Studlydoright made his stakes debut a winning one kicking off stakes action at the Belmont Racing festival and kicking off the Maryland vibe. (Adam Coglianese/NYRA)
Maryland bred horses and Maryland connections excel at the Belmont Racing Festival at Saratoga
Compiled and edited by Maribeth Kalinich
It all started with David Hughes’s Maryland-bred Studlydoright Thursday’s Listed $150,000 Tremont for Maryland trainer Jerry Robb.
Studlydoright made his stakes debut a winning one in the 5 1/2-furlong main-track sprint for 2-year-olds to kick off the stakes action on Day One of the four-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival
Closing from well off a scintillating pace under a patient Xavier Perez, Studlydoright utilized similar tactics in his May 5 debut at Laurel Park when closing from fifth to win by 1 1/2-lengths traveling 4 1/2-furlongs over sloppy and sealed footing.
First-time starter Touchy, under Hall of Famer Joel Rosario surged to the front from post 7 to mark the opening quarter-mile in a swift 22.11 seconds over the fast main track.
Studlydoright broke well before saving ground in fifth position as Touchy led through the turn with Three Echoes in pursuit and Classic of Course keeping watch from third. Touchy raced wide into the stretch run through a half-mile in 45.28 as a determined Three Echoes stayed on strong near the rail. Studlydoright cut the corner with intent and was full of run as a green Touchy drifted in to go neck-and-neck with Three Echoes at the sixteenth marker.
Perez expertly angled Studlydoright to the outside of the dueling front pair and vaulted home a 1 3/4-length winner in a final time of 1:04.22. It was a further half-length back to Three Echoes in third with Classic of Course, Brereton’s Baytown, Dew, Dominican Thunder and Shoot the Nickel rounding out the order of finish.
The victory marked the first win at Saratoga for Robb, who said the race set up as expected.
“I knew he had the kick. I knew they would outrun him early, but we’re all trying to find what we have. Now we’ve got a stakes winner,” Robb said. “I just told [Perez] to save ground and wait to make a late run. I was hoping he was going to be third, and he jumped up and won.
“I knew there was a lot of speed and we planned on closing and coming from off of it,” he added, regarding the first main-track race of the Festival. “I didn’t know if speed was holding or closing. We couldn’t be happier.”
It was the fourth stakes score at the Spa for Perez, following past success with Sensible Lady in the 2012 Coronation Cup and in 2013 with Dance to Bristol in both the Grade 2 Honorable Miss Handicap and Grade 1 Ballerina.
“Everything happened like Jerry said it was going to happen. The speed went and I just sat behind them and just saved all the ground like Jerry told me,” Perez said. “When I started asking him at the five-sixteenths, he started picking up gradually. I saw Wesley Ward’s horse [Touchy] in the stretch going everywhere and when I took my horse to the outside, he just gave me everything, just like he did the first time he ran.
“He was more mature this time. Today, he was focused,” Perez continued. “When he was in the gate, he was a little racy, but when he settled, I was really confident that we were going to get the job done.”
Studlydoright, a $110,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Eastern Fall Yearling Sale purchase, is out of the graded stakes-placed Curlin mare Peach of a Gal, who is a half-sister to graded stakes-placed Concealed Identity.
Bred in Maryland by Glenangus Farm, Studlydoright banked $82,500 in victory while remaining undefeated through two starts. He returned $29.80 for a $2 win bet.
Then Graham Motion won the Grade 2, $250,000 Belmont with The Grey Wizard (IRE). The victory was awarded with a “Golden Ticket” automatic berth into the Group 1, AUD$8.4 million Lexus Melbourne Cup on November 5 at Flemington Racecourse in Victoria, Australia.
In a thrilling finish, three gray heads were just inches apart in the shadow of the wire after two laps around the Saratoga Race Course inner turf Thursday, but it was the late-running The Grey Wizard who proved superior.
The Grey Wizard would earn the invitation to ‘the race that stops a nation™,’ posting a head score in a final time of 3:18.35 over Champagne Juan, who was a head better than Limited Liability.
Trained by Graham Motion and masterfully piloted by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, The Grey Wizard, who was second in this event last year, swept from well off the pace to land his first graded stakes victory.
“That was cool,” said Motion. “He’s a little bit of a tough horse to watch. I was never sure he was going to get there, to be honest. This is what he wants to do, and he’s very good when he gets to do it.”
Leigh Jordan, Executive General Manager – Racing for Victoria Racing Club, said he is pleased to partner with NYRA on an afternoon that saw the Melbourne Cup trophy appear on-site for fans to take photos with the prestigious chalice.
“It was the first time we’ve brought the Cup to Saratoga and started developing the relationship with NYRA and the officials,” said Jordan. “We talked to them about coming here with the ‘Cup Tour,’ which goes all around the world, 39 destinations, and a lot of different countries. This race was here, the Grade 2 Belmont Gold Cup, and is perfect for the Melbourne Cup. We thought it would be a great idea to give the winning horse a guaranteed start.”
Owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and The Estate of Albert Frassetto, The Grey Wizard earned his dramatic victory after an off-the-pace trip engineered by Velazquez from post 9, settling in last-of-10 through the first mile as the always-prominent So High sprinted to the front to lead over the firm footing. Lucky Curlin tracked in second with a large gap back to defending race winner Siskany, the post-time mutuel favorite under William Buick.
Velazquez, who was aboard The Grey Wizard for two allowance wins last year, praised his mount’s ability to adapt and overcome a less-than-ideal early position.
“He’s one of those horses who can always show up whenever he wants to and today was the day. I know the horse well,” said Velazquez. “I broke well, but he didn’t get the position I wanted to, so I had to drop in there and wait and wait. When we went past the wire the first time, I tried to make a move to get them because they were going so slow [up front] and that kind of worked, so then I sat behind them again. It worked out perfectly.”
Motion said the win was meaningful to him and the family of co-owner Al Frassetto, who recently passed away.
“The amazing thing about it is that Al Frassetto who was the co-owner, he was so passionate about international racing, and he died this week,” said Motion. “I wish Al was here. He would have loved this.”
Motion said the addition of a “Golden Ticket” to the Melbourne Cup is an intriguing one, having previously considered sending his multiple Grade 1-winning multi-millionaire Better Talk Now to the famous race.
First run in 1861, the 3200-meter race is the richest two-mile handicap in the world and one of the richest turf races. The event starts at 3:00 p.m. on the first Tuesday of November, as part of a public holiday in Victoria, and is known locally as, ‘the race that stops a nation™.’
“I love the concept. Ask me again in October,” said Motion. “I’m huge about international racing. I love this idea. It’s a huge undertaking to do that, but it’s nice to think about. We thought about it with [Better Talk Now], but it’s tough to do. It’s tough to get handicapped the right way, it’s tough to do the shipping, it’s tough to do the quarantine. But this is an incentive.”
Bred in Ireland by Longfield Stud, the 5-year-old Caravaggio gelding entered from a third-place effort in the Grade 3 Louisville on May 18 at Churchill Downs and adds to a resume that includes four graded stakes-placings. He banked $137,500 in victory while returning $14.40 for a $2 win ticket.
R. Larry Johnson’s Maryland homebred Future is Now doubled up on stakes victories with a gritty head score in Friday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Intercontinental for trainer Michael Trombetta.
The race, Presented by MTV Solutions, was a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf test for older fillies and mares.
The Great Notion 4-year-old bravely turned back the late rush of dual graded stakes-winner Roses for Debra to earn her first graded stakes victory on the heels of a breakout score with a stalking trip in the five-furlong The Very One on May 17 at Pimlico Race Course.
“This filly has learned to sit off of horses and run when she’s needed,” Trombetta said. “It’s really changed things for her. In the last couple of races, it’s all really come together for her. This was great. I mean, this is over the top for us. We came in here with expectations just to run well. But to win it is extraordinary.”
Expertly handled by Paco Lopez, Future Is Now broke sharply from post 5-of-9 as Kaufymaker took advantage of a swift break under Luis Saez and hustled to the front to lead the field through an opening quarter-mile in 21.76 seconds over the firm but rain-soaked footing after a deluge fell on the course shortly before the race.
“I was concerned when I saw the weather roll in before the race,” Trombetta said. “I thought the storm would really tear up the place and be a problem. But she handled it [the course] good. The little bit of water didn’t hurt her.”
Future Is Now kept close watch in second rounding to the turn and was asked to pick it up at the top of the lane to go head-to-head with the game Kaufymaker with Roses for Debra charging down the center of the course through the half-mile in 44.24. Future Is Now stuck her head in front in the final sixteenth and had put away the resolute Kaufymaker but was under threat from Roses for Debra to her outside.
Lopez urged with a right-handed crop in the final strides to the wire to will his charge to hold on long enough to turn back Roses for Debra by a head in a final time of 1:01.35 with Kaufymaker finishing another neck back in third.
Lopez said he had intended to rate his charge a bit off the pace as he did in the The Very One.
“Well, the plan was for the same thing as last time. But when nobody was making the lead, I was second,” said Lopez. “That worked today.
“I was there, I wait, wait. [I went] a little couple jumps early and then she responded so very well,” Lopez added. “And she maintained it all the way straight to the wire.”
Future Is Now notched her third win of the season, adding to her The Very One score and an optional claiming coup in February at Gulfstream Park. She is out of the Trombetta-trained Johnson homebred Past is Prelude, who also produced dual stakes-placed Continentalcongres and Call Another Play, who finished third in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan on the same Pimlico card as Future Is Now’s The Very One victory. She banked $110,000 for her Intercontinental score and improved her record to 11-5-1-0 while returning $22.80 on a $2 win ticket.
Trombetta said he will take his time in mapping out his filly’s next start.
“She just keeps getting better. She’s going the right way,” said Trombetta. “She’s just evolving into a top tier horse. I hope she’ll be back for a race at Saratoga this summer, but I don’t have anything in mind. I haven’t gotten that far yet. We’ll certainly see how she comes back, and we’ll take it from there. Winning a stake at Saratoga is really cool. What a great way to start.”
Saturday, Ellen Charles’ Hillwood Stable’s homebred Post Time went up against two powerhouses of Breeders’ Cup Classic champ Abarrio and Preakness and Pegasus winner National Treasure. He chased the pace and then won a three-way battle for third by a neck for Maryland trainer Brittany Russell and Maryland jockey Sheldon Russell.
Post Time, trained by Brittany Russell and ridden by her husband Sheldon Russell, made a good account of himself in besting Hoist the Gold by a neck for second. Castle Chaos, White Abarrio and Blazing Sevens completed the order of finish.
Hillwood Stable’s Post Time, a 4-year-old Maryland-bred son of 2016 Met Mile winner Frosted, maintained his streak of finishing third or better in all 11 of his starts, including eight victories.
“That was awesome. We are over the moon,” Brittany Russell said. “He showed up [and] he ran big. National Treasure ran a huge race. To run second behind him, that’s success for us. These good horses, do you really think they’re coming back? I mean you hope and pray, but you just hope your horse keeps running on and he did just that. There was a point where you could see Sheldon was letting him travel and he had to keep him where he had him. That was where he had to be today.”
Also bred in Maryland by Larry Johnson, Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable’s Mindframe, who has been referred to as one of the best 3-year-olds in the country, darn near won the Belmont Stakes coming in second by a very tenacious neck under Irad Ortiz, Jr.
Dornoch raced in the two-path while Resilience rode the rail in third with the Irad Ortiz, Jr.-piloted Mindframe following the run of Dornoch to inch up into contention heading into the backstretch. Saez kept a snug hold of Dornoch to let Seize the Grey do the legwork, marking a half-mile in 47.25 while post-time favorite Sierra Leone was held far off the pace in ninth in anticipation of his trademark deep-closing rally.
After reaching the three-quarters call in 1:10.67, Seize the Grey and Dornoch had made it a race of their own, opening up several lengths on the backpedaling Resilience as Mindframe was turned loose to set his sights on the topflight, and the New York-bred The Wine Steward spun his wheels in mid-pack outside of the advancing Antiquarian. Sierra Leone was last after one mile in 1:35.51 and forced to move widest of all in the turn with plenty of work left to do as Dornoch surged past Seize the Grey to go head-to-head with Mindframe at the top of the stretch.
“At that point, I thought the other horse was going to beat us,” Saez said. “But Dornoch, he kept finding. He never let the other one get by. Pretty nice horse, big heart.”
Dornoch was an eighth of a mile from immortality as Mindframe loomed large in the center of the course, threatening to sweep by and provide his Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher with a fifth Belmont Stakes victory. But the inexperienced colt veered out sharply when asked for his best by Ortiz, Jr. with a left-handed crop, while Dornoch maintained his rail position with his ears pinned in determination.
The talented Mindframe closed the gap while the meandering Sierra Leone found a clear path and charged on late ahead of fellow deep-closer Honor Marie, but Dornoch had enough left to turn back his challengers and post the 17-1 upset victory under a celebrating Saez in a final time of 2:01.64.
Mindframe finished one length ahead of Sierra Leone with another four lengths back to Honor Marie, who was squeezed between Sierra Leone and the maiden Protective after Mindframe came in from the outside post at the start. Antiquarian, Protective, Seize the Grey, Mystik Dan, The Wine Steward and Resilience completed the order of finish.
