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Fast Boat Overhauls Carotari To Upset Troy Stakes On Saratoga Turf

Brad Grady's Fast Boat motored in deep stretch to overtake pacesetter Carotari from the outside, getting up in the final jumps for a half-length score in Friday's Grade 3, $200,000 Troy presented by Horse Racing Ireland for 4-year-olds and up sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs on Saratoga Race Course's Mellon turf in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Fast Boat won for the third time in four starts, utilizing a patient trip from jockey Tyler Gaffalione from the inside post as Carotari led the nine-horse field through the opening quarter-mile in 21.74 seconds and the half in 44.15 over firm going under Hall of Famer Javier Castellano.

Out of the turn, Gaffalione kept Fast Boat wide, providing the 6-year-old son of City Zip plenty of racing room in front of him. Gaffalione's charge capitalized on the daylight and picked off multiple rivals one-by-one until setting his sights on Carotari.

In the final sixteenth, Gaffalione alternated from right-handed to left-handed encouragement, and Fast Boat collared his rival in the shadow of the wire, completing the course in 1:01.24 for trainer Joe Sharp.

“During the stretch run I was jumping off the ground,” Sharp said. “I got a little taller inside the eighth pole. You could tell by his momentum that he was going to get there, but the horse on the lead, Javier's horse [Carotari], dug in when he got to him. When he fires his big ones it's always fun to watch from the quarter-pole home. We figured he'd like this turf course here, and he sure did.”

Fast Boat registered his third stakes win of the campaign, adding to scores in the Pulse Power Turf Sprint in January at Sam Houston and the Grade 2 Turf Sprint in April at Churchill Downs, before running sixth last out in the Grade 1 Jackpocket Jaipur on Belmont Stakes Day June 5.

“He was training very forwardly into the race,” Sharp said. “He's a horse we've gotten to know really well and we know all his 'isms.' When he's doing well and when he's going to run a big race and everything pointed to his effort today. The weather cooperated today. He prefers a firm turf course, and for the Jaipur, he lost his opportunity at the Grade 1 with the give in the ground. But I'm not taking anything away from today. We're super proud to be here and honored. Winning at Saratoga is big, let alone winning a graded stake.”

Off at 10-1, Fast Boat returned $23.80 on a $2 win wager. He improved his career earnings to $659,849.

Gaffalione won the Troy for a third consecutive year for three different trainers, starting with Leinster and Rusty Arnold in 2019 and winning aboard the Wayne Potts-conditioned American Sailor last year.

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“I didn't expect to be that close, but he was travelling pretty easy and I just let him do his thing,” Gaffalione said. “I didn't want to get in his way and when I tipped him out he really finished his job. Mr. Sharp has done a great job with him. You can tell when he's in that five-and-a-half to three-quarters range, he really runs his race.”

Carotari, trained by Brian Lynch, went off at 23-1 but outkicked Gear Jockey by one length for second, marking the third time in four starts the Artie Schiller gelding has hit the board in his 5-year-old year.

“He had been training so well going into this race,” Castellano said. “You could see on paper how good he was working. I really like how he did it today. I was really satisfied with his race.”

Imprimis, Bound for Nowhere, Front Run the Fed, Lazuli, Chewing Gum and Classy John completed the order of finish. Backtohisroots, Chateau and Casa Creed scratched.

Saturday will feature a stacked 12-race card at Saratoga comprising five stakes, highlighted by the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney for 4-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles in Race 10; the Grade 1, $1 million Saratoga Derby Invitational as the second leg of the Turf Triple series for 3-year-olds at 1 3/16 miles in Race 9; the Grade 1, $500,000 Longinest Test in a seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-old fillies in Race 8; the Grade 2, $250,000 Glens Falls for older fillies and mares at 1 1/2 miles on turf in Race 7; and the $120,000 Fasig-Tipton Lure for 4-year-olds and up competing at 1 1/16 miles on grass in Race 6. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.

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Now In Mott Barn, Art Collector Scores On Front End In Alydar At Saratoga

Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector, confidently handled by Luis Saez, captured Friday's $120,000 Alydar, a nine-furlong test for older horses who have not won a stakes other than state-bred in 2021, at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Recently transferred to the care of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, the 4-year-old Bernardini colt utilized a front-running approach to secure his first win since capturing a pair of nine-furlong stakes last summer for his former conditioner, Tom Drury, in the Grade 2 Blue Grass at Keeneland and the Ellis Park Derby.

“If you look at his nine-furlong races, you saw he had done very well for the previous trainer,” said Mott. “Both Tom Drury and I had trained for Bruce and Bruce wanted the horse in Saratoga, so Tommy sent the horse up to us and he was in good shape when he came. We've had him six weeks and he's done well since he's been here.”

Art Collector, exiting post 4, cleared the field of eight into the first turn as a forwardly-placed Core Beliefs protected his inside run with Bourbon War, Math Wizard and Night Ops also jostling for position through an opening quarter-mile in 24.51 seconds on the fast main track.

Jesus' Team, runner-up in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup in January, was slow away from the gate but rushed up into sixth down the backstretch by Junior Alvarado as the half-mile ticked by in 48.80.

Art Collector, moving confidently under Saez, dictated terms into the final turn as Night Ops continued to press with the duo gaining three lengths of separation on Core Beliefs in third.

As the field straightened away for the stretch run, Art Collector opened up by three-lengths under a hand ride as Night Ops continued his dogged pursuit and started to close the gap. But an alert Saez shook the reins and his charge responded in kind to secure the 1 1/2-length win in a final time of 1:48.20.

Saez, who guided Art Collector to a runner-up effort on debut in August 2019 at the Spa, said he wanted to be forwardly placed.

“I rode the horse when he was a baby and he liked to be a free runner,” Saez said. “The plan was to break well from our post and see if we can get the lead, and everything went the way we planned it. Breaking from there, we got ahead and he kept going. I saw Manny coming, but I knew I had a lot of horse, so I was patient with him.”

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Night Ops completed the exacta by 8 1/2-lengths over Math Wizard. Rounding out the order of finish were Core Beliefs, Limonite, Prioritize, Bourbon War and Jesus' Team.

“When I was in my position stuck in second, I didn't think the pace was too quick, so I had to do my work because no one else went with [Art Collector],” Franco said. “My horse is a horse that never gives up. He always tries. I have to give credit to the winner, but my horse was second-best today.”

Art Collector, who completed his sophomore campaign with off-the-board efforts in the Grade 1 Preakness in October at Pimlico and the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile in November at Keeneland, was transferred to Mott following a sixth-place finish in the Kelly's Landing in June at Churchill Downs.

Mott said Art Collector will now potentially target the Grade 1, $500,000 Woodward on October 2 at Belmont Park.

Bred in Kentucky by his owner, Art Collector banked $66,000 in victory while improving his record to 13-6-1-0. He paid $3.80 for a $2 win ticket.

Live racing resumes Saturday with a loaded 12-race card headlined by the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney at nine furlongs for older horses, a Breeders' Cup “Win And You're In” qualifier for the Grade 1, $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic.

Whitney Day also features two other Grade 1 events with the $1 million Saratoga Derby Invitational for 3-year-olds going 1 3/16 miles over the Mellon turf and the $500,000 Longines Test for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs over the main track.

Also featured on the card are the Grade 2, $250,000 Glens Falls for older fillies and mares travelling 1 1/2 miles over the inner turf and the $120,000 Fasig-Tipton Lure for 4-year-olds and upward over the Mellon turf. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.

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Arapahoe Park To See Purse Increases For 2021 Meet

A recently announced $2,000 bump for all open-company overnight races is designed to reward loyal horsemen supporting the Bally's Arapahoe Park 2021 meet set to open Wednesday. The Aurora, Colo., racetrack pushed back the season from its usual mid-summer dates to allow the simulcast-driven purse fund to recover from pandemic-related OTB closures. The added time has resulted in a purse account that is as flush as it has been in many years.

In addition to the purse increase, Arapahoe is offering a new bonus structure for Colorado-breds competing against open company, with up to $2,000 in additional purse funds for a top-three finish.

First post will be 12 p.m. (Noon) MT, Wednesdays to Fridays, through Oct 15.

The mixed meet will offer Arabian, American Quarter Horse, and Thoroughbred racing. Select Thoroughbred races will be broadcast live on TVG and/or TVG2. All races are available on every prominent wagering platform.

Wednesday's Opening Day program kicks off with an Arabian maiden special weight, followed by six Thoroughbred races. The featured seventh race is a $15,500 allowance for non-winners of four races or non-winners in 2021 going 5 1/2 furlongs. The competitive field includes Docs Holiday, winner of last year's Colorado Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) Derby; Collusionist, a two-time stakes winner at Arapahoe in 2020; Doby, who ran one of the fastest races of the meet last year as a 3-year-old but was disqualified for interference; Maius, champion of the 2019 Gold Rush Futurity, the meet's most prestigious race; and King Parker, on the board in seven of 12 starts this year.

Opening week also includes Quarter Horse trials for the $75,000 Mile High Futurity (Thursday) and the $75,000 Mile High Derby (Friday). The stakes schedule features 15 Thoroughbred stakes, including six for Colorado-breds, as well as seven for Quarter Horses and three for Arabians.

Last year's leading trainer, Stetson Mitchell, is back to defend his title with 60 horses stabled here. Adrian Ramos is favored to lead the jockey standings after sharing last year's title with the legendary Scott Stevens, who retired in March.

Admission will be free for live racing. Much of the grandstand will be closed due to precautionary measures for COVID-19 but the ground-level concessions and bar will be open.

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Breeders’ Cup Winner Public Sector Finds Rail Spot To Prevail In Grade 2 Hall Of Fame Stakes

Public Sector (GB) emerged victorious from a relaxed rail trip in the Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes at Saratoga on Friday, Aug. 6. Jockey Flavien Prat got the Chad Brown favorite away from the gate well and seemed pointed for an early lead, but settled in along the rail and let Next and Wolfie's Dynaghost dictate the early pace for much of the one-mile contest on the inner turf. As the field began bunching up around the final turn, Public Sector seemed initially boxed in but found a gap along the rail and burst through, holding off a late challenge from Annex.

There was a stewards' inquiry into the stretch run, where Annex crossed over from the outside of rival Original under right handed urging from jockey Junior Alvarado. Original subsequently took a serious bobble and seemed to trip as though he caught the heels of Annex, and jockey Luis Saez pulled Original up before the finish line. Original was unsaddled and walked off the track alongside his groom, under his own power. There was no change to the order of finish as the result of the inquiry.

Annex was left up as second, with In Effect third and Next fourth. The final time for the mile was 1:35.03, with fractional times of 1:11.37, :47.56, and :23.91.

As the 4-5 favorite, Public Sector paid $3.80, $2.50, and $2.10.

Public Sector came to the race off a second-place finish in the Manila Stakes at Belmont (where he was second behind Original), and was last year's G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner. Klaravich Stables owns the 3-year-old son of Kingman (GB) and Montjeu (IRE) mare Parle Moi (IRE). Public Sector was bred in Great Britain by The Kathryn Stud. The colt was a $217,822 purchase by Klaravich from the Tattersalls October Sale, where he was consigned by Clearwater Stud.

See the full chart here.

G2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Quotes, courtesy NYRA Press Office

Chad Brown, winning trainer of Public Sector (No. 2, $3.80*): “Our plan was to leave out of there with intention. It looked like there was a lot of speed on paper but make them go, get our spot and if they're going to go, go. If not, we'll be there. As it turned out, they actually weren't going. The 47 and 3 [half-mile] is solid but it's been dry here and in a graded race at Saratoga, that's not that fast for these horses. Flavien [Prat] does many things wonderfully and that was one of them. He gives you a chance to win by adapting to the pace right away. If you give him the right horse, he's going to deliver for you.”

On winning for Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables: “We've become very close friends and he's such a loyal supporter of our stable and he provides us with these wonderful horses like you saw today with Public Sector. He's a real sportsman and always does the right thing by the horse and he gets rewarded because of that.”

Flavien Prat, winning jockey aboard Public Sector (No. 2): “The first time I rode him, I was really close to the pace and he won a nice race [on June 4 at Belmont Park]. Last time, I think it was just a slow pace. I got stuck behind horses. He couldn't really bring me anywhere around the turn and I had to make up a lot of ground on the slow pace [second in the Manilla on July 4 at Belmont]. Today, we had a good draw and he broke well and put me in the race. The pace was a bit stronger and it worked out well.

“I thought I was going to be able to go around the leader, but then I saw the leader came out and I dropped in and had room.

“We were pretty much making the move together but when I really asked him to make the move, he responded well.”

Junior Alvarado, jockey aboard runner-up Annex (No. 1): “I was moving with Luis Saez [aboard No. 6, Original] and we both made the run. At the time, I was moving more forward than him and I felt him bump me on my rear end. I knew I was still straight in my path. After that, when he was out of there, I started coming again. My horse put in a good run today and I was happy with him.

“It may have cost me a few lengths but I didn't have much room on the inside. The winner had the trip and I really didn't have another way to go but just move outside.”

Luis Saez, rider aboard Original (No. 6) who did not finish the race: “The horse was OK. He just clipped heels.”

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