SARATOGA SPRINGS >> Stabled with 18 horses at Saratoga for the summer, Louisiana native Al Stall spoke about his summer string and what has brought him back to the Spa every summer for almost two decades.
“Fortunately, I think this is my nineteenth year up here,” Stall said. “I just look forward to it every year. It’s a great bridge to finish off the summer and I’m a racing guy, that’s why I’m in the game, and this is the best racing in the country. I know it’s competitive but that’s OK. In just two days, we’ve seen all kinds of nice 2-year-olds and a lot of drama, and great mares on the grass. It only gets better as we go along.”
Stall picked up his first win of the meet yesterday in an allowance race at six furlongs with talented 3-year-old filly Paid Up Subscriber. The daughter of Candy Ride, who broke her maiden in her previous start on May 1 at Churchill Downs, was behind horses for most of the way and looked to be shut out at the top of the stretch before breaking through on the rail under jockey Joel Rosario to earn the victory.
“She’s a filly we’ve always been high on,” said Stall. “She just didn’t really have a chance to run too much with her trips, including yesterday. For her to win two out of three with the way things have gone for her on the racetrack, we’re kind of excited about stretching her out and maybe one time getting a clear trip and seeing what happens.”
The anchor of Stall’s string is multiple graded stakes winner Departing. A 5-year-old son of War Front, Departing looks to make a return to the dirt in Saturday’s Grade 1, $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt after winning on the turf in his most recent start, the Grade 2 Firecracker on June 27 at Churchill.
“He’s coming out of the Firecracker in good shape,” said Stall. “We’ve been wanting to shorten him up a little bit and see how he does for a couple of years but we just haven’t really had a real chance. We think the turf horses up here are really, really good and certainly much tougher than the Firecracker, so we’re just going to take a shot and see how he does sprinting. He’s only been around one turn twice in his life and he’s won both times. Hopefully he fits somewhere in the race next weekend.”
Hard Not to Like well after Diana win
Racing’s newest millionaire, Hard Not to Like, the track record-setting winner of the Grade 1, $500,000 Diana on Saturday, came out of the race in good order, according to trainer Christophe Clement.
“She came out of the race in good shape,” said Clement. “She is clean-legged. She walked for 30 minutes this morning and jogged on the road. We are very happy with everything. She came out in very good order. We always thought she was a good filly and everything worked out for us. She got an amazing ride from John Velazquez.”
The 6-year-old mare finished the race with a flourish, running her last eighth of a mile in 11.24 seconds, Clement said. She broke the Mellon turf course record for 1 1/8 miles, hitting the wire in 1:45.22.
“They went fast from the beginning. There was not one part in the race where they went slow. They went fast from the beginning to the end,” Clement added. “She has won two Grade 1’s now. We are very proud of her. I am delighted that Mr. (Peter) Fluor chose us to train her this year. Let’s try to do it again.”
Hard Not to Like is owned by Speedway Stable LLC. She increased her earnings to $1.26 million and has won eight races from 22 lifetime starts. Plans for her next race have yet to be decided, Clement added.
Mott ‘house horse’ impresses in debut
Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott was very pleased Sunday morning, a day after he sent Site Read to a 4 1/2-length victory in a 1 1/16-mile grass race for 2-year-olds. Going off at odds of 21-1, the son of Tizdejavu was a $32,000 Keeneland September Sale purchase picked out by Bill’s son Riley and his friend.
“Well, we were pleased,” said Mott. “He’s kind of what you call a house horse I guess, and he ran very well, certainly up to expectations and maybe even a little bit better. Riley was a part of the team that picked him out, him and his friend.”
Gearing up for next Saturday’s Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy, Mott is scheduled to enter Japan for owner Barry K. Schwartz. The 3-year-old has won back-to-back races, including the Easy Goer on June 6 at Belmont Park, after breaking his maiden in his third lifetime start.
Celestine, who scratched out of Friday’s Grade 2 Lake George, will be further evaluated according to Mott.
“I wasn’t happy with the way she was moving,” said Mott. “We have to make some adjustments or give her some time, so we’re just trying to sort through that right now.”
Fields take shape for graded stakes
The Grade 1, $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap for sprinters headlines an action-packed card on Saturday, August 1, with Stonestreet Stables’ Rock Fall looking to stretch his winning streak to six in the six-furlong event. The 4-year-old Speightstown colt, who has taken five of six starts by a combined winning margin of more than 26 lengths, enters the Vanderbilt off a 3 3/4-length win in the Grade 2 True North, in which he earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 110 for his stakes debut. Also being pointed to the race are multiple graded stakes winners Clearly Now, Departing, and Salutos Amigos, along with The Big Beast, who took the Grade 1 King’s Bishop at the Spa last year, and Marylou Whitney’s Viva Majorca, victorious in the Kelly’s Landing at Churchill Downs last time out.
Saturday’s Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy, Saratoga’s traditional hometown prep for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers on August 29, is expected to draw a solid lineup including Grade 1 winners Texas Red, Materiality and Frosted as well as Grade 2 winner Upstart. Texas Red upset the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at odds of 13-1 last fall and has run second in both his starts this year, the Grade 2 San Vicente and Grade 3 Dwyer. Materiality has been off the board since capturing the Florida Derby in March, while Frosted rebounded from a disappointing winter to take the TwinSpires.com Wood Memorial and run fourth in the Kentucky Derby and second in the Belmont Stakes to Triple Crown champion American Pharoah. Unraced since finishing last of 18 in the Derby, Upstart beat Frosted in the Grade 2 Holy Bull then was second in both the Florida Derby and Grade 2 Fountain of Youth. Grade 2-placed Frammento and Easy Goer Stakes winner Japan are also expected, while Belmont third-place finisher Keen Ice and Grade 3 Pegasus runner-up Tekton are possible.
Multiple graded stakes winner March and two-time stakes winners Bluegrass Singer and Holy Boss are all being pointed to the Grade 2, $200,000 Amsterdam for 3-year-old sprinters going 6 1/2 furlongs on Saturday. March captured the Grade 3 Bay Shore and Grade 2 Woody Stephens this year, the latter on June 6.
Grade 2-placed Bluegrass Singer took the Mucho Macho Man at Gulfstream Park and Parx Derby this year, while Holy Boss has strung together three straight victories, including the Bachelor and Chick Lang Stakes. Also expected are Requite, The Great War, Victory is Sweet, and Grade 3 Hutcheson winner Barbados.
Rounding out Saturday’s graded stakes is the Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green at 1 3/8 miles on the inner turf. A robust field is expected, including Dynamic Sky, second in the Grade 3 Singspiel last time out; Golden Soul, most recently fourth in the Grade 3 San Juan Capistrano; Belmont Gold Cup winner Innovation Economy; Iron Power, making his graded stakes debut; the German-bred Messi, who won an optional claimer in his North American debut on July 2; Morning Calm, fifth in the Belmont Gold Cup; Reflecting, placed second to Iron Power in an optional claimer on July 2; and multiple graded stakes winners Skyring and War Dancer. Grade 1 winner Big Blue Kitten and Lochte, second in the Elkwood on July 4 at Monmouth, are questionable.
On Sunday, fillies and mares will line up for the Grade 3, $200,000 Shuvee Handicap, headlined by Stopchargingmaria, who is three-for-four at Saratoga including a maiden win in 2013 along with last year’s Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks and Grade 1 Alabama. Also expected for the 1 1/8-mile race are the ultra-consistent stakes winner House Rules, third in the Ogden Phipps last time out; Imposing Grace, most recently fourth in the Barely Even at Gulfstream Park; and Tiz Windy, third in the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis on June 13 at Churchill Downs. Carameaway is possible.
Pick 5 cashed for $471k on Saturday
A New Jersey-based horseplayer had a life-changing score opening weekend, cashing a 50-cent Pick 5 ticket for $471,124.50 when 6-1 Saratoga Mischief held on by a neck to win Saturday’s fifth race. The sequence kicked off with 11-1 winner Realm (No. 9) in the first race, followed by 3-1 English Minister (No. 4) in race 2, 21-1 Site Read (No. 7) in race 3, and 24-1 Hey Bro (No. 6) in race 4.
Going into the final leg of the multi-race wager, two horses were not covered on live tickets: the 3-1 favorite Show Bound (No. 7) and first-time D. Wayne Lukas starter Condominium (No. 5), which would have triggered a first-ever Pick 5 carryover at a NYRA track since the wager was introduced in 2013.
Yesterday’s Pick 5 jackpot was the largest payout for the wager since last summer at Saratoga, when a bettor hit a $595,502 Pick 5 on August 29.