Greg Tramontin's Ottoman Empire will look to benefit from the experience of his race last month at Saratoga when he returns as part of a 12-horse field of juveniles in tomorrow's Grade 2, $200,000 Saratoga Special presented by Miller Lite contested at 6 1/2 furlongs on the main track.
The Tom Amoss trainee won his debut in a five-furlong sprint on June 20 at Churchill Downs, rallying from seventh to best next-out winner Texas Red Hot by one length. Stepping up to stakes company next out, the Classic Empire colt ran fourth in the Grade 3 Sanford at six furlongs at the Spa in a race won by Wit.
“He won his first start at Churchill and there's absolutely no doubt he's a talented horse,” Amoss said. “In his first start, it was strictly on raw talent. He made a lot of mistakes. He didn't break well, he didn't like being crowded, he didn't go around anybody. But it was a very good race as far as watching a horse that doesn't have a really good understanding of competition yet but still being able to win a race.”
Amoss said an equipment change could continue to be beneficial to Ottoman Empire, who was a $120,000 purchase at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
“Since his first start, we thought we had educated him pretty well entering the last stakes race here. We did add blinkers to him, which isn't a move I often make this early in a horse's career,” Amoss said. “I like them to learn through racing, but we're going to go ahead and run with the blinkers. I just feel he needs a little jump-start in the education process.”
Ottoman Empire drew post 3 with Dylan Davis in the irons. He is listed at 15-1 on the morning line.
“His understanding of competition and what he needs to do to win is still not where it needs to be, but you tend to get a little bit of a better understanding through racing, so we're back in tomorrow and we feel good about it,” Amoss said.
Joel Politi's Li'l Tootsie will make a surface change after going 3-1-0 in first seven career starts on dirt when she competes in Sunday's $120,000 Galway for 3-year-old fillies going 5 1/2 furlongs on Saratoga's Mellon turf course.
Li'l Tootsie, who ran ninth last out in the Grade 3 Indiana Oaks on July 7 at Indiana Grand Race Course, registered her first breeze on the grass with a five-furlong work in 1:03.66 on the Oklahoma training turf July 31 and Amoss said he was impressed with the effort.
“She's a very talented sprinter,” Amoss said. “She's never raced over the grass before, but the pedigree suggests it'll work. We breezed her over the Oklahoma turf course and we thought she worked very well. This race gives us the opportunity to see if we can make her anything other than a dirt sprinter and broaden our horizons.”
Li'l Tootsie, bought for $105,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, is a daughter of Tapiture out of the Dayjur mare Informative Style. She drew the inside post in the Galway with Eric Cancel aboard and is 12-1 on the morning line.
“You always prefer to be further outside with a chance to position and make a late run without any traffic,” Amoss said. “The one-hole, it's the shortest way home, but it presents potential problems for a horse who comes off the pace. We have to work out a trip from there and see what happens.”
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