Milliken flies in the Forego. (Adam Coglianese/NYRA).
By Mary Eddy
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Post-time favorite Mullikin lived up to his 8-5 odds in a big way when drawing clear to an easy victory in Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Forego, a seven-furlong sprint for older horses, at Saratoga Race Course.
Owned by WinStar Farm and Siena Farm, the dark bay Violence 4-year-old provided conditioner Rodolphe Brisset with the first Grade 1 victory of his career that began in 2017. Mullikin also doubled up on graded scores after a tidy 1 1/2-length annexing of the Grade 2 John A. Nerud on July 6 at Belmont at the Big A.
An emotional Brisset, who saddled World Record to finish a pacesetting sixth in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial in the following race, said he would withhold his celebrations until the day’s work was done.
“I can enjoy it, but I can only half enjoy it because we still have another one,” Brisset said. “Everything went smooth. He was good in the gate. He broke like a rocket; everything went our way, and he was pretty impressive. Obviously, if I let go, I am going to cry.”
Elliott Walden, president and CEO of WinStar Farm, said it is meaningful to share in the milestone with Brisset, who has worked alongside the farm for several years.
“It is really special,” Walden said. “Rudy has been a really big part of our team since he went out on his own. It is great for him.
“That was amazing. He’s a really unbelievable horse,” Walden added. “He’s been great all year and he just keeps getting better.”
Mullikin, under the expert guidance of the red-hot Flavien Prat, broke sharply from post 5 in the seven-horse field and rocketed to the front as the often-prominent Cagliostro was unable to assume his usual position at the front after a bad stumble from the outer post, trailing in last-of-7 as Mullikin marked an opening quarter-mile in 22.46 seconds over the fast main track.
“He was good [in the gate]. At that point, he jumped so well there was no overthinking, the way he broke,” Prat explained. “He just took the lead and was traveling very well all the way around and kept going on.”
The Irad Ortiz, Jr.-piloted Angkor kept close watch from second down the backstretch while Twisted Ride raced in tandem with Gun Pilot three lengths back. Mullikin showed no signs of regression into the turn and lengthened his advantage as Twisted Ride was asked for his best and Gun Pilot got going under Cristian Torres after the half-mile elapsed in 44.88.
Prat said he was a touch surprised to find himself alone on the lead.
“I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen. It felt like, on paper, there could have been some speed with me, but the way he broke he got a half a length or a length on everybody out of the gate,” Prat said. “After that, I just got myself in the clear and he was traveling very well the whole way around.”
Mullikin kicked well clear at the top of the lane as Twisted Ride retreated and Gun Pilot overtook second from Angkor. Prat needed only to shake his reins and give a few right-handed taps with the crop for Mullikin to put 4 1/2 lengths between him and Gun Pilot. There were few tense moments for Mullikin as he put an emphasis on his dominance by extending his margin to 5 3/4 lengths at the wire, stopping the clock in 1:21.75.
Gun Pilot finished 2 1/2 lengths ahead of Angkor, who tenaciously held show honors by three-quarter lengths over the hard-luck Cagliostro. Full Screen, Baby Yoda and Twisted Ride completed the order of finish. Run Classic was scratched.
The win was the 13th stakes victory of the meet for Prat, who rode Mullikin to his last-out Nerud coup. The veteran rider said as impressive as Mullikin was last time, he was even more so today.
“I thought last time was good, but today was something else,” Prat said. “He’s got a great attitude, and he seems like he’s enjoying himself. He’s going in the right direction.”
Torres, who also guided Gun Pilot to victory in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs in May, said the colt trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen lost nothing in defeat.
“I had a great trip. Everything went the way we planned it. We broke from the one hole, just break and let him sit,” said Torres. “I knew there was going to be plenty of speed. That one [Mullikin] is a nice horse, and they were going to the lead pretty fast. I just wanted my horse to finish, and then he responded really well when I asked him to do so. He finished up really nice.”
Walden added a logical target for Mullikin is likely the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint in November at Del Mar.
“I hope so. We’ll see. We will talk to Rudy and figure it out,” Walden concluded.
Bred in Kentucky by Fred W. Hertrich, III and John D. Fielding, Mullikin banked $275,000 in victory while improving his lifetime record to 9-5-3-0. Mullikin was a $500,000 purchase at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and is out of the Grade 3-placed Congrats mare Tulira’s Star. He returned $5.30 on a $2 win ticket.
Live racing resumes Sunday at Saratoga with the annual New York Showcase Day card, featuring six stakes worth a combined $1.25 million. First post on the 11-race all New York-bred program is 1:10. p.m. Eastern on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule/.
