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Weekend Lineup: Derby Points On The Line In Loaded Travers, Ellis Park Derby

Though it occupies an earlier spot than usual on the calendar, the Grade 1, $1 million Travers Stakes succeeded in luring the top sophomore in training as the race will be headlined by Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law, the current No. 1 ranked horse on the NTRA Top Three-Year-Old Poll. The 151st running of the Travers will be one of five graded stakes on the day at historic Saratoga Race Course.

For the second consecutive year, the Travers Stakes will be televised live on the FOX broadcast network as part of a 1 ½ hour telecast from 5-6:30 PM ET on Saturday. An expanded Travers Day edition of Saratoga Live will air nationally on FS1 beginning at 11:30 AM ET. Coverage and analysis of the day's races then shifts to FS2 beginning at 3:00 PM ET and continues throughout the afternoon on FS1/FS2.

TVG will be live on site at racetracks across the country covering a loaded weekend of racing that includes graded stakes races from Del Mar and the Ellis Park Derby, a prep race for the Kentucky Derby in September.

Friday August 7

5:46 p.m.—$150,000 Grade 2 Saratoga Special Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on FS2

A field of 11 juveniles will look to make their star turn in Friday's 114th running of the Grade 2, $150,000 Saratoga Special going six furlongs over the main track. Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen will attempt five victories in the Saratoga Special when saddling Cazadero, who is the lone starter in the field with a graded stakes triumph. Owned and bred by Barbara Banke's Stonestreet Stables, the bay son of Street Sense won the Grade 3 Bashford Manor on June 27 at Churchill Downs in his most recent start, which came after an 8 ¾-length romp on debut at the Louisville oval.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SAR080720USA9-EQB.html

8:39 p.m.—$150,000 Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar on TVG

In what appears to be a wide-open edition of the Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar, six fillies will face off in a six-furlong tussle that will reward the one home first with a nice payday, a chunk of black type and a leg up toward the meet's top prize for 2-year-old distaff runners — the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante on September 6. The 52nd running of the race features a trio of local juveniles who all scored their maiden victories last out and have the benefit of both experience and a feel for the Del Mar strip.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/DMR080720USA8-EQB.html

Saturday August 8

3:42 p.m.—$300,000 Grade 1 Ballerina Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on FS2

Blue Devil Racing Stable's homebred Come Dancing emerged as one of the country's leading older female sprinters last summer at Saratoga Race Course, and trainer Carlos Martin is hopeful the 6-year-old mare will flash that same form when she goes after a second straight victory in Grade 1, $300,000 Ballerina Stakes. Come Dancing is attempting to become only the second horse to win multiple editions of the Ballerina following Shine Again in 2001 and 2002 for late Hall of Fame trainer Allen Jerkens. A multiple graded-stakes winner of more than $1 million in career purses, Come Dancing has raced just twice this year. She was 12th in her season debut, the Grade 1 Apple Blossom on April 18 at Oaklawn Park and second as the favorite behind fellow Ballerina aspirant Victim of Love in the Grade 3, 6 ½-furlong Vagrancy June 27 at Belmont Park

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SAR080820USA7-EQB.html

4:22 p.m.—$200,000 Grade 3 Troy Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on FS2

Christophe Clement will look to add to his impressive numbers when he sends out Pure Sensation and Shekky Shebaz in Saturday's Troy Stakes over the Spa's Mellon turf course. Patricia Generazio's homebred Pure Sensation, a 9-year-old Zensational gelding, boasts a record of 37-14-5-7 with purse earnings of $2,001,050. The popular grey won 4-of-6 starts last season, including a pair of graded-stakes at Parx where he captured his third Grade 3 Parx Dash and his fourth Grade 3 Turf Monster at Parx. Pure Sensation wintered at Payson Park in Florida and made his seasonal debut with a seventh in the Grade 1 Jaipur on June 20 at Belmont Park.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SAR080820USA8-EQB.html

5:02 p.m.—$150,000 Grade 3 Waya Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on FOX

Wise Racing's Fools Gold looks to defend her title in Saturday's Grade 3 Waya Stakes over the Mellon turf. Fools Gold, trained by Chad Brown, will attempt to be the first back-to-back winner of the Waya since Saratoga Source won the first two editions in 1993-94. The 5-year-old daughter of Medaglia d'Oro has not won since taking last year's Waya, where she sat off the pace in the early stages, inched her way into contention and won by three-quarters of a length. Her lone start this season was a well-beaten fifth in her seasonal bow in the Grade 2 New York on June 27 at Belmont Park over the inner turf.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SAR080820USA9-EQB.html

5:39 p.m.—$300,000 Grade 1 Test Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on FOX

Michael Lund Petersen's Gamine headlines a field of six in Saturday's Test Stakes, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies. Gamine, an Into Mischief bay trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, has crossed the wire first in all three career starts, winning her March debut at Santa Anita by 6 ¼-lengths when sprinting 6 ½-furlongs. In May, she edged Speech, who two starts later captured the Grade 1 Ashland at Keeneland, in an optional-claiming sprint at Oaklawn where she was subsequently disqualified from purse money. Last out, the $1.8 million Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale purchase annexed a field of seven in the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes by 18 ¾-lengths on June 20 at Belmont Park.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SAR080820USA10-EQB.html

6:15 p.m.—$1,000,000 Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on FOX

Sackatoga Stable's Tiz the Law, undefeated in his sophomore campaign with three consecutive graded stakes victories, will return to the site where his racing career began last summer as part of an eight-horse field of top 3-year-olds in Saturday's Grade 1 Travers Stakes. Tiz the Law made history in becoming the first New York bred in 138 years to win the Belmont Stakes on June 20. With five wins in six career starts, the Barclay Tagg trainee is the even-money morning-line favorite from post 6 and enters the 1 1/4-mile “Mid-Summer Derby” leading all horses with 272 qualifying points to the Kentucky Derby. He has a chance to add to that record-breaking total, as the Travers will offer 100-40-20-10 points to the top four finishers to the “Run for the Roses” on September 5.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SAR080820USA11-EQB.html

7:30 p.m.—$150,000 Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes at Del Mar on TVG

Eight times already trainer Wesley Ward has rung the stakes bell at Del Mar and Saturday he's aiming for another gong with a quick 2-year-old colt named Roderick, who ran away and hid from a straight maiden field at Belmont Park in New York on June 21 in his lone outing and looks like a solid favorite for the 50th edition of the Best Pal Stakes. The race, a six-panel spin for juveniles, has drawn a field of seven runners and Roderick has drawn post No. 4 and Del Mar's leading rider, Flavien Prat.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/DMR080820USA6-EQB.html

9 p.m.—$150,000 Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Stakes at Del Mar on TVG

Slam Dunk Racing or Medallion Racing's Beau Recall (IRE), who was up by a whisker to win last year's Yellow Ribbon Handicap, has come back to Del Mar to try to make it two-for-two in the Grade 2 headliner for fillies and mares that will be run this Saturday. The now 6-year-old mare brings a record of seven wins and eight seconds from 27 starts to the mile and one-sixteenth grass test, as well as a bankroll that reads $1,101,512. Trainer Brad Cox has shipped his well-traveled charge in from New York to defend her title and has assigned Umberto Rispoli to ride.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/DMR080820USA9-EQB.html

Sunday August 9

6:10 p.m.—$200,000 Ellis Park Derby at Ellis Park on TVG

The field was set for Sunday's first-ever Kentucky Derby prep staged at Ellis Park, with Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes winner Art Collector heading the thirteen 3-year-old colts and geldings entered in the Ellis Park Derby. The 1 1/8-mile Ellis Park Derby carries 50 points to the winner toward qualifying for the Kentucky Derby on September 5. Art Collector seeks to go to 4 for 4 since being turned over to trainer Tommy Drury this year. Thanks to the Blue Grass' 100 points, owner-breeder Bruce Lunsford's colt already has enough points to ensure a spot in the 20-horse Kentucky Derby field, with Drury using the Ellis Park Derby as a conditioning tool rather than training the eight weeks up to America's most important race.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/ELP080920USA10-EQB.html

9:30 p.m.—$125,000 Grade 3 La Jolla Handicap at Del Mar on TVG

Storm the Court, the reigning champion juvenile male, switches to the turf to face seven other challengers in the La Jolla as he seeks his first victory since capturing the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita Park last November. Trained by Peter Eurton, Storm the Court is winless in four starts this season and most recently finished third in the Grade 3 Ohio Derby on June 27.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/DMR080920USA10-EQB.html

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Godolphin’s Shared Sense ‘Really Has Done No Wrong’ Ahead Of Ellis Park Derby

A missed break. A pace scenario that fails to materialize. An upstart contender who uncorks the race of their life.

Any of the above of scenarios can undo even the most overwhelming of favorites, which is why horsepeople often remind everyone that races are conducted on the track, not on paper. All that being said, Sunday's $200,000 RUNHAPPY Ellis Park Derby features an entity that would need an exceptional amount of circumstances to converge to keep it from declaring victory on the day.

While Bruce Lunsford's homebred colt Art Collector looms as the dominant equine athlete in the Ellis Park Derby field, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum's Godolphin operation might hold the strongest collective hand for the race. In addition to standing Bernardini, sire of Art Collector, Godolphin also has their own homebred entrant in Shared Sense, a son of Darley stallion Street Sense who brings his own share of momentum into the nine-furlong test.

The Ellis Park Derby offers 85 qualifying points (50-20-10-5) toward the Kentucky Derby on September 5.

The same week Art Collector announced himself as a leading sophomore contender with his victory in Keeneland's Grade 2 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes on July 11, Shared Sense made his own statement as one his classmates will have to tangle with if they want to land some of the division's better races. In his first try against graded-stakes company, the bay colt captured the Grade 3 Indiana Derby by three lengths on July 8 over a field that included fellow Ellis Park Derby contender Necker Island.

When Art Collector did his thing a few days later at Keeneland, it actually made Shared Sense's victory at Indiana Grand all the more impressive as the two colts had met in an allowance-optional claiming race at Churchill Downs on June 13 with Art Collector prevailing handily by 6 ½ lengths. It will take a massive step forward for Shared Sense to close that gap this Sunday but, as the upsets which peppered the racing landscape last weekend demonstrated, there is always reason for confidence when you're armed with a contender whose form is going in the right direction.

“I think any time you open the gates, any one is liable to stub their toe or miss the break like we saw last weekend (with Tom's d'Etat in the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes) where you can stumble at the gate and cost yourself everything,” said Jimmy Bell, president of Godolphin's U.S. operations. “We're going in with no illusions. Art Collector is the best horse on paper and in the flesh and I think it's his race to lose really, and only if he's not himself or certain things happen beyond their control that we're in position to take advantage of.

“I think obviously Art Collector is the overwhelming, deserving favorite. But we're going to get a pretty good measure of how Shared Sense will tackle the upper echelon of 3-year-olds. His win in the Indiana Derby was enough to give us confidence that he can step up and enter a race like the Ellis Park Derby with horses like Art Collector in it.”

Having a homebred son of 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense in the conversation at this point in the year was expected from the Godolphin team, only many figured it would be Grade 1 winner Maxfield as the subject matter. A condylar fracture suffered in June sent that undefeated colt to the sidelines and, while that gut punch still stings, Shared Sense has quietly stepped up as a contender to carry Sheikh Mohammed's blue silks to Louisville come September.

Trained by Brad Cox, Shared Sense broke his maiden via disqualification at Churchill Downs last November 30 and, after finishing sixth in the Smarty Jones Stakes during his seasonal bow on January 24, he captured a one-mile allowance-optional claiming test at Oaklawn Park on February 29.

A venture on turf would follow next time out with a run in the War Chant Stakes on May 23, but that experiment was shelved when Shared Sense finished sixth. His progress has been built in increments rather than dynamics, but there were always indicators that he could swim in deeper waters.

“His only real blemish could be attributed to us where we took a chance and ran him on the grass in the War Chant and he came from out of the clouds, was almost last and finished well enough,” Bell said. “So you take that race out of there and he's had a win, a second and his second was to Art Collector. So he really has done no wrong in basically his last four races.

“When he got beat down at Oaklawn Park over a muddy track in the Smarty Jones, there were some nice horses that ran that day. He's just been a horse who has done very little wrong. He's been a little unlucky, this that and the other, but the Indiana Derby was a big boost. He got a proper Beyer and a proper (Ragozin) out of that number.”

Shared Sense was not an original Triple Crown nominee and would need to be supplemented for $45,000 (plus entry fees) into the Kentucky Derby field should he make a definitive case for himself this weekend.

“It'd be a little overly speculative to be making any comments on that but…. (Art Collector) is genuinely one of the top 3-year-olds and one of the reasons we chose the Ellis Park Derby is to get a line on (Shared Sense),” Bell said. “It didn't make a lot of sense to be shipping a long ways out of here when you have an opportunity like this at Ellis Park. So I certainly think the results would speak for themselves.”

The presence of both Shared Sense and Art Collector in the Ellis Park Derby field also serves as a mini tribute the all-around prowess of Darley's 17-year-old stalwart Bernardini, the 2006 Preakness Stakes winner and 3-year-old champion.

In addition to siring 4-5 favorite Art Collector, Bernardini is also the broodmare sire of 9-2 second choice Shared Sense, who is out of the unraced mare Collective. Bernardini's rise up the ranks as a broodmare sire is particularly notable for a stallion his age as his daughters have also produced such standouts as Maxfield, 2019 Kentucky Oaks heroine Serengeti Empress, and Grade 1 winner Dunbar Road.

“I think Bernardini probably as quickly and as rapidly as any young stallion has stamped himself as being just a phenomenal broodmare sire,” Bell said. “He's shown that ability to get that top-class colt and his daughters, whether or not they are great racemares, it seems the blood is there and the production speaks for itself. It's been really amazing the success he's had as a broodmare sire as young as he is. Usually you begin to see that late in their careers but … almost as soon as those fillies are retired they start showing up as producers.”

Hence, even if Art Collector gets the better of their runner again this weekend, it will still go down as a victory for one of the industry's most successful global operations.

“I think Sheikh Mohammed takes enormous satisfaction in having a stallion making such a contribution to the breed,” Bell said. “If we by chance were to get nipped, we'd still love to keep the Bernardini connection going. If we can't do it with the broodmare sire in Shared Sense, maybe Bernie can get it done with Art Collector.”

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‘Really Strong Favorite’ Art Collector Draws Post Four Of Full Field For Ellis Park Derby

The field was set Thursday for Sunday's first-ever Kentucky Derby prep staged at Ellis Park, with Keeneland's Grade 2 Toyota Blue Grass winner Art Collector heading the thirteen 3-year-old colts and geldings entered in the $200,000 RUNHAPPY Ellis Park Derby.

“It's Art Collector and all the rest,” said trainer Tom Amoss, who will try to pull off the upset with Grade 3 Ohio Derby victor Dean Martini. “You've got a really strong favorite in this race, and I think everyone will measure the quality of their horse with how they perform against him.”

The Ellis Park Derby, which was instituted in 2018 as a mile race, anchors a five-stakes program that also includes the $100,000 RUNHAPPY Audubon Oaks for 3-year-old fillies, which offers 10 points to its winner toward qualifying for the Kentucky Oaks; $100,000 Groupie Doll Stakes for older fillies and mares; $100,000 RUNHAPPY Juvenile for 2-year-olds; and $100,000 RUNHAPPY Debutante for 2-year-old fillies.

The 1 1/8-mile Ellis Park Derby carries 50 points to the winner toward qualifying for the COVID-delayed Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5. Also earning qualifying points will be the runner-up (20), third place (10) and fourth (5).

Art Collector drew post 4 as he seeks to go to 4 for 4 since being turned over to trainer Tommy Drury this year. Thanks to the Blue Grass' 100 points, owner-breeder Bruce Lunsford's colt already has enough points to ensure a spot in the 20-horse Kentucky Derby field, with Drury using the Ellis Park Derby as a conditioning tool rather than training the eight weeks up to America's most important race.

“His first couple of wins, he just ran off the screen both times, certainly didn't have to overexert himself,” Drury said of Art Collector. “The Blue Grass, he had to earn it; that filly (Swiss Skydiver) made him work for it. Watching that race and evaluating the race afterward, I felt one more was going to be beneficial to him. I'm just really thankful that spot at Ellis is available. We were late getting to the party and we've needed every little thing to fall in place to get him to this point. For Ellis to have a Derby prep this year was a lifesaver to us.”

Other leading contenders include Grade 3 Indiana Derby winner Shared Sense (post 12); Anneau d'Or (post 2), the Breeders' Cup Juvenile runner-up and most recently fourth in the Santa Anita Derby; Grand Prairie Derby winner Little Menace (post 6), and last year's Ellis Park Juvenile winner Rowdy Yates (post 8).

Shared Sense could be on the Derby qualifying bubble points-wise, collecting 20 for winning the Grade 3 Indiana Derby in his graded-stakes debut. Godolphin's son of 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense faced Art Collector two races back, when Art Collector controlled the speed for a dominant win over Shared Sense in a four-horse Churchill Downs allowance field.

“First time we ran against him here, we were at the back of the pack, there was no pace,” said Brad Cox, Shared Sense's trainer. “I was pleased with the effort. They almost broke the track record; the track was quick. Honestly, we were the second-best horse that day. He bounced out of it in good shape. We turned our attention to the Indiana Derby and it worked out extremely well. Obviously the other horse went on to pick off a Grade 2 at Keeneland very impressively. Both horses seem to be going the right way right now, and I'm excited about Sunday.”

Saturday's $1 million, Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga, where Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law looms as the big favorite, also was a possibility for Shared Sense.

“If we're dreaming about the Derby, I think with my horse I would be comfortable trying to get a nice mile-and-an-eighth race into him four weeks before the Derby as opposed to a mile and a quarter at Saratoga,” Cox said. “That's a pretty demanding course, and that's a big ask four weeks before you're hopefully going to run the biggest race of your life.”

Because he wasn't nominated earlier in the year, Godolphin would have to pay $45,000 to make Shared Sense a supplemental nominee to the Kentucky Derby, on top of entry fees.

The same is true for Dean Martini, who was claimed by his owners Raise the BAR Racing out of a $50,000 maiden-claiming race May 17. The gelding actually started his career with a second at Ellis Park but needed seven more attempts to win, albeit while accumulating three seconds and three thirds. Dean Martini won the Ohio Derby in his second start for his new connections.

“We need to know if he can validate his Ohio Derby performance,” Amoss said. “It was a very good race, but is he consistently the kind of horse who can put in those kinds of performances? We need to find out, and we're going to do that on Sunday. Obviously with a horse like Art Collector in there, it will validate one way or the other where we need to head for our next race.”

If the Ellis Park Derby is a first for the racetrack as far as being a Kentucky Derby prep race, count Cox among those hoping that it's also the last.

“Unless we start running at Ellis earlier in the year,” he joked. “I hate to say it, but hopefully it's a one-time thing. I like the Derby in May, not September. “

Still, Cox believes the 2020 running is a great start in entrenching the Ellis Park Derby among the regional Derbys that populate racing after what normally is the Triple Crown.

“West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Oklahoma — There are a lot of Derbys out there,” he said. “There's definitely a spot on the calendar where Kentucky could have a nice 3-year-old race like the Ellis Park Derby and it become a graded event. Hopefully this is the start of something bigger and better for the Ellis Park Derby.”

RUNHAPPY Ellis Park Derby
Purse: $200,000. Post time: Sunday at 5:10 p.m. CT (10th race). Distance: 1 1/8 miles. Division: 3-year-olds.
PP horse (weight) trainer/jockey

Trident Hit (118) Brendan Walsh/Corey Lanerie
Anneau d'Or (118) Blaine Wright/Tyler Baze
Sprawl (118) Bill Mott/Julien Leparoux
Art Collector (122) Tommy Drury/Brian Hernandez Jr.
Necker Island (118) Chris Hartman/Mitchell Murrill
Little Menace (120) Steve Asmussen/ Martin Garcia
Truculent (118) Jack Sisterson/Adam Beschizza
Rowdy Yates (118) Steve Asmussen/Shaun Bridgmohan
Dean Martini (122) Tom Amoss/James Graham
Attachment Rate (118) Dale Romans/Joe Talamo
Winning Impressions (118) Dallas Stewart/Joe Rocco
Shared Sense (122) Brad Cox/Florent Geroux
(AE) Rogue Element (118) Dale Romans/Miguel Mena
**(AE) Also eligible – needs scratch to run

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TVG Live On Site For Hambletonian, Del Mar Stakes, Ellis Park Derby

TVG, America's horse racing network, will be live on site at racetracks across the country covering a loaded weekend of racing that includes the $1 million Hambletonian, one of harness racing's most prestigious events, alongside major graded stakes races from Del Mar and the Runhappy Ellis Park Derby, a prep race for the Kentucky Derby (GI) in September.

At the Meadowlands, Ramona Hill will go to post as the 5-2 morning line favorite with driver Andrew McCarthy as TVG will provide live, on-site coverage of the first jewel of the Trotting Triple Crown. TVG's Tom Cassidy will be live on-site with analysis and interviews as the track hosts the $600,000 Hambletonian Oaks as well as the 95th renewal of the $1 million Hambletonian. Hypnotic AM has been tabbed as the morning line favorite in the Oaks at odds of 5-2 with driver Brian Sears.

At Del Mar, there will be expert analysis and exclusive interviews on-site by Todd Schrupp, Mike Joyce, Britney Eurton, and Joaquin Jamie while Simon Bray and Christina Blacker will also be contributing to the broadcast. There are four graded stakes races scheduled at Del Mar from Friday through Sunday. Juveniles will be showcased in the $150,000 Sorrento Stakes (GII) for fillies on Friday and in Saturday's $150,000 Best Pal Stakes (GII). The $150,000 Yellow Ribbon Handicap (GII) for fillies and mares on the turf is also scheduled for Sunday and the stakes action concludes on Sunday with the $125,000 La Jolla Handicap (GII) for sophomores on the turf.

TVG will also be live on site at Ellis Park on Sunday for the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby which will offer points towards a berth in the Kentucky Derby (GI) which will be run the first Saturday in September. The race will feature Art Collector, the impressive winner of the Blue Grass Stakes (GII) at Keeneland in July for trainer Tommy Drury. Brian Hernandez, Jr. will be aboard. Scott Hazelton and Gabby Gaudet will be trackside with interviews and analysis for the full card.

In addition to the Meadowlands, Del Mar and Ellis Park, TVG will also be broadcasting racing from Gulfstream Park, Laurel Park, Monmouth Park and more all weekend.

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