Cox Plate Aim For Aspetar

G2 York S. winner Aspetar (Fr) (Al Kazeem {GB}) is bound for Australia’s G1 Cox Plate, having had to miss the G1 Juddmonte International earlier this month.

“If we can get him there, we’re going to run in the Cox Plate,” Charlton told Sky Sports Racing. “He has to do quarantine himself for two weeks, then they [Charlton’s staff] have to go via Sydney for two weeks before the horse arrives. Currently there are no flights to Sydney, so there are a lot of hurdles to jump. He would get there at the beginning of October and the race is the middle of October.

In addition to this year’s York S. Aspetar took last year’s G2 Grand Prix de Chantilly and G1 Preis von Europa, but Charlton indicated he thinks the 5-year-old gelding is below the cut required to win a G1 Champion S.

“If you ran him in a Champion S. here he might be fourth or fifth, he’s an honourable little horse, but it’s a sharp track out there and I think it will suit.”

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Shirl’s Speight Out of Derby Contention

‘TDN Rising Star’ Shirl’s Speight (Speightstown) is no longer being pointed to the GI Kentucky Derby after developing a cough Saturday.

“Unfortunately, Shirl’s Speight has come up with a minor cough today and he will not be going to the Kentucky Derby,” owner/breeder Fipke Stable tweeted. “His health is our number one concern, and we’ll look forward to his next race.”

“He’s coughing and full of mucus so we’ve had to put him on antibiotics,” trainer Roger Attfield said. “I’ve had four or five of them [get sick] these last couple weeks actually. It’s nothing majorly serious but it’s bad timing. We were looking forward to seeing if we could something fancy but there will be another day. Just normal stuff we have to go through quite often.”

An impressive debut winner at Woodbine July 4, Shirl’s Speight followed suit with a victory in that venue’s GIII Marine S. July 25.

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Tiz The Law Beats The Rain, Has Final Kentucky Derby Breeze

For his final piece of serious preparation for the Grade 1, $3 million Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5, Sackatoga Stable's New York-bred Tiz the Law went five furlongs in 59.21 seconds over the Saratoga Race Course main track on Saturday in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Trainer Barclay Tagg scheduled the work to avoid the anticipated rain showers, so the four-time Grade 1 winner was among the first horses to step foot onto the track at 5:45 a.m., just fifteen minutes before precipitation made its way to the Capital Region.

Piloted by exercise rider Heather Smullen, the son of second-crop sire Constitution went his first three-eighths in 36.01 before galloping out in 1:12.01 on the fast main track, which was raked and harrowed.

“Everything went fine. He came back well,” Tagg said. “He did everything he was supposed to do. I'm satisfied with this work. We had to make the decision this morning to work him. We made the decision around 4:00. Luckily, it wasn't raining when he was working. It's supposed to rain all day, and the track may be worse tomorrow. I'm glad we got the work in.”

Tiz the Law, who is atop the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 372 qualifying points, will be the likely favorite of the “Run for the Roses,” arriving at the prestigious event off a runaway triumph in the Grade 1 Runhappy Travers on August 8. Unbeaten in four starts this season, he won the Grade 3 Holy Bull and Grade 1 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park before becoming the first New York-bred in over a century to win the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes on June 20.

Tiz the Law following Saturday's breeze at Saratoga

A win in the Kentucky Derby would be a second victory in the American Classic for both Tagg and Sackatoga Stable, who teamed up to win the 2003 Kentucky Derby with Funny Cide, who became the first and so far only New York-bred to win the prestigious event.

Tiz the Law is scheduled to ship to Churchill Downs on Monday. Manny Franco will have the call in the Kentucky Derby.

Bred in New York by Twin Creeks Farm, Tiz the Law is out of the graded stakes winning Tiznow mare Tizfiz and was hammed down to $110,000 when being purchased at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Yearling Sale of New York-breds.

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Uncle Mo’s Bye Bye Melvin Takes To Soft Turf in Saranac Upset

Bye Bye Melvin took to the rain-soaked turf well at Saturday Saturday, upsetting the GIII Saranac S. at 19-1. Stalking from a joint second through a glacial opening quarter in :27.17, the bay sat back a bit in third, letting Embolden (The Factor) move up to contest the pace with leader Don Juan Kitten through a half in :51.54. Under a ride approaching the far turn, Bye Bye Melvin was churning up sod as he brushed with his neighbor Bodecream (Bodemeister) at the top of the lane, but found his footing in the final sixteenth, surging late to nail Don Juan Kitten on the line.

He’s a late developer. He’s been a little bit of a project in that way, but I’m not surprised with the way he ran. He slugs it out and he obviously handled the soft turf better than most.”

Graduating by 8 1/4 lengths at fourth asking at Tampa Dec. 7, Bye Bye Melvin followed suit with an optional claimer score there Jan. 8. A well-beaten 10th on the main track for the GII Tampa Bay Derby Mar. 7, he was seventh in the GIII Kent S. at Delaware July 4 and checked in second last time in the Jersey Derby at Monmouth July 26.

 

Pedigree Notes:

Bye Bye Melvin is the 63rd black-type winner and 35th graded winner for his sire Uncle Mo. The winner is a half to talented turf distaffer Mean Mary, a two-time graded winner who finished second in last week’s GI Diana S. at the Spa. Bye Bye Melvin is the most recent produce for their Grade I-winning dam Karlovy Vary.

Saturday, Saratoga
SARANAC S.-GIII, $100,000, Saratoga, 8-29, 3yo, 1mT, 1:39.92, sf.
1–BYE BYE MELVIN, 118, c, 3, by Uncle Mo
1st Dam: Karlovy Vary (GISW, $448,596), by Dynaformer
2nd Dam: The Right Pew, by Pulpit
3rd Dam: Packet, by Polish Navy
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-Alex G.
Campbell, Jr.; B-Alex G. Campbell, Jr. Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY);
T-H. Graham Motion; J-John R. Velazquez. $55,000. Lifetime
Record: 9-3-1-1, $107,965. *1/2 to Mean Mary (Scat Daddy),
MGSW & GISP, $496,160. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Don Juan Kitten, 119, c, 3, Kitten’s Joy–Romance Project, by
Not For Love. ($77,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP). O-Kenneth L. & Sarah
K. Ramsey; B-Cantrell Family Partnership (KY); T-Danny
Gargan. $20,000.
3–Bodecream, 122, g, 3, Bodemeister–Call Mariah, by Dixie
Union. ($50,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP; $50,000 3yo ’20 FTKHRA).
O-Repole Stable; B-Judy Hicks, Kathryn Nikkel & Sanford
Robertson (KY); T-Michael J. Maker. $12,000.
Margins: HD, 2HF, 3/4. Odds: 19.50, 2.00, 7.60.
Also Ran: Embolden, Irish Mias, Three Technique, L’Imperator (Fr), Vanzzy. Scratched: Big Dreaming, Ima Pharoah, Turn of Events. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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