SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – George Sharp’s Front Run the Fed may be listed as the 10-1 longest shot on the board in Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Fourstardave, but trainer Caio Caramori is excited about his chances in the “Win and You’re In” event which offers a berth in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Mile in November at Keeneland.
Front Run the Fed, a 6-year-old son of Fed Biz, enters from a rallying head score in the Van Clief on July 18 at Colonial Downs. With returning rider Irad Ortiz, Jr. up, the talented bay closed from sixth to secure the win while racing from a nine-month layoff.
“He’d had a long layoff, but we were expecting the horse to go over there and take care of business. We were expecting him to run a big race,” said Caramori, son of trainer Eduardo Caramori.
Front Run the Fed, previously trained by Chad Brown, topped last year’s Fasig-Tipton July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale at $440,000. He made three starts last year for his current connections, finishing sixth in the 5 1/2-furlong Grade 3 Troy in August at Saratoga, seventh in the six-furlong Grade 3 Turf Sprint in September at Kentucky Downs, and a close sixth in October in the Grade 1 Keeneland Turf Mile.
“He ran well last time at Keeneland and it seemed like he handled the distance and galloped out really well that day. I expect him to be able to get a mile,” Caramori said. “He’s a tricky horse. It’s difficult to find the right distance for him. Five-and-a-half [furlongs] is too short and a mile might be a hair too long. You have to find that sweet spot with him. They don’t write many races at six or seven furlongs on the grass.”
Caramori said he was looking at a number of horses at the July sale, including Stilleto Boy, who sold for $420,000 and recently captured the Grade 2 Californian at Santa Anita; and Fearless [$205,000], who has since won a trio of graded events for Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher. But Caramori ultimately decided on Front Run the Fed, who had garnered a career-best 101 Beyer with a runner-up effort in the 2020 Grade 3 Turf Sprint at Kentucky Downs and had finished a close third in the Grade 3 Poker at Belmont ahead of the July sale.
“I liked him physically. He’s a beautiful horse,” said Caramori. “He had been running some big numbers and I thought he was the best horse in the sale. Fearless was in there and Stilleto Boy was another we looked at, but we ended up falling for this horse.”
Front Run the Fed will leave post 2 Saturday under Ortiz, Jr. and will have to topple a five-horse field led by the Brown-trained duo of Regal Glory, a multiple Grade 1-winning mare; and Masen, who has won four of his last five starts, including the last-out Grade 3 Poker at Belmont. A talented field also includes multiple Grade 1-winner Casa Creed and multiple graded-stakes winner Get Smokin.
“He’s a tough horse because he needs the right trip,” Caramori said. “I like the five-horse field because he should be able to get a clean run at them and we get Irad, who won on him at Colonial and loved him that day. Getting Irad back on is a big plus.”
Caramori admitted that despite the compact field, winning will be a tall order with Brown saddling two top contenders in search of his first Fourstardave coup.
“The filly is probably the best turf filly in the country and maybe the best turf horse in the country. The other horse, Masen, is no slouch either,” Caramori said. “We have our work cut out for us, but I think our horse is a better horse than he was last year.”
Caramori, in search of his first win at Saratoga, will send out Sharp’s Curly Larry and Mo, a New York-bred juvenile son of Mo Town, in Race 6 today sprinting six furlongs over the main track.
“He’s a goofy horse and real playful, so it’s a good name for him. He was second first time out, and he’s doing well. So, maybe that will get the monkey off my back today,” said Caramori, with a laugh. “It’s a dream to be here and to be stabled up here.”
And while a maiden score would be welcome, Caramori can’t help but look ahead to Saturday’s Grade 1 affair.
“I’m going into the biggest weekend of my training career, so I’m nervous and excited all at the same time,” Caramori said. “We’ve got a good horse and he’s going to run well. If he runs third, we’ll be happy.”
NYRA Press Office
Photo of Front Run The Fed winning the Better Talk Now, his first stakes victory, at Belmont Park, Aug. 25, 2019. (Chelsea Durand)
