Royal Copy / NYRA Photo

Saratoga Race Course Notes - 9/2/16

by NYRA Press Office

Lukas aiming for seventh G1 Hopeful victory with Royal Copy
Catholic Cowboy rides into G1 Woodward as 20-1 long shot
Ritvo unveiling 2-year-olds on closing weekend
Lost Raven could make switch to turf; Theory to be evaluated Tuesday

Three years ago, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas celebrated his 78th birthday when Strong Mandate upset the Grade 1 Hopeful for long time owners Robert Baker and William Mack at odds of 7-1.

It was the most recent of six career Hopeful victories for Lukas, who also won with Dublin (2009), Yonaguska (2000), High Yield (1999), Hennessy (1995) and Salt Lake (1991). Three of his previous winners went off as the favorite including Dublin, also owned by Baker and Mack. 

"The Hopeful has been very good to us," Lukas said Friday morning, his 81^stbirthday. "We've been lucky enough to win it quite a few times."

On Monday, the same connections will look to continue their success with Royal Copy in the 112th running of the $350,000 Hopeful which drew a field of seven 2-year-olds, four of them undefeated and three of whom have won stakes, including two graded stakes winners. 

Royal Copy, a bay Bodemeister colt, steps into stakes company for the first time in the seven-furlong Hopeful, having broken his maiden at the distance in his third and most recent start August 13, his second trip over Saratoga's main track. 

In his previous effort, he was second by 1 ½ lengths going 5 ½ furlongs July 23. In both races, he defeated fellow Hopeful contender Pretty Boy Flash.

"I think he merits a chance," said Lukas. "I like the way he's training. He's doing everything right. He was gutsy when he ran second in his first race up here and then he came back and ran even better the next one. I'm hoping for a better one; we need to get a better one. He's a very professional horse, and that might help us. I don't think the distance will bother him. The second dam produced Stay Thirsty so he has a pretty good pedigree. Not bad at all."

Royal Copy has raced at or near the lead in each of his past two starts. He was out of contention early in his career debut June 11 at Churchill Downs before rallying to finish fourth behind Tip Tap Tapizar, who went on to finish third in the Grade 3 Bashford Manor and second in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special. 

"He rates very kindly and you can do just about anything with him," said Lukas. "His first race he dropped way out of it, but that was just greenness. He's since learned to rate and he's a pretty good little gate horse. He'll relax. In that winning race he was hooked every step of the way and he didn't grab the bit and get rank or anything. He handled it very well." 

Royal Copy will carry jockey Luis Saez and 118 pounds from post 5. He is flanked by Grade 3 Sanford winner Bitumen in post 4 and Bashford Manor winner Classic Empire in post 6. 

"I think that they've got to move forward, every one of them in the race has got to show a little seasoning," Lukas said. "I think that [2-year-olds are] all a little unpredictable, some more than others, but when you get a smooth trip and you've got a little ability ... all of them have got some ability, obviously."

One race prior to the Hopeful, Lukas will send out Calumet Farm's Natchez in the Grade 2, $250,000 Bernard Baruch Handicap. The 4-year-old Quality Road colt will be making his first turf start for Lukas in the 1 1/16-mile stakes and second overall, having run seventh in a Keeneland allowance last fall for previous trainer Jose Fernandez.

In his most recent start, Natchez finished last of seven in the August 7 Alydar at Saratoga, run at 1 1/8 miles on dirt. He drew post 3 of 10 and will have Saez aboard in the Baruch.

"I'm trying him on the grass," Lukas said. "He's kind of an in-and-out horse. On his best day he runs big numbers. He did once at Oaklawn on the dirt and surprised us. If he brings his 'A' game and he likes the grass, I think he can get a piece of it.

"I'm not sure. I haven't ever run him on the grass. I don't see why he won't handle it. We think it's a good experiment. We've got a couple of spots picked out for him at Keeneland and down at Churchill and if he doesn't like it we'll go back to the dirt. It's not an overpowering race where we'll probably embarrass ourselves or anything. I think we're OK." 

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Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito is hoping Saratoga lives up to its reputation as the 'Graveyard of Champions' when he sends out Mossarosa's multiple stakes winner Catholic Cowboy in Saturday's Grade 1, $600,000 Woodward. 

Catholic Cowboy is listed at 20-1 on the morning line for the 1 1/8-mile Woodward, in which Frosted, impressive winner of the Grade 1 Whitney and Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap, is the 1-2 program favorite over eight others. 

"Forget Frosted," Zito said. "You have to leave him alone, I guess. You have to put him in a different category, although it is Saratoga. The deal is, you still have to run around the track. You never know what can happen." 

A 6-year-old gelded bay son of Irish-bred Heatseeker, Catholic Cowboy has two wins from six starts this year after going 0-for-8 in 2015. Still, he has finished third or better in six of his last 10 races, winning the Old Hickory Stakes at Gulfstream and an optional claiming allowance at Keeneland in succession in late winter/early spring. 

He was fourth, beaten 3 ½ lengths, by Turco Bravo in the Flat Out May 15 and ninth after prompting the pace in the Grade 2 Brooklyn June 11, both following wide trips at Belmont Park. 

"The other horses in there, at one time during the summer he looked like he was stacking up pretty good. I ran him in the Flat Out; I thought he had an excuse there. I ran him in the Brooklyn and I thought he had a little excuse there," Zito said.

"The horse has been doing so well and I said, 'Why don't we just run him?' Let me just run him because he likes Saratoga, he did win up here, and there's a good possibility he may get a good piece of it. And it's racing, too. The history of Saratoga is so good about that over the years, so that's why we're doing it."

Catholic Cowboy won a Saratoga allowance in August 2014 and was most recently fourth in an off-the-turf optional claiming allowance at the Spa July 31. He has posted two sharp half-mile works since then over the Oklahoma training track.

"I had to run him as a main track only and he got in that day and broke through the gate, so I never really got to run him," Zito said. "He's trained the best he's ever trained. He's never been better; that's why I want to do this. Hopefully everything goes good." 

Luis Saez, aboard for the past six races including both recent wins, gets the return call from post 5 at 118 pounds. Catholic Cowboy gets two pounds from Canadian classic winners Shaman Ghost and Breaking Lucky, four from Grade 1 winner Bradester and six from Frosted. 

Catholic Cowboy won the Claiming Crown Jewel in 2014 and was third in the Sunshine Millions Classic in 2015 and 2016, all at Gulfstream Park. He has been off the board in two previous graded stakes tries, including the Grade 1 Donn Handicap in 2015.

"He drew well and he gets in light, and he's got Luis. He absolutely he does well with Luis all the time, so we'll see. We'll see if everything works out," Zito said. "Someone I really respect told me once, 'If you don't take the shot, you can't score.' It's the truth." 

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Closing weekend marks the start of racing careers for a pair of Kathy Ritvo-trained 2-year-olds, Take a Stroll and Classic Rock. They are the first starters of the meet for Ritvo, who ran third in the 2013 Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga with Mucho Macho Man, two starts before he made her the first female trainer to win the Breeders' Cup Classic. 

Both horses are owned by Dean and Patti Reeves of Reeves Thoroughbred Racing. A juvenile daughter of Grade 1 grass winner Stroll, Take a Stroll is entered in today's sixth race for maiden 2-year-old fillies going 5 ½ furlongs on the Mellon turf.

Classic Rock debuts in Sunday's fourth race, a six-furlong sprint on the main track for maiden 2-year-olds. Both horses began training at Ritvo's Gulfstream Park base before leaving South Florida for Saratoga in August.

"They were both ready to run a while ago and they came up with a couple little things. We stopped and gave them 30 days because Dean and Patti always do what's right for the horses, and then we started over again," Ritvo said Friday morning. "When they came up here they responded really well to the racetrack, the weather."

Take a Stroll shows three sharp works over the Saratoga turf since her arrival, most recently going five furlongs in 1:02.80 August 19. She breaks from post 3 of 10 with jockey Luis Saez at morning-line odds of 12-1.

"She's good. She's really smart. She's trained really forward," Ritvo said. "She does everything right. She seems to be talented, so maybe we can get lucky. I'm excited." 

Classic Rock's sire, Maclean's Music, won his lone career start in 2011 for Stonestreet Stable and Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. His dam, A Bit of Pressure, is by 1999 Grade 1 Hopeful winner High Yield.

Classic Rock has worked four times over Saratoga's main track, going five furlongs from the gate in 1:00.23 August 19, sixth-best of 57, and three furlongs in 36.56 seconds August 20, ranking third of 20 horses. 

"He's just doing really well. He's worked great up here and we're excited to run him," Ritvo said. "The weather's been really good for him and he seems like he's getting better every day. He's a really nice horse. I think he'll run really, really well. He's a pretty honest horse.

"He's good. He's smart. He has great size, and his coat looks good," she added. "He's doing really well. He hasn't taken any steps backward."

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Trainer Todd Pletcher said graded stakes winner Lost Raven may skip Sunday's Grade 2, $300,000 Prioress in favor of the$100,000 Christiecat on September 9 at Belmont Park, which is contested at six furlongs on the turf.

Lost Raven, listed at 12-1 for the six-furlong Prioress on the main track, was set to make her turf debut in the 5 ½-furlong Coronation Cup on August 1, which ended up being moved to the main track. She won by a nose to add to her earlier win in the Grade 3 Miss Preakness in May at Pimlico Race Course.

"We kicked around the idea of possibly running her on the turf," Pletcher said of the Repole Stable 3-year-old. "It's an absolute guess. Some of the Uncle Mo's have run well on the grass. We were going to take a shot and run her on the turf in the [Coronation Cup]. So we're considering it."

Stradivari continues to recover well following surgery for a lateral condylar fracture of his right front leg last month, Pletcher said. The 3-year-old, who suffered the career-ending injury on July 22, had been recovering at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital near the track. 

"I saw him a couple of days ago and he looked good," Pletcher said. "He was out grazing. Knock on wood, he's still on the road to recovery."

Stradivari finished fourth in the Grade 1 Preakness and fifth in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes before suffering the injury during training. 

Pletcher said he will not have an update on Theory until Tuesday, when he will be evaluated at Rood and Riddle Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. A 5 ½-length winner in his debut on July 30, Theory was originally targeting the Grade 1 Hopeful before being taken out of training and sent home to WinStar Farm.

Theory, a 2-year-old bay colt, breezed five furlongs in 1:01.93 on August 20, but Pletcher said he thought something was slightly off in the work and shipped him to WinStar as a precaution.