Walter Wlodarczyk Photo

Trio of NYRA Bets Haskell hopefuls work for Pletcher at Saratoga

by NYRA Communications

• Trio of NYRA Bets Haskell hopefuls work for Pletcher at Saratoga

• Thorpedo Anna breezes for G1 CCA Oaks

• Dornoch breezes in company for G1 NYRA Bets Haskell

• Twirling Queen keeps her perfect record on the lawn intact

• Timeout prepares for Curlin, Arthur’s Ride for G1 Whitney

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher sent out a trio of horses under consideration for the Grade 1 NYRA Bets Haskell to work Saturday over Saratoga Race Course’s main track as Fierceness, Tuscan Sky and Mindframe each breezed in company towards the nine-furlong test on July 20 at Monmouth Park.

Reigning Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Fierceness completed his exercise in company with multiple graded stakes-winner Emmanuel shortly after the 6:30 a.m. renovation break, keeping on even terms with his workmate through the lane before edging clear at the wire to cover five furlongs in 1:00.47, according to NYRA clockers.

Spendthrift Farm’s last-out Pegasus-winner Tuscan Sky followed shortly after on the inside of maiden Artempus to breeze through a half-mile in 49.85 seconds under Hall of Famer Javier Castellano.

Later in the morning, last-out Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets runner-up Mindframe made his way to the track after the 8:30 a.m. renovation break to work a half-mile in 49.49 on the outside of graded stakes-winner Surprisingly.

Pletcher said he was pleased with the efforts from each of his trainees.

“I was happy with all three. I was kind of looking for different things with at least one of them, and I thought Fierceness was really impressive like he can be when he’s in good form,” Pletcher said of the dual Grade 1-winner. “Not so much the time in which he did it, but how effortlessly he was going around there. He looked fantastic.

“I was looking for more maintenance type works for [Mindframe and Tuscan Sky],” Pletcher continued. “They’ve run more recently. Tuscan Sky is historically not a real ambitious work horse, and I thought he did everything well in-hand. Javier was on cruise control throughout. Mindframe looked like he was just galloping. He couldn’t have done it any easier.”

Repole Stable’s Fierceness has not raced since finishing off-the-board in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 4, while Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables’ Mindframe enters the Haskell off a strong performance in the June 8 Belmont Stakes that saw him run a touch greenly in the stretch to finish a half-length back of the victorious Dornoch in just his third lifetime start.

Pletcher said he is satisfied with the way Mindframe has come along since the Belmont.

“We’ve got three works into him, and he’s been inside and outside,” Pletcher said. “It wasn’t his fault [in the Belmont], it was just part of being lightly-raced, so with that experience and some works afterwards, he continues his development.”

Pletcher added he worked each of his trainees this morning with his eye on the Haskell, with a final decision on each horse’s status to be made by Monday after consulting with their owners.

Yesterday at Saratoga, Pletcher sent out multiple graded stakes-winner Bright Future to work a half-mile in 50.03 seconds over the main track in his second move since winning the Grade 3 Salvator Mile with a heady ride by Castellano on June 15 at Monmouth. He is currently aiming for the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney on August 3 here, a “Win and You’re In” for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic in November at Del Mar.

“He worked well,” said Pletcher. “He seems to be in good form since the Salvator Mile and he’s still on target for the Whitney.”

Owned by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables, the son of Curlin won last year’s Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at the Spa ahead of an off-the-board effort in the Breeders’ Cup Classic to close out his 4-year-old campaign in November at Santa Anita Park. He returned to the winner’s circle in his 5-year-old debut in the Salvator Mile, but needed a strong ride to get the job done after toiling a bit in the turn and making a sustained run in the stretch.

Pletcher said he was not concerned with the amount of encouragement Bright Future needed to win last out.

“As long as we know he needs to be ridden that way, then we’re OK,” said Pletcher.

While Pletcher got off to a good start in Saratoga stakes action after a win with Miss Justify in yesterday’s $135,000 Wilton, his hopes for a record-extending ninth win in Saturday’s Grade 3 Sanford were dashed when morning-line favorite Mentee scratched from the six-furlong juvenile sprint due to a fever this morning.

Pletcher said while it is disappointing to miss the Sanford, he and his team will regroup and point Mentee to other stakes engagements at the meet.

“It wasn’t the way we wanted to start our morning, but welcome to Saratoga and training babies,” Pletcher said of the unfortunate timing. “[His temperature] was 102.2, and he left a little grain, which is uncharacteristic for him. It’s frustrating because he was training well and doing well and you hate to miss an opportunity like this, but it could be worse and hopefully it’s something he gets over quickly.”

Pletcher added Mentee, a full-brother to Fierceness who graduated impressively on debut in June at Belmont at the Big A, may now point to the Grade 2, $200,000 Saratoga Special on August 10.

***

Thorpedo Anna breezes for G1 CCA Oaks

Nader Alaali, Mark Edwards, Judy Hicks and Magdalena Racing’s multiple graded stakes-winner Thorpedo Anna worked Saturday over Saratoga Race Course’s Oklahoma dirt training track in company with graded stakes-placed Gould’s Gold.

The pair were clocked in 1:01.55 seconds for five furlongs in the filly’s fourth work since winning the Grade 1 DK Horse Acorn on June 7 here.

“Nice maintenance work, she didn’t need anything complicated,” said trainer Kenny McPeek. “We worked her against a nice horse in Gould’s Gold and he needed a maintenance breeze, too. It was a nice, solid work. Maybe they went off a little slow early, but they got everything they needed.”

Thorpedo Anna is the current leader of the sophomore filly division, boasting dominant Grade 1 wins this year in the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs and the Acorn last out, the latter of which she won by 5 1/2 lengths in impressive fashion under regular pilot Brian Hernandez, Jr. She is on target for the Grade 1, $500,000 Coaching Club American Oaks next Saturday at the Spa, which will see its entries taken tomorrow.

“She’s done great here,” McPeek said. “The weather has been cooperative and we’re just excited for the summer.”

Gould’s Gold, a last-out second to the well-regarded Batten Down in the Grade 3 Ohio Derby on June 22 at Thistledown, had his second work since the effort as he eyes the Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun on July 27 here. He also finished a close second to Corporate Power in the 1 1/16-mile Sir Barton in May at Pimlico Race Course.

“He seems to be a horse that’s on the improve,” said McPeek. “He’s very workmanlike and knows his job. He just seems to be getting a little better and better. We’ve always felt like he was a very nice horse and he was just a little behind the curve getting ready as a 2-year-old. This year, he’s sprung forward.”

Owned by 4 G Racing, Lance Gasway and Magdalena Racing, the son of Goldencents was a $100,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale.

***

Dornoch breezes in company for G1 NYRA Bets Haskell

Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets-winner Dornoch, with Luis Saez up, worked in company to the outside of Grade 3 Matt Winn-victor Society Man through a half-mile in 47.88 seconds Saturday over the Saratoga Race Course main track.

NYRA clockers had the duo galloping out five-eighths in 1:00.80 as Dornoch readies for next Saturday’s Grade 1 NYRA Bets Haskell at Monmouth Park.

“Both of them are doing good. I was very pleased with both of their works. They did it easy,” trainer Danny Gargan said.

Owned by West Paces Racing, R. A. Hill Stable, Belmar Racing and Breeding, Two Eight Racing and Pine Racing Stables, Dornoch attended the early pace set by Grade 1 Preakness Stakes-winner Seize the Grey in the 10-furlong Belmont Stakes on June 8 here before taking command at the mile call. Mindframe made a wide move into the stretch run to put a head in front just inside the three-sixteenths, but a game and determined Dornoch battled back under jockey Luis Saez to secure a half-length score over a green, but re-rallying Mindframe.

The Belmont Stakes effort garnered a career-best 101 Beyer Speed Figure and added to Grade 2 wins in the Remsen in December at Aqueduct Racetrack and the Fountain of Youth in March at Gulfstream Park.

Dornoch’s current campaign includes a fourth in the Grade 1 Blue Grass in April at Keeneland where he attempted to rate and a 10th-place finish in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby where he was shuffled back and checked hard after exiting the inside post.

Gargan said Dornoch is training well as he looks to take on a Haskell field expected to include the Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher-trained trio of Mindframe, Fierceness and Tuscan Sky along with Timberlake and Sea Streak.

“He's only run four times this year. He's a lightly-raced horse,” Gargan said. “The Haskell is perfect timing - it gives us six weeks from the Belmont and five weeks to the Travers.”

A good result in the Haskell could set up a heavyweight bout in the Grade 1, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers on August 24 here with Champion 3-Year-Old honors on the line.

Dornoch, a full-brother to last year’s Grade 1 Kentucky Derby-winner Mage, has banked in excess of $1.7 million through an 8-4-2-0 record. By Good Magic, he is out of the Big Brown mare Puca and was purchased for $325,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, West Paces Racing, GMP Stables, Carl Pascarella and Yurie Pascarella’s Society Man announced himself with a runner-up effort to Resilience in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino in April at the Big A when coming within 2 1/4-lengths of a 106-1 upset.

The Good Magic gelding followed with a 16th-place finish in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby before posting a rallying 2 1/2-length score over Who Dey in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Matt Winn on June 9 at Churchill Downs with Corey Lanerie aboard.

Gargan said Society Man was initially under consideration for the Belmont Stakes, but elected to keep his two top 3-year-olds apart.

“The Matt Winn was coming up the next day, so we separated them and it played out in our favor. He won pretty easily. He had a good trip and an unbelievable ride,” Gargan said.

Society Man will target either the nine-furlong Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun on July 27 here or the nine-furlong Grade 3, $500,000 West Virginia Derby on August 4 at Mountaineer.

Gargan won the 2019 Jim Dandy with Tax and said the race is an important one on the racing calendar with recent winners including 2022 Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Forte [2023]; Epicenter [2022], who went on to win the Grade 1 Travers en route to Champion 3-Year-Old Colt honors; and Essential Quality [2021], who also captured the Travers on his way to being named Champion 3-Year-Old Colt.

“The Jim Dandy is one of my favorite races and I always lean towards running at Saratoga,” Gargan said. “If the Jim Dandy was a Grade 1, there wouldn't be a question that Dornoch would run in it. But we're trying to be 3-Year-Old Champion and it's hard to get there without winning Grade 1s.

“I think the Jim Dandy should be a Grade 1, personally,” Gargan added. “Great horses run in it every year. Even if I don't run in it - if Sierra Leone or Fierceness run in it, those are two of the best horses in the country and it should be a Grade 1 if they run in it. I can't figure out how it's not a Grade 1, but I'm a little bit biased because I think some of these races are tougher in New York than in other places and somehow New York gets a bad deal on the graded races.”

Arnmore Thoroughbreds, Carl Pascarella and Yurie Pascarella’s impressive maiden-winner Complexion endured a troubled outing in Thursday’s Listed Schuylerville, rearing up twice in the gate and unseating Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez before re-loading and running seventh.

“She's fine. I kind of wish I'd scratched her so I could wait and run her up here in the next stake,” Gargan said. “We'll just move on and forget about it and try to make the best out of a bad situation.”

Complexion, by Complexity and out of the Half Ours mare Rushing No Blushin, is a half-sister to multiple Grade 1-winner Jack Christopher.

Gargan indicated he has not picked out a next spot for Complexion, but ruled out the Grade 3, $200,000 Adirondack, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint on August 4.

The Estate of Peter Callahan and James Reiley McDonald’s stakes-winner Ringy Dingy finished a pacesetting fifth last out on July 8 in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Delaware Oaks with regular pilot Katie Davis aboard.

“She was on the lead, and they weren't going crazy fast. The distance might have played more of a factor - Katie didn't do anything wrong,” Gargan said. “We were trying to get graded stakes-placed because she has a really big pedigree.

“So, we'll shorten her up and re-evaluate things and go from there,” added Gargan. “I think when we shorten her up, we'll see a really big race out of her. She'll run back here in a 2X going a mile or seven-eighths.”

The Dialed In chestnut, out of the multiple stakes-placed Touch Gold mare Wind Caper, is a full-sister to dual Grade 1-winner Defunded. She was a $200,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale purchase.

***

Twirling Queen keeps her perfect record on the lawn intact

Jose D’Angelo has started the Saratoga Race Course summer meet with a bang going 1-for-2 with his win coming from GU Racing Stable’s Twirling Queen in Friday’s Listed $150,000 Coronation Cup, a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf sprint for sophomore fillies.

D’Angelo has seen nothing but success with the filly since she came into his barn earlier this year, now bringing her record to a perfect 4-for-4 under his care including three stakes wins. The daughter of Twirling Candy out of the stakes winning Kantharos mare Adventurous Lady now boasts a perfect record over the lawn after yesterday’s win.

Twirling Queen, with Luis Saez up, posted a three-quarter length victory over rival Kairyu. She earned a new lifetime best Beyer Speed Figure of 90, three points better than her last best which she earned in her win in the Listed Mamzelle on May 11 at Churchill Downs.

D’Angelo said the filly came back in good order.

“She ran a huge race,” D’Angelo said. “I really liked her for the race yesterday. We trained her after the Mamzelle for this race and all her works were pretty good. Luis knows her very well he has won on her three times now. She’s ready for the next one.”

D’Angelo is mapping out a path to the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint going five furlongs in November at Del Mar after yesterday’s win.

Twirling Queen now sets her sights on the $150,000 Galway on August 10 here for sophomore fillies over the same distance as the Coronation Cup and is hoping to follow that up with a trip to Kentucky Downs for the $2-million Grade 2 Music City going 6 1/2-furlongs.

Twirling Queen is not the biggest horse on the backside, but she makes up for it in ability.

“She is small, so her blinkers are not the regular size,” D’Angelo said. “We had to buy custom made ones for her from a guy down in Florida. Normal sized blinkers would move on her head and cover her eyes completely.”

Twirling Queen is not the only horse D’Angelo brought up from his base down in South Florida. He also has Howard Wolowitz, a 3-year-old son of Munnings out of the winning Uncle Mo mare Forget Me Not for owner Gold Square.

The lightly raced colt comes into Saratoga off a dominant maiden win in his second start on June 22 at Gulfstream Park going five-furlongs over the Tapeta. The colt worked back a half-mile on July 8 over the Oklahoma training turf in 50.66. Howard Wolowitz looks to extend his win streak to two in the $150,000 Mahony on August 11, a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for sophomores here at the Spa.

“Howard Wolowitz is going to run in the Mahony next month,” D’Angelo said. “I really like him. I think he is one of the best horses of the barn.”

Gabaldon, the Florida-bred 2-year-old son of Gone Astray out of the Value Plus mare Valuable Miss, is back from a trip to Royal Ascot where he finished second in the Windsor Castle, a 5-furlong turf event for 2-year-olds.

Prior to his trip to England, Gabaldon won the Royal Palm Juvenile, a five-furlong turf event for juveniles, in his debut. He is currently entered in the inaugural Inglis US Digital Sale.

A bittersweet D’Angelo said, “Gabaldon is here too, but he is in the digital sale. Hopefully he stays here at the barn so we can still make memories with him.”

***

Timeout prepares for Curlin, Arthur’s Ride for G1 Whitney

Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider’s Kentucky homebred Timeout worked in company with Glassman Racing’s Arthur’s Ride Friday as the pair gears up for stakes action at Saratoga Race Course for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.

The duo completed a five-eighths breeze over the Oklahoma dirt training track, with sophomore colt Timeout covering it in 1:01 3/5 seconds and 4-year-old Arthur’s Ride one tick behind at 1:01 4/5, according to NYRA Clockers.

“Arthur’s Ride led and then Timeout joined him in the stretch,” Mott said. “Then they finished up pretty much together.”

Timeout prepares for Friday’s $135,000 Curlin, a nine-furlong test over the main track for sophomore non-winners of a graded sweepstakes at one mile or over in 2024. The Curlin bay looks to make his 2007-08 Horse of the Year sire proud in his namesake event, following a third-out graduation at the distance on June 15 at Belmont at the Big A.

“The Curlin is what we wanted to do. He worked well,” said Mott, adding that Hall of Famer Joel Rosario, who was aboard for the breeze, is set to ride. “He looked fine, so I think that is what we will do, proceed forward with that.”

Timeout, out of the multiple graded stakes-winning War Front mare Lull, earned a career-best 95 Beyer Speed Figure in his last-out stalking neck victory. He enters with a lifetime record of 3-1-1-1, seeking a Curlin title-defense for Mott after he saddled Scotland to victory last year.

Arthur’s Ride also won last-out, setting the pace in a 10-furlong optional-claimer here on June 7 during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival before drawing off to win by a widening 12 3/4 lengths, earning a career-best 111 Beyer in the eye-catching romp.

Mott said he is working towards the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney, a nine-furlong event on the main track, on August 3 at the Spa. The historic race is a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the Grade 1, $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic on November 2 at Del Mar.

Mott spoke highly of the last outing for the Florida-bred gray son of Tapit, who is out of graded stakes winning Point Given mare Points of Grace.

“He was pretty spectacular [last-out]. Very good. Visually he was very good,” said Mott. “He is pretty good about everything, just very high energy.”

Arthur’s Ride, who returned from an over one-year long layoff with a one-mile optional-claiming win in March at Gulfstream Park, is 2-for-3 this year and boasts a lifetime ledger of 6-3-2-0 with $214,955 in earnings.