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Trainer Ralph Nicks Doubles Up In For Florida Sires Stakes Dr. Fager

Trainer Ralph Nicks has become a major Florida Sire Stakes player in recent years, saddling the winners of six races since 2016 in the tradition-rich series for 2-year-olds sired by accredited stallions standing in Florida.

Nicks, who has been based year-round in Florida since Gulfstream Park instituted a Spring/Summer Meet in 2013, will seek to continue his Florida Sire Stakes success in the $100,000 Dr. Fager, which will co-headline Saturday's Florida Sire Stakes program with the $100,000 Desert Vixen for fillies. Both stakes will be contested at six furlongs.

Nicks' two entries in the Dr. Fager – Stonehedge LLC's Breeze On By and Jacks or Better Farm's Little Demon – aren't likely to be regarded lightly in the first leg of the series. Not only will they be saddled by a trainer who has demonstrated a deft hand with juveniles, but they will also represent the two most successful owners in the history of the series that was inaugurated in 1982.

Gil Campbell and his Stonehedge Farm have amassed 12 Florida Sire Stakes victories, including a series sweep by Scandalous Act (2013). Fred Brei's Jacks or Better Farm has won a record 19 races in the lucrative series, including series sweeps by half-brothers Jackson Bend (2009) and Fort Loudon (2011), as well as Awesome Feather (2010), who went on to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) and an Eclipse Award.

Nicks has already visited the Florida Sire Stakes winner's circle with Stonehedge LLC's Lucky Charm (2019 Affirmed) and Jacks or Better Farm's Garter and Tie (2018 Affirmed) among his six FSS successes.

“They both have good programs and they're both great to work for,” Nicks said. “We're on the same page.”

Stonehedge LLC's Breeze On By made a rather auspicious debut while capturing a July 12 maiden special weight race at Gulfstream by six lengths. The homebred son of Cajun Breeze ran the six-furlong distance in 1:11.82.

“It was a very impressive race. I'm not crazy about the three weeks wheel-back,” said Nicks, who would have had as many as three Dr. Fager entrants had Stonehedge LLC's sharp debut winner Big Daddy Dave not come down with a fever. “But with the one sick, and the one doing well, you better lead him over there.”

Jacks or Better Farm's Little Demon will enter Florida Sire Stakes action as a maiden but showed promise while finishing second in his June 20 debut, in which he chased loose-on-the-lead Papetu and finished 2 ¾ lengths clear of the third-place finisher. Papetu went on to capture the first allowance for 2-year-olds this year at Gulfstream and is being pointed to the Aug. 7 Saratoga Special (G2).

“He came out of a good race. He ran well and is training well,” said Nicks, who saddled Raroma Stable's Phantom Ro for a victory in the 2017 Dr. Fager. “Hopefully, he'll move forward.”

Before going on his own, Nicks was involved in the training of two-time Horse of the Year Cigar and many other veteran stakes stars as an assistant to Hall of Fame Bill Mott, but he has rapidly built a reputation for developing promising juveniles.

“It's always fun to see them come up and see them mature and develop. We got some earlier this year than in the past, but it's funny how some of them are just coming around and doing well,” Nicks said. “Two-year-olds – everybody shoots for them. If you don't have 2-year-olds, you don't have a future.”

Emisael Jaramillo has the return mount aboard Breeze On By, while Samy Camacho is scheduled to ride Little Demon for the first time Saturday.

Seven-time Eclipse Award winner Todd Pletcher, who has captured 16 Championship Meet titles at Gulfstream, appears to have a solid shot at winning his first Florida Sire Stakes while basing a stable division at Gulfstream during his first Sprint/Summer Meet for the first time.

J A G Racing and Jettany Thoroughbred Corp.'s Son of a Beast, a gutsy debut winner at Gulfstream, is scheduled to return for Pletcher in the Dr. Fager. The son of The Big Beast set a pressured pace throughout a five-furlong maiden special weight race June 24 and continued on gamely to prevail by three-quarters of a length.

“I thought he was impressive in his debut. I'm looking forward to running him,” said Pletcher, who will also be represented by debut winner Tamiami in the Desert Vixen. “He's always trained well. We expected him to come out running first time, so we sort of had this race in mind for a while.”

Edgard Zayas has the return call on Son of a Beast.

Arindel's Gatsby, an impressive debut winner April 17, will be looking to rebound from an off-the-board finish in the June 27 Bashford Manor (G3) at Churchill Downs. The homebred son of Brethren pulled off an upset victory over heavily favored Golden Pal in his debut at 4 ½ furlongs, chasing the Wesley Ward-trained odds-on favorite into the stretch before edging clear by three-quarters of a length. Golden Pal went on to finish second in the Norfolk (G2) at Royal Ascot.

Hector Berrios is slated to ride the Juan Alvarado-trained Gatsby for the first time Saturday.

Trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. will seek his 13th Florida Sire Stakes success with Famous Gent, a son of First Dude owned and bred by his wife, Laurie, and Trilogy Stable.

Famous Gent rallied from off the pace to graduate in his second start June 5 while running five furlongs in 58.87 seconds. He lost all chance at the start of a subsequent allowance after encountering heavy bumping but closed to finish third behind highly regarded Papetu.

Cristian Torres has the return mount.

Kenneth Fishbein's Boca Boy enters the Dr. Fager off an impressive 7 ½-length win in his July 17 debut at Gulfstream. The son of Prospective led throughout the 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight race under Angel Arroyo, who has the return call on the Cheryl Winebaugh trainee.

Edward Schuster's Valiant Thor, a homebred son of Two Step Salsa, is slated to make his first start at Gulfstream Saturday after scoring a front-running 8 ½-length victory in his July 1 debut at Tampa Bay Downs. Ronnie Allen Jr. is named to ride by Dennis Ward-trained juvenile.

Trainer Michael Maker will be represented by two juveniles in the Dr. Fager – Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher's Casalsa, a son of Two Step Salsa who was claimed for $50,000 out of a front-running victory June 27 in his second start, and Three Diamonds Farm's Lost Lover, a son of Gone Astray who is slated to make his debut Saturday.

Magic Stables LLC's Paladio and Oakleaf Farm's Mr. Tingles, who both graduated in the claiming ranks, and All Together Stable's Social Equality, an unraced maiden, round out the field.

The Dr. Fager the Desert Vixen will be followed by the $200,000 Affirmed and the $200,000 Susan's Girl for fillies, both slated for seven furlongs Aug. 29, and the $400,000 In Reality and the $400,000 My Dear Girl for fillies, both to be run around two turns at 1 1/16 miles Sept. 26.

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No Parole Going After Consecutive Grade 1 Wins In H. Allen Jerkens Memorial

A rematch featuring the superfecta of last month's Grade 1 Woody Stephens will highlight another high-caliber contest, with No Parole looking to propel his 3 ¾-length victory into more glory in Saturday's Grade 1, $300,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial presented by Runhappy on Whitney Day at Saratoga Race Course.

The 36th running of the H. Allen Jerkens, a seven-furlong main track sprint for 3-year-olds, is one of five stakes overall on the 12-race card and part of three Grade 1s, joining the $500,000 Personal Ensign presented by NYRA Bets for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up, and the $750,000 Whitney for 4-year-olds and up going 1 1/18 miles. The Personal Ensign is a “Win and You're In” qualifier to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Distaff in November at Keeneland, while the Whitney will offer the winner an all-fees paid berth to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic.

Carded as Race 10, the H. Allen Jerkens, formerly called the King's Bishop and renamed for the late Hall of Famer trainer known as the “Chief,” will have a post time of 6:18 p.m. Eastern. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern. Saratoga Live will present full coverage beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern on FOX Sports and MSG Networks.

No Parole, owned by Maggi Moss and Greg Tramontin, is unbeaten going one turn, registering a perfect 4-for-4 ledger in sprints. Overall, the Tom Amoss trainee has won 5-of-6 starts, including his gate-to-wire win in the seven-furlong Woody Stephens on June 20 over a fast Belmont track, earning his first triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure with an even 100.

Ahead of his first Saratoga start, No Parole worked twice over the main track, going four furlongs in 50.50 seconds on July 16 before being ramped up on July 24, when he covered the same distance in 46.42.

“He's doing well. He had a much more enthusiastic work last week, which was by design,” Amoss said. “Everything he had been doing before then was just easy. To sharpen him up, we put a good piece of work in him with a sharp half mile. He came out of it well.”

The sophomore Louisiana-bred son of Violence is unbeaten going one turn. In the Woody Stephens, he went to the front and led at every point of call, outkicking the Steve Asmussen-trained duo of Echo Town and Shoplifted, who he will face again on Saturday.

No Parole's only defeat took place in the Grade 2 Rebel at Oaklawn Park going a two-turn mile and a sixteenth. Amoss said his charge has continued to develop and improve from that effort, winning both of his starts.

“I think what you're seeing is just a typical development of a talented horse, if you take away the experiment of going two turns,” Amoss said.

Amoss, who is also an analyst for Saratoga Live, will have Luis Saez back aboard after the jockey piloted No Parole in the Woody Stephens in his first time aboard the colt. He will be back in the irons, breaking from post 6.

“I think he's the perfect rider for No Parole and he was my first choice when we came to Belmont and fortunately, we were able to get him,” Amoss said.

Bred by Coteau Grove Farms, No Parole is out of the stakes-placed Bluegrass Cat broodmare Plus One.

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who will saddle Improbable in the Whitney in Race 9, will send out Grade 1-winner Eight Rings in the sprint contest. A debut winner last August at Del Mar, Eight Rings won a Grade 1 as a juvenile in the American Pharoah, named for Baffert's 2015 Triple Crown winner.

After running sixth in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile in November at Santa Anita, Baffert gave the son of Empire Maker five months off. But Baffert said he might have brought back the $520,000 purchase too soon, as Eight Rings ran fifth in the six-furlong Bachelor on April 25 at Oaklawn. He has since been training at Del Mar, and Baffert said he is expecting better things as he ships to New York for the first time.

“He's doing good. I probably shouldn't have brought him back in that last one,” Baffert said. “That might have been a trainer error there. But he's doing good and we're taking a shot.”

Eight Rings is owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Frederick Hertrich, III, John Golconda Stables and Coolmore Stud. Joel Rosario will be aboard from post 2.

Asmussen will saddle three contenders, with the Hall of Famer sending out Woody Stephens runner-up Echo Town and third-place Shoplifted in addition to Sonneman.

L and N Racing's Echo Town has never finished off the board in six starts, posting a 3-2-1 ledger. Making his graded stakes debut last out, the Speightstown colt stayed next-to-last in the five-horse field through six furlongs before rallying for second. He earned a 93 Beyer for the effort, marking his fourth consecutive race registering at least a 90.

Ricardo Santana, Jr., aboard for Echo Town's last five starts, will have the return engagement from post 4.

Shoplifted will return to the site of his debut win last July when he posted a 4 ½-length score. Owned by Grandview Equine, Cheyenne Stables and LNJ Foxwoods, the son of Into Mischief earned graded stakes blacktype with a second-place finish to Basin in the Grade 1 Hopeful last September at the Spa.

After running out of the money in the Grade 3 Southwest and the Oaklawn Stakes in the spring at Oaklawn, the $800,000 purchase at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Florida Select Sale was cut back in distance and ran third in the Woody Stephens. Staying at seven furlongs, Shoplifted will have the services of jockey Tyler Gaffalione from post 7.

Courtland Farm's Sonneman made his stakes debut in his fifth career appearance last out in what turned out to be a match race with Celtic Striker in the Easy Goer on June 25 at Belmont. Scratches whittled the field down to two, with Sonneman staying one length behind at the half-mile mark before Celtic Striker pulled away for a 19 ¾-length romp.

After posting two wins and two runner-ups in his first four starts, the Curlin colt will get another opportunity at stakes action, drawing post 3 with Jose Lezcano aboard.

Live Oak Plantation's Tap It to Win will make his first start since running in the 1 1/8-mile Grade 1 Belmont Stakes on June 20. Trained by Mark Casse, Tap It to Win broke his maiden at Saratoga last August and won his first two starts to his sophomore campaign before being stretched out in the first leg of the Triple Crown.

Tap It to Win is 2-for-2 in dirt sprints in his career and will try to extend that mark on Saturday.

“We're excited to get him back out there in the Jerkens,” Casse said. “His one race at Saratoga was extremely good in a sprint. We're hoping that going back there, he shows what he did last year.”

Hall of Famer John Velazquez, who has won this race four times, including last year aboard Mind Control, will ride from post 11.

Mischevious Alex, a two-time graded stakes-winner for Cash is King and LC Racing, ran fourth in the Woody Stephens to break a three-race winning streak. Conditioned by John Servis, Mischevious Alex won the Grade 3 Swale in February at Gulfstream Park and followed with a two-length victory in the Grade 3 Gotham in March at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will ride, breaking from post 5.

Trainer Jeremiah Englehart will send out New York-bred Captain Bombastic, the last-out winner against state breds in the Mike Lee, who carries a 3-2-1 record into his first graded stakes appearance. He picks up the services of Hall of Famer Javier Castellano for the first time, drawing post 10.

His stablemate, Three Technique, has two wins and three-runner up finishes in six starts with his only off-the-board finish last out when fourth in the Grade 2 Rebel in March on a sloppy and sealed Oaklawn track. Jose Ortiz will depart from post 8.

Rounding out the field is Liam's Pride, a last-out winner of the Gold Fever on a sloppy Belmont track on July 10, for trainer Doug O'Neill [post 9, Dylan Davis]; and Hopeful Treasure, conditioned by Michael Pino, who will make his first start against graded stakes company [post 1, Manny Franco].

For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

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McGaughey Looks to Add to Whitney ‘Honor’ Roll

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Following the draw for the GI Whitney S. Wednesday morning, trainer Shug McGaughey answered more questions about his previous Whitney winners than this year’s runner, Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}).

McGaughey, a member of racing’s Hall of Fame since 2004, will try for his fourth victory in Saratoga’s premier dirt race for older horses Saturday with William Farish’s 4-year-old homebred colt.

The chestnut drew in the middle of the strong five-horse field, that features Tom’s d’Etat (Smart Strike), who has won four straight stakes, and GI Hollywood Gold Cup winner Improbable (City Zip), trained by Bob Baffert. Last year, Baffert won the Whitney with McKinzie (Street Sense).

The Whitney field also includes three-time graded stakes winner By My Standards (Goldencents) and Mr. Buff (Friend Or Foe), the massive New York-bred division champion seeking his first graded stakes victory.

With Whitney winners Personal Ensign (1988) and Easy Goer (1989), both Hall of Famers, and Honor Code (2015) on his vast stakes resume, McGaughey, 69, spent a fair amount of time talking about the present and the past.

Code of Honor was moved up to second in the 2019 GI Kentucky Derby following the disqualification of Maximum Security (New Year’s Day) and won last year’s GI Runhappy Travers and GI Jockey Club Gold Cup via the disqualification of eventual GI Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Vino Rosso (Curlin).

Code of Honor enters the Whitney following a third-place finish in the GI Runhappy Metropolian H. July 4.

Though the Whitney field is the smallest since Personal Ensign beat just two others 32 years ago, McGaughey said it is deep in quality and will be a big test for his late-runner. Tom’s d’Etat with Joel Rosario up, is the 6-5 morning-line favorite in the “Win and You’re In” race for the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Improbable and Code of Honor are listed at 5-2. On June 27, Tom’s d’Etat extended his win streak in the GII Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs.

“It won’t be easy,” he said. “I’ve just got to hope that Code of Honor runs a monster race. It will be kind of interesting to see what the tactics are with only five. I know where I’m going to be, but I’m not sure what the others are going to do or how much they’re going to press. You know that Joel isn’t going to do anything stupid. Hopefully, he’ll be up there fairly close, as he was, I think, in the Stephen Foster and we are able to pick him up. It’s a pretty solid field. I feel like we’re lucky to be in it. If he runs his race, they’ll know he is there.”

McGaughey said that Code of Honor is better suited for the two-turn 1 1/8 miles of the Whitney than the one-turn Met Mile at Belmont Park. Code of Honor is two-for-two at the Spa.

“I have a lot of confidence,” McGaughey said. “He was so fresh last year for the Travers. I think it will be a little different kind of a race this year because he ran on June 6 [winning the GIII Westchester] and ran back in the Met Mile. He’s bounced out of it good. His two works here were good. I’ve got confidence that he will run his race. If that is good enough, we’ll get our picture taken. If not, we’ll figure out something else.”

McGaughey was in his third year training for Ogden Phipps and his family when he ran Personal Ensign in the Whitney. She had recovered from an injury–a broken bone in a rear leg–that had kept her away from the races for almost a year. The 4-year-old filly faced two very capable runners, Gulch and King’s Swan, and McGaughey said he had some concerns about asking her to face males over a sloppy track.

“The rain came up early, so I came over here to kind of see what was going on with the track,” McGaughey said. “They ran a sprint race earlier in the card–I remember Angel Penna had a horse in there–and it looked like to me that the water was just on top of the track. I told Mr. Phipps that I thought they were going down into a drier track and I didn’t think it would be a problem. I knew she didn’t mind the mud.”

Personal Ensign prevailed by 1 1/2 lengths over Gulch at 4-5 and is the last female to win the Whitney.

“She was able to run an incredible race,” he said. “It’s funny, one of the numbers guys called me earlier in the week and said ‘She can win this race if she gets the perfect trip.’ If you remember, [jockey Angel] Cordero and King’s Swan pushed her way out in the middle of the racetrack. She was out there kind of the whole way, but she was good enough to win.”

Three months later, Personal Ensign finished her career at 13-0 record with a heart-stopping victory by a nose over Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors in the GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Churchill Downs.

McGaughey said the Whitney was part of the plan to silence some critics and put her at the top of the older female division.

“I remember on the West Coast they said, ‘She only wins at Belmont.'” McGaughey said. “So I said, ‘Well, I’ll take care of that part of it.’ We took her down to Monmouth and she won the Molly Pitcher from here to across the street. Mr. Phipps was anxious to start her against the colts and I thought this was the perfect place to do it. In case we were wrong and it took too much out of her, we would still have enough time for the fall racing. We thought this was a pretty good opportunity. Plus, he didn’t want to duck and run to some place, like Chicago, to run against the colts. He wanted to do it here.”

The following summer, McGaughey became the first trainer to win-back-to-back Whitneys in over 50 years with the 3-year-old Easy Goer. After runner-up finishes to Sunday Silence in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, Easy Goer beat Sunday Silence by eight lengths in the GI Belmont S.. Rather than prep him for the Travers in the Jim Dandy, McGaughey put him in the Whitney and ran Fast Play in the Jim Dandy. Easy Goer, the last 3-year-old to win the Whitney, won as he pleased by three lengths over Clever Trevor at 1-5.

“We knew that Easy Goer was an exceptional horse,” McGaughey said. “He came out of the Belmont–and I wouldn’t have done it–but he gave you the feeling that you could run him back in two weeks. We obviously didn’t do that, but we pointed for here. Mr. Phipps was anxious to do something of that sort and we had an alternative, too, with Fast Play, who we could run in the Jim Dandy. Obviously, it was the right decision and I thought it was the right decision going in, too.”

Hall of Fame jockey Jacinto Vazquez provided some drama by pinning Easy Goer along the rail behind the pacesetter for a while, but he took advantage of an opening.

“He had to come through there, but he was in a little bit of trouble,” McGaughey said. “I can remember watching Pat Day and thinking, ‘He’s got a lot of horse. Whenever it opens he’s going to be there.'”

McGaughey was second to Criminal Type with Dancing Spree by 1 1/2 lengths in 1990 and Out of Place was second by a nose in 1992. He added his third Whitney five years ago with Honor Code, who edged Liam’s Map by a neck at 7-2. It followed his victory in the Met Mile and was the last of his six wins in an 11-race career.

“Honor Code was an exceptional horse,” McGaughey said. “He wasn’t the easiest horse to train. He kind of did a little bit of what he wanted to do. After he won in the Whitney, he didn’t want to go back to the training track. I had to bring him up here and train. I don’t know why.”

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