saratoga | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘Everything Is Going Smoothly’ With Travers Contender Max Player

George E. Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds' Max Player, the third-place finisher in last month's Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, continues to train forwardly towards the Grade 1, $1 million Runhappy Travers on August 8, trainer Linda Rice said.

Max Player, who finished only behind Dr Post and winner Tiz the Law in the Belmont Stakes on June 20, worked for the third time since the first leg of the Triple Crown, going five furlongs in 1:02.21 on Monday morning over the Belmont Park training track.

“He breezed fine and everything went well,” Rice said. “We took it easy with him because the temperatures have been in the high-90s out there. It's been crazy hot, but everything is going smoothly.”

The Honor Code colt, 2-1-1 in four career races, made his first two starts at Parx, running second in his debut at one mile on November 12 before winning at the same distance at second asking over a sloppy and sealed track on December 17.

In his first race as a sophomore, Max Player defeated an eight-horse field by 3 ¼ lengths in the 1 1/8-mile Grade 3 Withers on February 1 at Aqueduct Racetrack. In the Belmont Stakes, which was shortened from its famed 1 ½-mile distance to a one-turn 1 1/8 miles to accommodate the revised schedule for 3-year-olds in training, Max Player earned a personal-best 92 Beyer Speed Figure.

With the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby set for September 5 and serving as the middle jewel of the Triple Crown this year, Max Player earned 30 qualifying points for his Belmont Stakes blacktype, adding to the 10 he accumulated with his Withers win. His 40 total qualifying points places him 15th on the current leaderboard, with the Runhappy Travers offering a 100-40-20-10 scale to the top-four finishers.

“He's on schedule,” Rice said. “We're at our home base here. He'll get one more breeze at Belmont and we'll go from there.”

The “Mid-Summer Derby” is contested at 1 ¼ miles, which would make the Travers both Max Player's first start at Saratoga and also the longest race in which he's contested. Rice said there is a possibility he could work at Saratoga before running, but said he has already won in unfamiliar places.

“When we won in the Withers at Aqueduct, he had never been on that track, either,” Rice said. “He can handle new situations well.”

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Fresco Continues Clement’s Big Saratoga Meet With Maiden Victory In NYSS Statue Of Liberty

Oak Bluff Stables' Fresco broke her maiden in her stakes debut, overtaking three rivals from the outside in the stretch and drawing away for a 1 3/4-length score in Thursday's $100,000 New York Stallion Stakes Series Statue of Liberty for state-bred 3-year-old fillies at Saratoga Race Course.

Fresco, second by a nose to Sky Blue last out on June 25 at Belmont, was patiently handled by jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. in stepping up in class. The Freud filly was second-to-last in the six-horse field as Dixie Cannon led through an opening quarter-mile in 24.80 seconds and the half in 50.08, posting modest fractions on the firm inner turf.

Out of the final turn, Ortiz, Jr. swung out and one-by-one overtook Hunnybunnerdini and Nicky Scissors from the outside. She soon moved up alongside Dixie Cannon and surged past the pacesetter, completing the 1 1/16-mile course in 1:45.43 for her first win in four starts.

“We were trying to wait with the filly because she likes to hang a little bit,” Ortiz, Jr. said “We tried to wait as long as we could today. She broke a little sharp, I took a little hold and she relaxed so well that I just left her there.”

Trainer Christophe Clement picked up his eighth win of the meet, ranking him first among conditioners.

“Irad did a great job. He took her back and saved ground,” Clement said. “You could see they did not finish that fast, so he did the right thing which was to save something for the end.

Clement and Ortiz, Jr. teamed for their second consecutive win Thursday, with the duo also winning with Plum Ali in Race 3.

Off at 1-2, Fresco returned $3 on a $2 win bet. The homebred more than tripled her career earnings to $70,990. It also marked another accomplishment for Oak Bluff, who bred the Clement-trained Therapist, who has compiled eight wins in 17 starts, and Audible, who won the 2018 Grade 1 Florida Derby and Grade 2 Holy Bull while running third in that year's Grade 1 Kentucky Derby for trainer Todd Pletcher.

“It's fun. She broke her maiden in the stakes for her owner-breeder,” Clement said. “She has blacktype so it works for the whole program. Usually, the owner will sell his colts and keep his fillies and he has been very successful with a small broodmare band. He bred Audible, he bred Therapist and he bred this filly and I'm just lucky to be a part of the program.”

Dixie Cannon, also making her stakes bow for trainer Kelly Rubley and ridden by Jose Ortiz, was four lengths the best of Nicky Scissors for second.

“I had a perfect trip,” Ortiz said. “I was able to get to the lead, slow it down and make a run but the winner was much the best.”

Hunnybunnerdini, Apollo's Abraxas and Holmdel Park completed the order of finish. Officer Hutchy was scratched.

Live racing resumes Friday at Saratoga with a 10-race card highlighted by the Grade 3, $100,000 Quick Call for sophomores going 5 ½ furlongs on the Mellon turf course in Race 9 at 5:46 p.m. Eastern. First post is 1:10 p.m.

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Favored Moscato Delivers Sweet Finish In A.P. Smithwick Memorial

Bruton Street's Moscato ran down Optimus Prime in deep stretch, overtaking him from the far outside in the final sixteenth to win Thursday's Grade 1, $100,000 A.P. Smithwick Memorial in the first graded steeplechase race of the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course.

Contested over eight hurdles, it was the final, flat portion of the race that decided the winner. Redicean, the leader at the conclusion of the jumps, was in front heading into the final turn before Optimus Prime, the winner of the 2018 Grade 1 New York Turf Writers Cup of the Spa, took the lead from the outside.

But 8-5 favorite Moscato, under rider Michael Mitchell, put in a furious finish from even further outside, finishing strong under an aggressive hand ride for a three-quarter length victory, completing the approximate 2 1/16 miles on the firm inner turf in a final time of 3:47.51.

“I had to work to keep him in position early,” Mitchell said. “The pace was good early on. I was comfortable with where we were and he jumped fantastically. He really met every fence nicely and covered the ground well. They just started to slow up coming into the turn and we had to weave through a couple of horses. Coming out of the turn, he got trapped for a little bit of room but his stamina kicked in and he really went well to the line and got his head in front at the right time.”

Moscato improved to 2-for-2 in his 9-year-old year, adding to his victory in the Grade 3 Temple Gwathmey Hurdle on June 13 at Glenwood Park at Middleburg. The English-bred son of Hernando gave trainer Jack Fisher his fourth career A.P. Smithwick triumph.

“I thought we were in serious trouble on the turn,” Fisher said. “Optimus Prime cruised up there but he hadn't run in a year and I think he might have needed the race and just ran out of gas in the last sixteenth. I think he'll be very tough next time.”

Moscato, who ended his 2019 season with a third-place finish in the prestigious Grade 1 Grand National at Fair Hill in October, improved to 12-7-3 in 33 lifetime starts. He returned $5.40 on a $2 win wager and improved his career earnings to $414,677.

“The ground suits these jumpers,” Mitchell said. “It's good a good grass cover and we had a little bit of rain last night which helps these horses. Being foreign-bred they like a bit more sponginess and cut in the ground, so it wasn't an issue being wide it was more about keeping the momentum throughout the race.”

Optimus Prime, who entered with wins in four of his previous five starts [with three graded stakes wins] dating to 2018 for trainer Richard Hendriks, finished 2 1/2 lengths in front of Gibralfaro for second.

Redicean and Chief Justice completed the order of finish. Pravalaguna, Surprising Soul and Winner Massagot were all eased. Belisarius was scratched.

The meet's other Grade 1 steeplechase, the $100,000 New York Turf Writers Cup at 2 3/8 miles, is slated for Thursday, August 20. Fisher said both Moscato and Snap Decision, who won Wednesday's Jonathan Kiser Novice at Saratoga, are likely participants.

“We'll probably run them both in the Turf Writers,” he said.

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Equibase Analysis: Volatile Poised To Dominate Talented Vanderbilt Field

The Grade 1, $250,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap is a showcase for some of the best horses in the Breeders' Cup Sprint division each summer and this year's edition is no exception. Three millionaires are among the quintet who entered the race – Whitmore ($3.1 million), Firenze Fire ($1.9 million) and Mind Control ($1 million).

In spite of this, young upstart Volatile is the one to beat. Lexitonian rounds out the field and can't be totally counted out either based on his best prior efforts.

In somewhat similar fashion to the COVID-19 delayed 3-year-old division in the run-up to the Kentucky Derby, some horses' 2020 campaigns were delayed this winter and spring as tracks around the country were closed. The same thing has happened in other divisions, such as the sprint division, in which Volatile, who was off from November to near the end of April, returned to put in two powerhouse performances worthy of top billing in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap. Volatile debuted as a 3-year-old last July and won at first asking before finishing second then winning again, all at six furlongs.

Those efforts were nothing compared to his 2020 debut in April at Oaklawn when he dueled with another horse on sizzling early fractions (21.6, 44.8) then, in a field of 11, he still drew off by seven and one-half lengths to earn a stakes quality 119 Equibase Speed Figure. To put that in perspective, the best figure Whitmore has ever earned throughout his stellar career is 121 and the best figure Firenze Fire has ever earned is 119. After the decisive win, Volatile returned the first week of June and this time exploded to win by eight lengths with a 118 figure. Since then he's come back to work well, including three workouts at Saratoga, so we know he's holding his form. Making only his third start of the year and with improving to do as a 4-year-old, Volatile could put on a display of speed today which is on par for the kind of superb performances the Saratoga meeting has to offer every year.

Whitmore finished second in February in his 2020 debut and has won both starts since, in March and April. His trainer was planning to run him in an allowance race at Keeneland on July 12 as a prep for this race but decided to just train him up to it, and that's fine as Whitmore has won off short layoffs before. In his only previous foray to Saratoga, Whitmore won the Forego Stakes in 2018 and this six furlong trip is his forte, evidenced by a record of 12 wins in 21 starts. However, this year his three efforts yielded 111, 113 and 114 figures, which arguably are shy of what Volatile has earned in his last two races.

Firenze Fire won a stakes race as a two year old at Saratoga back in 2017, and he's won a lot of races in between in amassing a record of 11 victories from 26 starts. Last month at Belmont, Firenze Fire won the True North Stakes rather easily with a 111 figure which may seem low but being as it was only his second start after four months off, there is potential to improve back to the level when he won the Fabulous Strike Stakes last fall with a 119 figure, or when second in the 2019 Vanderbilt with a 117 figure.

Mind Control is another classy horse, with a seven for 13 career record including two wins at Saratoga in two tries. One of those came in the Hopeful Stakes in only the third start of his career in 2018. The other came last August in the H. Allen Jerkins Stakes. After five months off, Mind Control returned to win his first two races of 2020, with a career- best 113 figure effort in the Tom Fool Handicap at this distance in March. Returning on a sloppy track in June, Mind Control was no factor in the Carter Handicap and I have no issue drawing a line through that race. Like Volatile, Mind Control is a 4-year-old who can improve and contend in this race.

Lexitonian won the Concern Stakes last July and the Chick Lang Stakes on Preakness weekend last May but has only won one time in five races since. That win came at the end of May and although he beat Hog Creek Hustle, who had finished second to Mind Control in last year's Jerkins Stakes at Saratoga, the figure was just 101. As such, I think it's asking a bit too much of Lexitonian to beat any of the other four top sprinters in this race.

Win Contender:
Volatile

Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap – Grade 1
Race 10 at Saratoga
Saturday, July 25 – Post Time 6:16 PM E.T.
Six Furlongs
Three Years Olds and Upward
Purse: $250,000

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