SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.— One would be hard-pressed to find a trainer with a pound-for-pound better Saratoga meet than Phil Bauer, who has won four-of-seven starts this summer at the Spa. On Saturday, Bauer will saddle Rigney Racing’s Skratch Kat for her graded stakes debut in the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama.
Bauer contested last year’s running of the historic 10-furlong test for 3-year-old fillies with Played Hard, who finished a distant fifth following a local nine-furlong allowance optional claiming score. Skratch Kat, a daughter of Arrogate, enters this year’s Alabama off similar form and was last seen defeating graded stakes placed Runaway Wife and next-out winner Colorful Mischief in a July 1 allowance optional claimer at Churchill Downs.
“Two totally different types,” Bauer said when asked of any similarities between the two fillies. “With Played Hard, our focus this year was to get her to turn off a little bit. She was so keen that it ended up costing her a better placing last year. This filly, hopefully the race will come back to her.”
Skratch Kat will square off against sophomore filly division leaders Nest, a last-out winner of the Grade 1 CCA Oaks on July 23, and Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath in the Alabama. Although listed at 30-1 on the morning line, Skratch Kat does have the advantage of considerable two-turn experience, having made all five of her lifetime starts going a two-turn mile-and-a-sixteenth.
Bauer said Skratch Kat, who will break from the rail under Julien Leparoux, is a bona fide two-turn horse.
“I think that’s safe to say. We felt early on that distance would only help this filly,” Bauer said. “She’s a lighter framed, lighter made type of horse. She seems to get across the ground fairly easily. I don’t think we brought her up here planning on running in the Alabama, but that’s where we ended up. She’s a happy horse and we’re taking on two or three of the better horses in the division. Hopefully, we can have one of our better days.”
Played Hard contributed to Bauer’s successful summer with a triumph in a second-level allowance optional claimer on August 4 at Saratoga going one mile from the Wilson Chute. The 4-year-old Into Mischief filly was second in last year’s Grade 3 Comely at Aqueduct and will be in search of additional black type for her next outing.
“There are a few spots we’re eyeballing, but we haven’t circled anything just yet,” Bauer said. “There’s the [Grade 1, $600,000] Personal Ensign next Saturday, but I think we want to keep her confidence going, find a lighter spot and take on the heavy hitters later on in the year.”
Bauer has had a presence at Saratoga every year since 2018, and said the past few years have been a learning experience.
“It took us a few years to catch the learning curve and figure out what to bring up here. The last couple years have been pretty good for us, so we’ll continue to take that approach,” Bauer said. “Obviously, you need things to go your way on the other end, but we’ve been very fortunate. This track to me suits the galloping type for the two turns. There’s a different angle thrown at us this year with the [Wilson] chute, but I think we’ve taken it in stride. It’s hard to find mile and an eighth races anywhere else in the country on a consistent basis and that’s one of the things we come up here for.”
Bauer mentioned Claytnthelionheart as an example of his approach. The 6-year-old Declaration of War gelding boasts four victories in 28 lifetime starts, all of which took place at Saratoga. He won going nine furlongs for a $40,000 tag on August 11.
“This is the only place he wins but it’s his style of running that the track suits him because of the turns and distances. Going home, it’s hard to find races like that unless it comes off the turf,” Bauer said. “When you circle the spots and bring them up here, you always hope for the best. I think the horses have been in the right spots so far so now we’re getting into deeper waters. Hopefully, the trend will continue and well get some more luck our way. But to be able to go home with as much as we’ve done, we got to be happy.”
In addition to Played Hard and Claytnthelionheart, Bauer also visited the Saratoga winner’s circle this meet with Warrior Johny, who defeated winners in a Thursday afternoon allowance to garner a career-best 99 Beyer Speed Figure; and One More Baby, who won by 10 3/4 lengths on August 4 and was haltered for a $20,000 tag.
“We love coming up here and usually as Churchill starts to wind down, we start to select the ones that are going to make the trip up here and try and bring horses that have good conditions,” Bauer said. “This year, we brought more that we could be aggressive with and that’s worked out, too. It just depends on timing, like everything in horse racing. The few that have won up here won at a good spot in their cycle.”
NYRA Press Office
Photo: Skratch Kat bests allowance optional claimers at Churchill Downs July 1, 2022 (Coady Photography)
