Bring Theband Home scores in the Harvey Pack (Susie Raisher)
Mary Eddy/NYRA Press Office
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – There was no catching Live Oak Plantation’s blazing hot Bring Theband Home as he wired the field in Friday’s Listed $150,000 Harvey Pack, a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf sprint for older horses on Day 2 of the July 4th Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse and piloted by fellow enshrine Javier Castellano, the son of Into Mischief completed the course in 59.90 seconds, just one-tenth off the track and North American record of 59.80 set by Cogburn in last year’s Grade 1 Jaipur. He notched his first stakes victory on the heels of a close second in an optional claiming sprint on May at Gulfstream Park.
In victory, Bring Theband Home is now 3-for-3 at Saratoga, adding to a second-out maiden win on dirt in 2022 and an optional claiming win in August over the turf with Castellano aboard.
“I didn’t give any [instructions],” Casse said. “Javier knows him good. That was amazing. He loves this place. That was impressive.
“Early on, I thought this was a really, really good horse,” Casse continued. “Like a Breeders’ Cup horse, and he kind of let me down, but he’s had some little issues. But today we saw what I had expected of him for a long time. Now, we just have to keep him this way.”
Bring Theband Home was coaxed along to the front by Castellano to put 1 1/2 lengths between him and the pair of American Monarch and Outlaw Kid through the opening quarter-mile in 21.51 seconds over the firm footing.
American Monarch came under a ride in the center of the course with Outlaw Kid finding his best stride to the inside at the top of the lane while Bring Theband Home had already kicked clear as he marked the half-mile in 43.52. Outlaw Kid gave game chase with Works for Me unleashing a strong turn of foot late along the rail, but Bring Theband Home was never seriously threatened and soared through the wire 4 1/4 lengths clear.
Works for Me held onto place honors by three-quarter-lengths over Outlaw Kid with Mischievous Angel, Witty, Our Shot, Axthelm, American Monarch, Felix, Mattingly and Surveillance, who was steadied sharply a few strides out of the gate, completing the order of finish. Main track-only entrant Antonio of Venice was scratched.
Castellano, who guided Bring Theband Home to two allowance level victories last year, said he let the 5-year-old gelding do what came naturally.
“It was really good. He’s a very fast horse. He breaks pretty quick out of the gate and is a very unique horse and I liked the way he did it,” Castellano said. “He’s a front-runner and broke good out of the gate, never take anything away that comes easy and he did it the easy way. I know the fractions went in twenty-one seconds but the way he does it, he’s a speed horse and he carried it all the way to the wire.
“I had a lot of confidence before the race because he likes firm ground,” Castellano added. “Turf, firm and he likes it here. He won last year the same way, and he is very capable to do that, and I am very satisfied with the way he did it today.”
Casse added Bring Theband Home is likely to target the Grade 2, $300,000 Troy on August 3 here next.
Flavien Prat, aboard the dual stakes-winning New York-bred Works for Me, said Bring Theband Home was too fast to catch.
“My horse ran a good race. He was just second best today,” Prat concluded. “He’s not the quickest, but I was in a good spot. That horse just ran away from us.”
A Florida homebred for Live Oak Plantation, Bring Theband Home is out of the Street Cry mare Tizatude, a half-sister to Grade 1-winning millionaire Paynter. His second dam, Tizso, is a full-sister to Hall of Famer Tiznow.
Bring Theband Home made just his second stakes appearance, improving from an eighth in the Grade 2 Nearctic in October at Woodbine Racetrack. He banked $82,500 for his Harvey Pack victory while returning $9.30 on a $2 win ticket.
Live racing resumes Saturday for Day Three of the July 4th Racing Festival with a 12-race card highlighted by the Grade 1, $500,000 Belmont Oaks Invitational [Race 11]. The stacked program is supported by the Grade 3, $175,000 Sanford [Race 3] and the Grade 3, $175,000 Kelso [Race 10]. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.
Statistics for the 37-day Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet will include the July 4th Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course.
