Saratoga Abandons Remainder of Card Due to Weather

With the field for the Aug. 4 GII National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame S. at Saratoga Race Course circling in the paddock for several minutes due to lightning, New York Racing Association (NYRA) officials decided to cancel the remainder of Friday's card due to inclement weather. Races 8-11, including the Hall of Fame S., were called off at approximately 5:15 p.m. ET.

The race prior, the GIII Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Oaks Invitational S. won by Elusive Princess (Martinborough {Jpn}), did run as expected, although it was contested in pouring rain.

Saturday's racing, which includes the GI Whitney S. and two other Grade I events, is expected to be conducted as usual. The Hall of Fame S. has been rescheduled for Friday, Aug. 11 with entries to be drawn on Sunday, Aug. 6.

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Prat Wins On East Coast, Veterans Take Del Mar Stakes Saturday

Del Mar's leading rider Flavien Prat notched another stakes victory in the second of his three-day soiree to Saratoga Race Course, the upstate New York track known as The Spa, for major race assignments.

Prat took the $200,000 Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes on Friday aboard Public Sector ($3.80) for trainer Chad Brown. Saturday, the same combination scored in the $120,000 Fasig-Tipton Lure Stakes with Flavius ($4.70).

Prat was fourth, beaten 6 ¾ lengths by Bella Sofia, aboard Always Carina for Brown in the $500,000 Grade 1 Longines Test Stakes. One race later on the card, Del Mar-based Hall of Famer Mike Smith was fifth, beaten 4 ½-lengths by 21-1 long shot State of Rest, aboard Secret Protector for English trainer Charles Appleby.

Meanwhile, Del Mar's pair of Grade 2 events on Saturday were won by riders with a combined total age of 100 and combined total experience of 62,819 races and 11,591 wins.

Joe Bravo, 49 for another month, took the first of the back-to-back stakes, the $200,500 Best Pal, getting Pappacap to settle nicely behind dueling front runners then swooping to a 4 3/4-length score. According to Equibase statistics, Bravo ended the day with 30,507 career races and 5,505 wins.

“His (only previous) race in Florida, he was just pure speed,” Bravo said. “You don't know if that's the way they like to go. I was glad to see how well he settled in behind those two up front. He showed another dimension today.”

Hall of Famer Kent Desormeaux, 51, won the $200,000 Yellow Ribbon on Princess Grace for trainer Mike Stidham. At Desormeaux's urging, the 4-year-old filly shot through a gap between horses at the top of the stretch to take the lead and was never headed in winning by 1 ¼ lengths.

“Michael told me one thing before the race that I used to advantage,” Desormeaux related. “He said, 'She's brave.' When that hole opened turning for home, I sent her through and she went right on with it.”

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Desormeaux, who missed much of 2020 while addressing personal issues, has 32,312 career starts and 6,086 wins according to Equibase statistics.

“I'm so happy for Kent,” Stidham said. “He's so talented, an amazing rider, and the way he came through that hole with (Princess Grace) was terrific.”

Bravo stands fifth in the Del Mar rider standings with nine wins from 53 mounts. Desormeaux is in seventh place with seven victories in 45 starts.

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Wolfie’s Dynaghost Heads Field For National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes At Saratoga

Woodslane Farm homebred Wolfie's Dynaghost, a half-sibling to millionaire Grade 1-winning turfer Sadler's Joy, will make his grass debut in Friday's $200,000 Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame, a one-mile inner-turf test for sophomores at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The 37th edition of the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame, slated for Race 7, is part of a loaded Friday card that includes the $120,000 Alydar in Race 8, a nine-furlong test for older horses who have not won a sweepstakes in 2021 other than state-bred; and the $200,000 Grade 3 Troy presented by Horse Racing Ireland, a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf sprint for older horses in Race 9.

Trained by Tom Albertrani, Wolfie's Dynaghost graduated at first asking at odds of 33-1 in a seven-furlong maiden special weight in November over a good main track at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y. The Ghostzapper bay, out of the Dynaformer mare Dynaire, returned to action in May when running a distant fifth in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Peter Pan over a Belmont Park main track rated fast.

Last out, in an off-the-turf optional-claiming event at 1 1/16-miles on July 3 at Belmont, Wolfie's Dynaghost relished the sloppy and sealed surface, bounding away to a two-length front-running score.

Wolfie's Dynaghost posted his first recorded breeze on turf Sunday, covering a half-mile in :51.10 on the Oklahoma training turf in company with older allowance winner Duress [:52.65].

With Irad Ortiz, Jr. up, Wolfie's Dynaghost tracked outside Duress before advancing through the turn and powering to the inside of his workmate for the stretch run, finishing up his breeze with vigor.

“It looked like he was really striding out well over it and it looked like he got a good hold of it. Irad was really happy with the work,” Albertrani said. “He galloped out strong, too. It was a really good work.”

“He showed a great turn of foot when Irad asked him. He responded really quickly,” Albertrani continued. “When he gave him his cue, he quickened up nicely and galloped out good. I got him in :51 and he galloped out in 1:02 and change.”

Albertrani said he is hopeful that Wolfie's Dynaghost will show the same affinity for turf as his half-sibling and stablemate Sadler's Joy, a Grade 1-winner on turf with more than $2.6 million in earnings through 37 career starts.

“He has a lot of turf pedigree to him and if he's anything like his half-brother, we're optimistic that he'll run well,” Albertrani said. “He's run well on two wet tracks. The Peter Pan was a bit of a head-scratcher. It could have been a combination of maybe he wasn't 100 percent tight that day or the dry track, too. Maybe he was looking for turf all along.

“We came back and tried him on the grass and it came off so we ran him anyway, and he was really impressive,” Albertrani added. “I think we're still in a phase with him and learning more about him, but I think this distance is perfect for him, and if the grass moves him up a step or two, even better.”

Wolfie's Dynaghost will exit post 8 under Ortiz, Jr.

Trainer Mark Casse, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Friday, will saddle Breeze Easy's Easy Time.

“I can't think of anything better than to get inducted in the morning and win it in the afternoon,” Casse said with a laugh.

Easy Time, by Not This Time, graduated at first asking, sprinting seven furlongs on Woodbine's Tapeta main track in October, but didn't resurface until January when off-the-board in the one-mile Mucho Macho Man on dirt at Gulfstream.

The dark bay, purchased for $250,000 at the OBS July 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale, tried the Gulfstream turf in February when second by a neck in a one-mile optional claimer.

Last out, Easy Time returned to synthetic and made the grade with a two-length win in the Grade 3 Marine at 1 1/16-miles on July 11 at Woodbine.

“Easy Time is a nice horse. He broke his maiden impressively,” Casse said. “We tried him on the dirt at Gulfstream and he probably wasn't ready to do that. He came back and had a troubled trip over the grass at Gulfstream and came out of it with a minor setback, so we gave him some time at our training center in Ocala. He was impressive last time.

“I think he's a pretty good horse,” Casse continued. “Judging by his only performance on the grass at Gulfstream, I don't think grass is an issue.”

Easy Time will exit post 4 under Tyler Gaffalione.

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Trainer John Terranova entered a strong one-two punch in Eric Fein's Original and Ranger Fox but said it's possible one of his entrants could scratch in favor of a start in the $120,000 Better Talk Now on August 29 at one-mile on the Spa turf.

Both horses worked a half-mile solo on the Oklahoma training turf Saturday with maiden winner Ranger Fox clocked in :51.66 and graded-stakes placed Original in :51.23.

“I'm not sure that both will run, but both worked very well,” Terranova said. “I thought Ranger Fox breezed really well yesterday and he's really stepping forward, so I figured we'll put him in there and take a look at the race.”

Ranger Fox, a Nyquist bay, is out of the Quality Road mare Xtra Spice, whose dam is Hall of Famer Xtra Heat.

Purchased for $310,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Ranger Fox graduated last out at fourth asking in a seven-furlong maiden special weight against older horses over good Belmont turf.

With Joel Rosario up, Ranger Fox tracked in third before taking command at the stretch call en route to a 5 1/2-length score, garnering a career-best 85 Beyer.

“He's a colt with talent. He just needed a little time to mature,” Terranova said. “There's a lot of room to go forward with this guy. He's doing really well right now and he's trained on forward since his maiden win at Belmont.

“He's matured quite a bit,” added Terranova. “It was nice to see it set up last time and that he handled it without issue. He was real handy and it gives us options going forward as far as stretching out when he's able to relax early.”

Original, a Kentucky-bred son of Quality Road with Luis Saez up for the second time following a third in an optional claimer on June 4 at Belmont Park, set a moderate pace over good going in the Manila, kicking two lengths clear of the field at the stretch call en route to a head score in the one-mile Widener turf test.

“Luis got to know him the first time he rode him and it worked out last time,” Terranova said. “He handled the softer ground last time too which is encouraging. Both horses have handled softer going which is good given what we've seen with the weather so far up in Saratoga. We couldn't be in better hands with Luis and Joel on our horses.”

Ranger Fox was assigned post 3 under Rosario, while Original would exit post 6 under Saez.

Rounding out the field are multiple stakes winner Annex [post 1, Junior Alvarado]; graded-stakes placed Public Sector [post 2, Flavien Prat]; maiden winner In Effect [post 5, Jose Lezcano]; and Next [post 7, John Velazquez], last-out winner of the one-mile War Chant on the Churchill Downs turf.

First post on Friday's 10-race card is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

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Hall of Fame Announces Call for Entries for Third Annual ‘Photo Finish’ Exhibit

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame has announced the return of its juried photography exhibition program, Photo Finish. The Museum is now accepting submissions for consideration from both amateur and professional photographers of scenes depicting Thoroughbred racing in America for its third annual exhibition. Racing scenes, portraits (both human and equine), whimsical, morning workouts, retired racehorses, etc., are all welcome; it is up to the photographer to interpret the theme and be as creative as possible. The Museum also welcomes photographs documenting what racing was like during the pandemic in this unusual 2020 season.

Photographs for consideration must be submitted by May 10, 2021. A panel of judges representing both the racing and arts communities will select the photographs for the exhibition, which will open in November 2021 in the von Stade Gallery.

Application forms will be available at the Museum front desk and can be downloaded from the Museum’s website here. If you have any questions, contact Curator Victoria Reisman at VReisman@racingmuseum.net or (518) 584-0400 ext. 113.

The second annual Photo Finish exhibition will remain on display in through Jan. 31, 2021. The online exhibition will be available on the Museum website through Summer 2021 and can be accessed here.

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