Smoken Wicked fired up for G1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial
Valene Farms’ Smoken Wicked will look to secure his first Grade 1 score in Saturday’s $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomores, at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Dallas Stewart, the Louisiana-bred son of Bobby’s Wicked One enters from a grade-making performance in the local Grade 2 Amsterdam presented by Albany Med Health System where he drew off to a 5 3/4-length victory in the 6 1/2-furlong sprint and earned a career-best 101 Beyer Speed Figure.
There, he pressed Macho Music through a half-mile in 44.76 and took over at the top of the lane, kicking on powerfully when straightened for home to draw clear to an emphatic victory over Gunmetal in a final time of 1:15.64.
“It was just what we were looking for. He got into a good position, fought hard on the turn and finished it off. It was a very nice effort,” Stewart said. “He can battle it out the first part of it. He's not shy.”
Smoken Wicked [post 6, Brian Hernandez, Jr.], a veteran of 13 starts with a 5-3-1 record and $551,392 in purse earnings, made a pair of juvenile outings here when third in the 6 1/2-furlong Grade 2 Saratoga Special and fourth to returning rival Chancer McPatrick in the seven-furlong Grade 1 Hopeful. He broke through in stakes company when besting fellow state-breds in December with scores at Fair Grounds in the Louisiana Juvenile and Louisiana Futurity to close out a busy four-win campaign.
Smoken Wicked faltered when stretched out to two turns in the Grade 2 Rebel in February at Oaklawn Park, but has shown trademark tenacity since returning to sprint distances, including runner-up efforts in the Listed Lafayette in April at Keeneland and the Listed Maxfield in June at Churchill Downs when 2 3/4-lengths back of undefeated returning rival Verifire.
Smoken Wicked continued to train in Saratoga after the Amsterdam, including a sharp half-mile work in 47.01 seconds August 15 over the Spa main track.
“I thought it went perfect,” Stewart said of the breeze. “We were slowing him down inside the sixteenth pole. He was full of run and came back fresh. He likes it up there - he really likes that track.
“It's a tough assignment,” Stewart added. “There's better horses in the race, so he's going to have to step his game up a little bit more.”
Bred in Louisiana by Tom Curtis and Wayne Simpson, Smoken Wicked, out of the winning Street Boss mare Street Smoke, was a $38,000 purchase at the 2023 Breeders Sales of Louisiana Yearlings and Mixed Sale.
Dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox has a pair of formidable entrants in Grade 1-winner Patch Adams [post 1, Luis Saez] and the aforementioned Verifire [post 5, Flavien Prat].
The duo have trained into this event at Churchill Downs, including a gate breeze in company August 9 that saw both contenders cover five-eighths in 1:00.80. The talented pair followed up August 16 with Patch Adams posting a bullet five-eighths in 59.80 and Verifire covering the same distance in 1:01.
“Both are doing great - they breezed from the gate last week and are set up for big runs,” Cox said. “It's going to be a good, deep race from top to bottom, and I think they both fit very well.”
CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm’s Patch Adams, by Into Mischief, has benefited from a a return to sprinting after a pair of fourth-place finishes this year on the Kentucky Derby trail. Since shortening up, he is 2-for-2 with an optional-claiming win in May over sloppy and sealed footing at Churchill Downs and a 2 1/4-length score in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun on June 7 here during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.
Patch Adams stalked the pace over a muddy track in the seven-furlong Woody Stephens, taking command at the eighth-pole en route to victory over returning rival Madaket Road. The third-place finisher of that event, Big Truzz, recently won the Listed Ellis Park Derby.
“He's a one-turn horse. He showed Belmont Week that he's a Grade 1-horse,” Cox said. “We always thought he was a Grade 1 talent and he's training like he's ready to put in a big effort. We're excited about him.”
Bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm, Patch Adams is out of the stakes-winning Distorted Humor mare Well Humored – a half-sister to Grade 1-winner American Patriot and Parchment Party, who captured the Grade 3 Belmont Gold Cup and Listed Birdstone here at Saratoga this year.
Resolute Racing’s Verifire, by Authentic, steps into graded company for the first time following a 2 3/4-length score in the seven-furlong Listed Maxfield on June 29 at Churchill Downs.
There, he tracked from third position as the reopposing Captain Cook showed the way through a half-mile in 44.56. Verifire made a three-wide move into the lane and dueled with Smoken Wicked before shaking clear inside the final furlong to score in a final time of 1:20.77. The winning effort earned a career-best 95 Beyer.
The exciting chestnut won his first two outings comfortably in six-furlong sprints, graduating by 6 1/4-lengths in March at Colonial Downs ahead of a 6 1/2-length optional-claiming romp over next-out allowance winner Saxton in May at Pimlico.
“It took us a little while to get him to the races, but once he got there, he's been super solid,” Cox said. “He's 3-for-3 with big figures in all three starts and he stacks up. He looks like a Grade 1 horse on paper and now we need to see it in the afternoon.”
Verifire was purchased for $1 million from the OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training where he breezed in 9.4 seconds. Verifire is out of the stakes-placed Smart Strike mare Ruby Trust and his second dam is the graded stakes-winning Tale of the Cat mare Queen Ofthe Catsle.
Flanagan Racing’s Chancer McPatrick [post 4, Irad Ortiz, Jr.] won the seven-furlong Grade 1 Hopeful over course and distance at second asking in September ahead of a 2 3/4-length score in the one-turn mile Grade 1 Champagne in October at Belmont at the Big A.
Both of those wins came in deep-closing fashion for five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown, who looks for a fourth win in this event after past success with Practical Joke [2017], Jack Christopher [2022] and Domestic Product [2024].
The McKinzie bay failed to fire his best shot when sixth in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in November at Del Mar and wasn’t as effective in a pair of two-turn starts to kick off his sophomore season when second in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby in March and sixth in the Grade 1 Blue Grass in April at Keeneland.
Chancer McPatrick landed fifth in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun but returned to form last out with an authoritative win in the nine-furlong restricted Listed Curlin presented by Casamigos on July 24 here.
Despite the strong effort around two turns and being nominated to the Grade 1 DraftKings Travers, Brown believes Chancer McPatrick will thrive at seven furlongs.
“We're committed to going short with him. I don't think the horse can go a mile and a quarter effectively. He's got a better chance to win going seven,” Brown said. “He’s won sprinting as a 2-year-old, so we’ll see if he still has that sort of race in him to run a short, one-turn race at seven [furlongs].”
Bred in Kentucky by Rigney Racing, Chancer McPatrick, a $725,000 purchase at the 2024 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, is out of the winning Bernardini mare Bernadreamy. His second dam is Grade 1-winner Dream Empress.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will be represented by a trio of top contenders in Barnes [post 3, Jose Ortiz], Madaket Road [post 8, John Velazquez] and Midland Money [post 2, Joel Rosario] in search of a third H. Allen Jerkens score following past success with Forestry [1999] and Drefong [2016].
“I think this is their distance, and this is a big Grade 1. They’re all doing well. It’s an important race on an important day, so we’re looking forward to it,” Baffert said. “They have to bring their ‘A’ game and it’s going to be a tough race with good horses in there, but they’re doing very well.”
Zedan Racing Stables’ Barnes captured the seven-furlong Grade 2 San Vicente at second asking in January at Santa Anita Park, registering a 93 Beyer.
The Into Mischief bay went to post as the odds-on favorite in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 San Felipe there and finished a pacesetting 1 3/4-length second to the heralded Journalism – a solid effort that earned Barnes a field-best 105 Beyer.
The $3.2 million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred Yearling Sale purchase finished a distant last-of-5 last out in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 5. He has worked steadily at Del Mar for his return, including a half-mile in 48 flat August 15.
“He took a step back and sort of lost form, so we freshened him up. He’s been working really well and I’m happy with him. He’s training well and he looks great,” Baffert said.
Barnes, who is named after Baffert’s long-time assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes, is out of the American Pharoah mare All American Dream. His third dam is dual Grade 1-winning millionaire Dream Supreme, who captured the 2000 editions of the Test and Ballerina at the Spa.
Madaket Road, by Quality Road, has hit the board in four graded events and enters from a troubled second in the Woody Stephens after stumbling at the start. He returned to wearing blinkers in the Woody Stephens after a pair of starts without the equipment when fourth in the nine-furlong Grade 1 Florida Derby in March at Gulfstream Park and second in the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile traveling one-mile over a sloppy and sealed Churchill track on May 3.
“He always shows up and he’s a nice horse. He’s right there every time,” Baffert said. “We had taken [the blinkers] off for the Florida Derby because we wanted him to relax going longer, but he needs blinkers. They help him in shorter races.”
Campaigned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert Masterson, Tom Ryan, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan, Madaket Road has also trained into this event at Del Mar where he posted back-to-back bullet six-furlong efforts in 1:11.40 on August 4 and August 11, respectively.
Madaket Road, out of the graded stakes-winning Smoke Glacken mare Frolic’s Dream, is a half-brother to multiple stakes-winner Bode’s Dream.
Edward A. Childs’ Midland Money made a triumphant return to the races on August 3 here with a 3 1/4-length frontrunning score in a six-furlong allowance sprint versus elders. Racing from a more than one-year layoff from his six-length debut score last June at Santa Anita, the Shancelot dark bay zipped through splits of 22.08 seconds and 44.91 over the fast main track en route to a facile win over multiple stakes-placed Aggelos the Great in a final time of 1:09.83 that earned a 100 Beyer.
“I sent him out there to win a race. He ran really well,” Baffert said. “He had a lot of potential, but then he had a setback. He’s been doing well, and he was really ready to run – ready to go a mile, basically. He shipped, handled it well, has grown a lot and really filled out. The way he ran, if he can repeat that race, that puts him right in the hunt.”
Baffert indicated he’s always had high hopes for the promising colt.
“We think that about all of them,” said Baffert, with a laugh. “He’s a beautiful horse and he’s grown.”
The $650,000 OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training purchase hails from a strong family as his graded stakes-winning fourth dam, Get Lucky, produced Grade 1-winner Girolamo, multiple graded stakes-winner Daydreaming and graded stakes-winner Accelerator.
Rounding out a talented field is graded stakes-placed Captain Cook [post 7, Ricardo Santana, Jr., blinkers OFF], who makes his first start for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.
The Practical Joke colt, previously conditioned by Rick Dutrow, Jr., won the nine-furlong Listed Withers in February at Aqueduct Racetrack and posted strong follow-up efforts there at the same distance when fourth in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino in April and Grade 3 Peter Pan in May. He enters from a 3 3/4-length third to Verifire in the Maxfield.
He breezed a half-mile in 48.25 August 16 over the Spa main track in his final prep for the Jerkens.
“The horse has been training very well. He seems very genuine and straightforward and there’s been no complaints with him,” Pletcher said.
The H. Allen Jerkens is slated as Race 10 on Saturday’s 14-race card, which is headlined by the Grade 1, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers in Race 13. The stacked program offers three other top-level $500,000 events with the nine-furlong Personal Ensign in Race 9, the Forego in Race 12, and the Resorts World Casino Ballerina in Race 11. The program is supported by the Grade 2 Lake Placid in Race 7. First post is 11:10 a.m. Eastern with gates opening to the public at 9 a.m.
A special DraftKings Travers Day edition of Saratoga Live will air on FS2 beginning at noon. FOX Saratoga Saturday will present live coverage and analysis of the DraftKings Travers Day stakes action beginning at 3 p.m. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule/.
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