one ahead of Godolphin Racing.