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Sprinters in the Spotlight on Both Coasts Saturday

Male sprinters take their shot at Grade I glory on both coasts Saturday with the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt S. at Saratoga and the GI Bing Crosby S. at Del Mar, which is a “Win and You're In” for the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint.

Champion Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music) is four-for-four at Saratoga and three-for-three this year. The GII True North S. romper is the heavy favorite at 1-5 on the morning-line against five quite overmatched foes. The next closest on the morning-line is 6-1 shot Ny Traffic (Cross Traffic), who enters off a win in the Chocolate Town S. at Penn National June 17.

“You can't talk about Jackie's Warrior without thanking Kirk and Judy Robison for putting him back in training,” said Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. “It's so rare in this day and age for a champion colt to have another year at the racetrack and for him to have another chance at Saratoga.”

Meanwhile, on the West Coast, a more evenly matched field of 10 seek a spot in the Breeders' Cup starting gate in the Bing Crosby. Three-time Crosby winner Bob Baffert saddles the lightly-raced Shaaz (Uncle Mo) Saturday. Two-for-four thus far, the $1.1-million EASMAY acquisition enters off a third in the GIII Steve Sexton Mile May 30 while under the temporary care of conditioner Sean McCarthy.

Last term's GI Woody Stephens S. winner Drain the Clock (Maclean's Music) avoids rival Jackie's Warrior by making his first start on the West Coast Saturday.

The top three finishers from Santa Anita's GII Triple Bend S. also resurface here: American Theorem (American Pharoah), Principe Carlo (Coil) and Get Her Number (Dialed In).

While this race has been won by some very talented horses, it has not produced a Breeders' Cup winner since Kona Gold in 2000. The last Alfred Vanderbilt winner to score at the World Championships was Speightstown in 2004.

Short, But Sweet Field Set For Jim Dandy

There may only be five colts set to line up for Saturday's GII Jim Dandy S., the local prep for next month's GI Runhappy Travers S., but it's quite a talented quintet.

The field is led by Epicenter (Not This Time), who went off as the Derby favorite after dominating the Fair Grounds preps. He was a valiant second beneath the Twin Spires after being run down late by longshot Rich Strike (Keen Ice) and rallied to fill the same spot last out in the GI Preakness S. May 21.

“He's training as well, or better, as he did throughout the Triple Crown races, so we'll see,” said Winchell Thoroughbreds manager David Fiske said. “It seems like everyone is getting better this time of year, and I don't know that he could be doing any better. Steve is pleased with him. He's a pretty straight forward horse. I think during the Triple Crown I characterized him as almost machine like. He just does what you want him to do, goes back to his stall and lays down.”

Preakness winner Early Voting (Gun Runner) also returns here, hoping to give his sensational young sire his second Grade I winner in as many Saturdays following Cyberknife's Haskell score. He is joined by stablemate and GI Toyota Blue Grass S. winner Zandon (Upstart), who completed the Derby trifecta.

“I really believe that they both have established themselves for quite some time now to be two of the top-five 3-year-old dirt colts in the country pretty consistently throughout most of the year,” trainer Chad Brown said. “The order might change around those top five and the fifth horse that's in that group might change a little bit, but they're consistently in that group. We're at the midway marker, so there's a lot more racing to take place and these horses are going to have to continue to maintain strong campaigns to stay in that group.”

Country Grammer Returns in the San Diego

Country Grammer (Tonalist) makes his first start since upsetting the G1 Dubai World Cup Mar. 26 Saturday in Del Mar's GII San Diego H. The 1 1/16-mile test is often used as a prep for the GI Pacific Classic, which is the next target for undefeated MGISW Flightline (Tapit).

John Velazquez ships in from Saratoga to ride for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. It is Country Grammer's first start on American soil this year, having kicked off the season with a second in the G1 Saudi Cup Feb. 26.

“It's going to be tight, you know, he's more of a mile and a quarter type of horse,” Baffert said, “but it's nice to have a race into him. We sent him to the farm for a couple of months, Winstar Farm, and they sent him back looking great.”

Baffert pursued a similar path with Dubai World Cup winner Arrogate (Unbridled's Song), who also made his first start after Meydan in the San Diego. He finished fourth that day and went on to be second in the Pac Classic before losing his title defense in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic.

Mandaloun (Into Mischief), named GI Kentucky Derby and GI Haskell S. winner last year via DQ, ships west to run in this spot rather than facing the aforementioned Life Is Good in the GI Whitney S. next weekend. He enters off a well-beaten fourth in the GII Stephen Foster S. July 2.

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Asmussen Set For Big Saturday at the Spa

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – Two standouts. Two high-profile graded stakes. Two different scenarios Saturday for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.

In the Grade I portion of his afternoon at Saratoga Race Course, Asmussen will saddle champion Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music), who just might go off as the shortest-priced favorite in the history of the $350,000 GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H., which has been run since 1985.

One race later, in the $600,000 GII Jim Dandy S., Asmussen will send out Epicenter (Not This Time), runner-up as the favorite in the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. The Jim Dandy is the local stepping stone to the meet's signature race, the GI Runhappy Travers S. Aug. 27. It is entirely possible that he will be the favorite in a field that includes Preakness winner Early Voting (Gun Runner) and GI Toyota Blue Grass S. winner Zandon (Upstart), both trained by Chad Brown.

Asmussen picked up his first victory of the meet on Sunday when Clairiere (Curlin) solidified her hold on the top spot in the older female dirt division with an impressive score in the GII Shuvee S. over champion Malathaat (Curlin). This weekend at the Spa, the focus shifts to a pair of male horses, who could also end the season with Eclipse Awards.

A tribute to Jackie's Warrior's dominance in the sprint division is that just nine other horses were nominated for the six-furlong Vanderbilt and only five of those will face him Saturday. Further, the 4-year-old will carry a career-high 127 pounds, six more than Ny Traffic (Cross Traffic). The weight assignment is hardly a surprise since the speedy colt is perfect at Saratoga, unbeaten this year and has won six of his last seven starts.

“I don't think that you can talk about Jackie's Warrior running without pointing out how fortunate we are to have a champion colt back in training,” Asmussen said. “Kirk and Judy Robison allowing us to run or enjoy him another year is very special.”

The Robisons purchased the colt as a yearling for $95,000 and he has won 11 of 15 career starts and earned over $2.4 million. Joel Rosario will be up for the 15th-consecutive start.

“His three races this year have been very exciting, very dominating performances,” Asmussen said. “And the Vanderbilt just being another opportunity to run him at Saratoga, where I think his best races have been. Both of his runs as a 2-year-old, the Saratoga Special and the Hopeful were brilliant.

“And last year, a great win in the Amsterdam with a rain delay. You're stuck in the paddock an extra 20-30 minutes and then the performance he put in that day. I cannot say enough about his duel with Life is Good in the Allen Jerkens. So when you talk about getting to continue to run that horse and even better yet an opportunity to run him at Saratoga it's very special and unique.”

Jackie's Warrior was prepared for the races by Asmussen's parents, Keith and Marilyn, at their Texas training center. The Robison's colt promptly built his reputation during morning training and in the afternoon with four-straight victories. In the first three, he was not the favorite.

“When he came from Laredo, he was a very attractive, fast horse,” Asmussen said. “Ran excellent first time out, but I do think the ascension happened at Saratoga. We had a very good 2-year-old that had won the Bashford Manor in Cazadero (Street Sense). We breezed him and Jackie's Warrior together. It was a far more experienced or accomplished Cazadero and Jackie off one race and it was like 'wow, you're better than good. You're special.' I think that every day since then that's who he's been.”

Asmussen nodded in agreement at the comment that there can't be many horses that are four-for-four in graded stakes at the Spa.

“Winning one graded stake at Saratoga is a tall task,” he said.

Epicenter did not make his 2-year-old debut until September at Churchill Downs, a few weeks after the end of the 2021 Saratoga season. He broke his maiden second time out in November and has never been worse than second in his six races since. With victories in the GII Risen Star and GII Louisiana Derby on his resume, he went off as the 4-1 favorite in the Kentucky Derby. The Winchell Thoroughbreds colt looked like a winner in the stretch after a duel with Zandon when long shot Rich Strike (Keen Ice) rolled on by to score a huge upset.

Asmussen took him to the Preakness, but he encountered some trouble early, was far back and ended up 1 1/4 lengths behind Early Voting.

“Two hard races 14 days apart. He got a little freshening since then,” Asmussen said. “We love what we've seen since we've been here at Saratoga, but it is his first run at Saratoga ever. It will be his first try up here against a very accomplished field, but with the eye on the prize, that is the Travers this summer.”

Epicenter has breezed three times at Saratoga on the Oklahoma training track and Asmussen chose the Jim Dandy over the GI Haskell Invitational S. last weekend in order to give his colt a race over the main track.

Asmussen said that Epicenter is a popular runner, whose best performances may be ahead of him.

“Epicenter has a tremendously large rooting section, from people that I come in contact with, and in passing even, Epicenter has a large fan group,” he said. “What I am hoping, and on the way to proving, is that he's the next Gun Runner. And it feels very similar, because he does have a groundswell of support as a 3-year-old, even though he has not been victorious in the major races yet.”

Gun Runner had a very solid though not spectacular 3-year-old season, but became a superstar with $15,998,500 in earnings by winning seven of his last eight starts. That run started with the GI Clark H. in late November 2017 and ended with a win in his finale, the 2019 GI Pegasus World Cup.

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Asmussen Heavyweights Tune Up For Spa Stakes

Top sophomore colt Epicenter (Not This Time) and Eclipse Award-winning sprinter Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music) highlighted the Saratoga worktab over the last few mornings as each prepares for big-race engagements July 30.

Winchell Thorougbreds' GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. runner-up Epicenter makes his first start of the second half of the season in the GII Jim Dandy S. and went five furlongs over the Oklahoma training track Monday in 1:01.13 in the company of the 3-year-old maiden Flute Master (Gun Runner) (1:03.12).

“Visually impressive is what he is,” trainer Steve Asmussen told the NYRA notes team. “He's an extremely talented horse and he's doing well. His work Monday was as good of a work as I've seen from him, and I've seen some impressive works from him. It's a good time to be doing well.”

J. Kirk and Judy Robison's Jackie's Warrior was last seen overwhelming his competition by five lengths in the June 10 GII True North S. and breezed five-eighths of a mile in 1:00.72 Sunday over the Oklahoma track. The strapping 4-year-old is scheduled to make his next appearance in the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt S.

“It's so rare to have a champion colt be back in training and not only that, his three runs this year have been visually impressive,” Asmussen said. “He had a nice work here on Sunday and we're on target for the Vanderbilt.”

Jackie's Warrior, who defeated 'TDN Rising Star' Life Is Good (Into Mischief) in last year's GI H. Allen Jerkens S., is also potentially a candidate for the GI Forego S. on the GI Runhappy Travers S. undercard Aug. 27.

“We want more of the same from him. He's 4-for 4 here which is an unbelievable record,” Asmussen said. “His win here in the Allen Jerkens against Life Is Good was as good of a horse race as I've been involved with. It was wonderful to come out on the right side of that.”

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Epicenter Back to Work, Targeting Summer Campaign at Saratoga

Epicenter (Not This Time), a too-good-to-be-second as the favorite in both the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S., has begun gearing up for a summer campaign at Saratoga.

The Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC colorbearer worked four furlongs in an easy :50.60 (31/37) at Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen's Churchill Downs base June 20, just his second move since rallying for runner-up honors in the middle leg of the Triple Crown.

“He's like a machine,” said David Fiske, longtime advisor to the Winchell family. “He took a few weeks off after the Preakness and now he's gotten a couple of slow half-miles in. We're trying to get him cranked up for the [GII] Jim Dandy S. [July 30] and then the [GI Runhappy] Travers [S. Aug. 27].”

Fiske continued, “Nobody's lost any confidence in him. He's still the same horse he ever was. Still acts the same, travels the same, trains the same… He is a professional racehorse.”

The 'Mid-Summer Derby' could also be a potential landing spot for Kentucky Derby upsetter Rich Strike (Keen Ice), Preakness winner Early Voting (Gun Runner) and GI Belmont S. hero Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo).

After getting first run into a supersonic early pace and enjoying a clear lead in the stretch, Epicenter came up a valiant 3/4 of a length short behind the second-longest shot in Kentucky Derby history.

Steadied and squeezed in the early stages two weeks later in Baltimore, the $260,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase was left way too much to do, rallying smartly from eighth to finish 1 1/4 lengths shy of the forwardly placed Early Voting.

Epicenter's resume also includes wins in the GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby, GII Risen Star S. and Gun Runner S.

“It's just the way it shook out–he was an unfortunate victim of circumstance in both the Derby and Preakness,” Fiske said. “Everybody is still pretty fired up about him. It will be exciting to get him back going again.”

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