Coglianese /NYRA Photo Photo

World of Trouble tops Servis-trained exacta in Wednesday’s Quick Call

by Heather Pettinger

World of Trouble wired his competition on Wednesday for a 1 ¾-length, frontrunning win over stablemate Fig Jelly to give trainer Jason Servis the exacta in the $100,000 Quick Call, a 5 ½-furlong turf sprint for 3-year-olds at Saratoga Race Course.

Owned by Michael Dubb, Madaket Stable, and Bethlehem Stable, World of Trouble broke sharply from the rail in his turf debut under Irad Ortiz, Jr. The Florida-bred colt by Kantharos led the field of 12 by less than a length early, covering the opening quarter-mile in 22.68 seconds and the half in 46.03 with Shangroyal and Dirty in close pursuit. Dirty made a bid for the lead as the field reached the top of the stretch, but World of Trouble held off that rival and extended under the wire to stop to the clock in 1:04.11 over a Mellon turf course listed as good.

Fig Jelly, also trained by Servis and co-owned by Dubb, rallied late to reel in Dirty in the final jumps and secure the runner-up honors by a neck. Totally Boss was fourth, followed by Stolen Pistol, New Legend, Coltandmississippi, Like What I See, Majestic Dunhill, Shangroyal, A Different Style, and Clouded Judgement. Main track-only entrant Soutache was scratched.

Sent off as the 3-2 post-time favorite, World of Trouble returned $5.40 for a $2 win wager in his first trip to the winners’ circle since his impressive 13 ¾-length victory in the listed Pasco at Tampa Bay Downs in January.

Wednesday’s Quick Call presented something of a fruitful Plan B for the winning connections, as World of Trouble was originally entered for the Grade 3 Amsterdam on July 28 going 6 ½ furlongs on the dirt before a fever spiked the morning of the race forced him to put his Saratoga debut on hold.

“When he came up with a temp for the Amsterdam, we were really upset,” said Servis. “The horse had us really feeling good about the Amsterdam, but he came up with a temp the day of the race, like 102 and change and we had to scratch. We really weren’t sure where to go.

“Mike [Dubb] suggested the turf and I said, ‘Man, that’s a great idea,’” he added. “We had to see how he bounced back out of the temp and we got it done. It shows you the highs and the lows in this game. In the Amsterdam, we were all down in the dumps and now everybody’s happy.”

The win was the third from six career starts for the lightly raced World of Trouble, who owns $278,400 in lifetime earnings. As a 2-year-old, he broke his maiden by 14 lengths and ran a close second to Soutache in the FTBOA Florida Sire Affirmed in the fall. He was transferred to Servis’ winter base at Tampa Bay, winning the Pasco before finishing third to Quip in the Tampa Bay Derby. Last time out, World of Trouble raced off the pace for the first time in the Grade 2 Woody Stephens, where he finished fourth.