Saratoga Dew | Horse Racing Free Tips

NYTB Honors Legendary New York-Bred Trio On Sunday

Connections from champions Dayatthespa (City Zip), Mind Your Biscuits (Posse) and Saratoga Dew (Cormorant) will be honored by the New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. during their Showcase Day program after the sixth race on Sunday, Aug. 27 at Saratoga Race Course, the organization said in a release Thursday.

The trio were chosen by a panel of New York turf writers and represent the second class of honorees, joining last year's inaugural group of Fio Rito (Dreaming Native), Commentator (Distorted Humor), Fourstardave (Complicance), Funny Cide (Distorted Humor) and Tiz The Law (Constitution).

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$35,000 Claim Dancing Kiki Handles Stretch Out With Ease In Saratoga Dew

Trainer Mike Maker continued his stellar start to the summer meet, racking up his second consecutive win on the card when Michael Dubb's Dancing Kiki set the pace and then drew away for a 4 1/2-length victory in Thursday's $100,000 Saratoga Dew for New York-bred fillies and mares 3-years-old and up at the Spa.

The 17th running of the Saratoga Dew – contested at 1 1/8 miles on the Spa main track – saw Maker extend his meet-leading win total to 19 as Dancing Kiki broke sharp from the inside post under Jose Ortiz, leading the five-horse field through an opening quarter-mile in 23.73 seconds and the half in 48.48 on the fast surface.

Simply Ravishing, the Kenneth McPeek-trained 3-2 favorite under Luis Saez, tracked in second position and made a bid from the outside in the final turn along with Maiden Beauty. But Ortiz kept Dancing Kiki to the inside, where the 4-year-old Blame filly deftly handled the final turn and then closed strong to the wire in outkicking runner-up Maiden Beauty, completing the course in 1:51.71.

“I knew I had speed, the only question was if she would handle the mile-and-an-eighth, and she did it nicely,” Ortiz said. “She had plenty left late in the last eighth of a mile, she was still running pretty decently.”

Claimed for $35,000 out of a 5 1/4-length victory going seven furlongs on the Saratoga main track on July 22, Dancing Kiki handled the stretch out to nine furlongs with aplomb. Three of her four career victories in 23 starts have come in her last six races.

“She was doing well. I claimed her on Michael Dubb's recommendation and I ran her here on Michael Dubb's recommendation,” Maker said. “I wasn't really concerned [about stretching out.] Jose seemed to make an easy lead, so that added to the confidence.”

Dubb won his eighth race of the meet to tie Three Diamonds Farm for the lead among owners.

“When I handicapped the race, I thought McPeek's horse would be aggressive going for the lead,” Dubb said. “When I didn't see McPeek's horse on the lead, I felt pretty comfortable. I thought the fractions were reasonable.”

Off at 7-1, Dancing Kiki returned $16 on a $2 win wager. Bred in the Empire State by Dutchess Views Farm and SGO Thoroughbred, Dancing Kiki improved her career earnings to $256,230.

“It was a little bit the breeding, by Blame,” Dubb said on the decision to claim Dancing Kiki. “The horse had been running at various distances and I have had luck with Mike stretching horses out. I think he's known, whether it's turf or dirt, for stretching horses out. It seemed like a horse you could stretch out.”

Maiden Beauty, claimed for $45,000 last out by trainer Robert Falcone, Jr. for owners John Grossi's Racing Corp, finished as the runner-up for the second consecutive time, besting Mrs. Orb by a half length.

“I thought the break was the key,” said Maiden Beauty jockey Joel Rosario. “She had to sit behind the front two a little bit, but she ran well. She was just second-best today. She seemed like she handled it great. We tried to make a move, we just couldn't catch the winner.”

Espresso Shot and Simply Ravishing completed the order of finish.

Live racing resumes Friday at Saratoga with a 10-race card that start at 1:05 p.m. Eastern. The $120,000 Tale of the Cat, a six-furlong main track sprint for 4-year-olds and up who have not won a graded stakes this year, is carded as Race 9 at 5:39 p.m.

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McPeek Looks To Next Starts For Swiss Skydiver, King Fury

Peter J. Callahan's Swiss Skydiver chased gate-to-wire winner Knicks Go throughout Saturday's Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., ranging up three-wide with a threatening move late in the final turn before fading to fourth in her first start since a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom in April.

Trained by Kenny McPeek, last year's Grade 1 Preakness-winner was initially targeting the Grade 3 Shuvee on July 25 before having to change course when their barn was placed under a precautionary quarantine, related to a positive case of Equine Herpesvirus-1 in their barn, which is shared with trainer Jorge Abreu. The quarantine was lifted on August 1 and all horses cleared without symptoms.

Assistant trainer Francis Chiumiento said he was proud of the performance by the filly, who was being piloted by Irad Ortiz, Jr. for the first time.

“I thought she proved how good she is and Irad was really happy with how she ran,” Chiumiento said. “He felt she had a shot to win at some point. These are all good indicators. She came back well and she's happy and content.

“I brought her in here around June 18 and she was doing everything just great,” he added. “We were going to run in the Shuvee and the Personal Ensign and then the outbreak happened. Thank God we contained it and none of our horses were affected. We did everything right.”

The $600,000 Grade 1 Personal Ensign presented by Lia Infiniti, a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Distaff, is slated for Travers Day August 28.

Three Chimneys Farm and Fern Circles Stables' King Fury, who had initially targeted the Grade 2 Jim Dandy on July 31, finished 10th in Saturday's Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational after a wide trip exiting the outside post in the 11-horse field.

Chiumiento said King Fury should benefit from the experience as he points to the $1.25 million Grade 1 Runhappy Travers.

“He was hung out wide the whole time,” Chiumiento said. “He needed a race, too. Unfortunately, we were using a $1 million race as a prep. He handled the turf well but he was wide the whole time. He needed that race to tighten him up and I think he'll be very strong for the Travers. He came back happy and walked great this morning.”

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Chiumiento said he appreciated the presence of NYRA Safety Steward Juan Dominguez for his assistance in negotiating the quarantine protocols.

“It was a pressure cooker but we did everything right. We made sure all the staff followed the protocols, from wearing gloves to disinfecting every stall. We took it serious and we know Jorge Abreu did as well.” Chiumiento said. “I really want to commend Juan Dominguez. He and I worked together and he did a tremendous job to make sure this didn't spread. He and Martin Panza [Senior Vice President of Racing Operations] were here, as well as Keith [Doleshel, Racing Secretary], almost every day and I have to commend them for that. They didn't have to do that. We made sure it was controlled and that there wasn't a chance for it to spread.

“We were prepared to do really well and it's frustrating because we don't know now how we'd have done,” Chiumiento added regarding their initial targets. “Kenny handled it with tremendous class. He's just a very down-to-earth and classy man. He was cool, calm, and collected.”

On Thursday, Harold Lerner, Magdalena Racing, and Nehoc Stables' Grade 1-winner Simply Ravishing returns in the nine-furlong $120,000 Saratoga Dew for New York-bred fillies 3-years-old and up.

A $50,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale, the 4-year-old Laoban bay won 3-of-5 starts in her sophomore season, including a maiden win on the turf last August on debut and a 6 1/2-length score in the off-the-turf P.G. Johnson in September.

Simply Ravishing made the grade with a 6 1/4-length score in the Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades in October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., before finishing fourth in both the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Keeneland and the Grade 2 Golden Rod at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., in November.

She launched her current campaign in April with an off-the-board effort in the Grade 1 Ashland at Keeneland.

Simply Ravishing has breezed extensively on the Oklahoma training track dating back to June 26 when she fired a bullet three-eighths in :35.86 and followed a week later with a bullet half-mile in :48.08.

“She's doing good. She's a cool filly and does everything right,” Chiumiento said. “She trains like a gorilla. She puts up bullets. I think she'll be right there.”

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Gary Sciacca Eyes Win Number 1,000

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – For sure, trainer Gary Sciacca knows the score. He is well aware and very proud of the fact that he is closing in on a personal milestone: 1,000 career victories.

A month shy of 40 years since he saddled his first runner at Belmont Park, Sciacca is sitting on 997 wins. Five Alarm Robin (Fed Biz) moved the 61-year-old New York stalwart a step closer with her victory at 11-1 on the opening day of Saratoga season.

Leaning against a rail at the barn that has been his base of operations at Saratoga for 25 years, Sciacca said that he started paying attention to his win total a year or so ago.

“I was saying, 'Boy, I'm pretty close,'” he said. “When you're at 700 or 800, nah, but when you get to like 50, 60…and then you are on three. Three is like a reality, you know. Then you come here opening day and the first one you run wins. That made it three. So it's kind of hitting home a little bit.”

Sciacca finished second with his first starter, Page Six, on Aug. 27, 1981. Nine races later, on Oct. 21, 1981 at Aqueduct, Proud Northern became his first winner.

Sciacca did not hesitate when asked what getting to 1,000 wins will mean to him.

“A whole lot,” he said. “A lot of people can't get to that spot in New York. It ain't like we are winning them at Finger Lakes or Suffolk Downs or something. To win a thousand here; they've all been here or in California with a couple. It's been good. It would be very nice to win it here in Saratoga. That would be a little special.”

Since there is no off-season, horsemen often say they will reflect on their accomplishments at some time on the future. Yet Sciacca said he has thought about getting to this milestone.

“If you go back to when I started out here, all my friends are retiring,” he said. “Nobody has really made that many wins. Of course, the big outfits have. A guy like me, it means a lot to. A lot of memories. A lot of big races. Between Saratoga Dew and Subordination, those are the big ones. We won two Belmont meets.”

Charles Engel's New York-bred filly Saratoga Dew was Sciacca's first star. Unraced at two, she won eight of 11 starts in 1992, including two Grade I races, the Gazelle and the Beldame, was second by a nose to November Snow in the GI Alabama, and become the first New York-bred to win an Eclipse Award. In the New York-bred awards, she was the champ of two divisions and the Horse of the Year.

“She was one of the best,” he said. “She launched me into the limelight.”

Though Engel decided to move Saratoga Dew to another trainer the following year–she never raced again–Sciacca's success with the filly was a boon for his stable. He won his first Belmont Park meet title in 1993 with 31 victories. Klaravich Stables' Subordination (Mt. Livermore) made his first start for Sciacca as a 2-year-old at Saratoga in 1996. In 21 starts over three seasons of racing, he won 11 of 21 starts, eight of them graded stakes and finished with $1.2 million in purse earnings.

“Subordination took me to Breeders' Cup,” Sciacca said. “Took me to Del Mar, where we won the Eddie Read, a Grade I. Took me to Hollywood Park, that's no more, and won the Hollywood Derby.”

Among the horses that Sciacca trained for NFL Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells's August Dawn farm were Saratoga Snacks and Bavaro.

Sciacca said that during his most successful years he typically had a stable of 40 to 45 runners. These days he has 24 to 30 in his barn.

Born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island, Sciacca was introduced to racing in his youth. His uncle was a trainer. He worked his way up in the business and started his stable with six horses.

“When I got a shot to train some horses I took it,” he said. “Actually, the game has been very good to me. What a place. I'm very fortunate to be in New York. To have the No. 1 racing in the country, to be brought up in that is pretty good. To win 1,000 races here is great.”

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