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Plenty of Contenders in Pat Day Mile

One-turn mile graded races always attract intriguing fields, and Saturday’s GII Pat Day Mile S. for sophomores at Churchill is no exception. Favored on the morning line is the Coolmore contingent’s $3.65-million Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream buy Cezanne (Curlin). A debut winner sprinting at Santa Anita June 6, he added a first-level allowance tally going this distance (but around two turns) at Los Alamitos July 2. The Bob Baffert trainee didn’t necessarily win like his 1-9 odds that day suggested he might, however, and then could only manage fourth–albeit while earning a field’s-best 101 Beyer Speed Figure–behind stablemate Thousand Words (Pioneerof the Nile) and leading GI Kentucky Derby contender Honor A. P. (Honor Code) in the Aug. 1 Shared Belief S. With so much speed signed on to his outside, Cezanne will have to come out running and need some racing luck to work out a winning trip from the one hole.

No Parole (Violence) and Echo Town (Speighstown) have traded decisions in seven-furlong Grade I events this summer. No Parole ran away with the Woody Stephens S. Presented by Claiborne Farm on GI Belmont S. day June 20, besting Echo Town by 3 3/4 lengths. But Echo Town got the better of his foe when uncorking a powerful late rally in Saratoga’s H. Allen Jerkens S. Presented by Runhappy Aug. 1. No Parole faded to ninth that day.

Tap It to Win (Tapit), meanwhile, turned heads with a five-length allowance romp over a one-turn 8 1/2 panels at Belmont June 4. He wheeled back in sixteen days for the Belmont S., but couldn’t only manage fifth after setting the pace. He was second after a stalking trip in the Jerkens, and could find this distance a perfect fit.

Vertical Threat (Tapiture) scratched out of last Saturday’s GII Pat O’Brien S. at Del Mar for this, and gets tested for class after a 5 1/4-length score in the restricted Smiling Tiger S. July 25. Rushie (Liam’s Map) was third in both the GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby and GII Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland going 1 1/8 miles. He broke his maiden at this distance, and his sire Liam’s Map took the 2015 GI Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.

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Cali Invader Seeks Third ‘Strait’ in American Turf

Cannon Thoroughbreds homebred Smooth Like Strait (Midnight Lute) seeks his third consecutive victory as he returns to Churchill Downs for the $500,000 GII American Turf S. Saturday. A winner of last December’s GIII Cecil B. DeMille S. Dec. 1 at Del Mar, the bay returned to winning ways three starts later in the War Chant S. going a sixteenth shorter here May 23. He was last seen annexing the GIII La Jolla H. back in San Diego Aug. 9 over champion juvenile and GI Kentucky Derby entrant Storm the Court (Court Vision). The 8-5 morning line choice will have to avoid getting caught up in a hot pace. One of the likely other pace players is Fancy Liquor (Lookin At Lucky). Third in the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks behind stablemate Field Pass (Lemon Drop Kid) on Turfway Poly off just a maiden win Mar. 14, the Mike Maker pupil was a close second in a course-and-distance allowance June 11. Third again by just a neck, and again behind Field Pass, in the GIII Transylvania S. at Keeneland July 12, he was ultra game when taking the Caesars S. at Indiana Downs a month later. Field Pass rallied from very far back when third in the War Chant, but took the local Audubon S. June 20 on the front end. He closed from off the pace to get up in the Transylvania, but was seventh after a rough start in the Saratoga Derby Invitational S. Aug. 15.

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Prioritize Looks to Cap Off Bond’s Great Season in the Woodward

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – On the final weekend of what has been a very good Saratoga meeting, veteran trainer Jim Bond will take a swing with long shot Prioritize (Tizway) in Saturday’s GI Woodward.

The Woodward, being run at 1 ¼ miles for the first time since Easy Goer won the 1989 edition at Belmont Park, is Prioritize’s first try in a Grade I and his first graded stakes in almost two years. Prioritize, a 5-year-old gelding owned by Bond’s longtime patron William Clifton Jr., was a turf horse back in Oct. 2018 when he was third in the GII Hill Prince.

Late last year, Bond moved Prioritize to the dirt and he has flourished, with two wins and two seconds in four starts. The most recent was a neck victory over Money Moves (Candy Ride {Arg})–who is running in the Kentucky Derby–on July 25. In the Woodward, Prioritize will face five others, led by GII Suburban winner Tacitus (Tapit).

“It’s a tough race, there is no lying about it,” Bond said. “But it’s a handicap and I think they were pretty fair with the weight.”

Prioritize, who drew the outside post and will be ridden by Eric Cancel, will carry 115 pounds. Tacitus is the high weight at 124.

Bond, whose private stable on Gridley Ave. is a couple of blocks from the Nelson Avenue gate to the Saratoga backstretch, is enjoying a great summer at Saratoga. He is eighth in wins with 11 and 12th in purse earnings with $462,418. While he has had plenty of success at Saratoga through the years–he’s won the GI Travers once and the GI Whitney twice–this is one of his better seasons. Last year his stable won seven races; in 2018 he visited the winner’s circle twice.

“I am proud of the horses. I am proud of my staff. I am grateful for my owners. It has been a fantastic season,” he said, sitting in his office that has posters and photos of his standouts like Will’s Way, Tizway, L’Carriere and Bhudda on the walls.

Bond said the strong summer at the Spa was especially gratifying in a year that has been like no other because of the world-wide Covid-19 pandemic that shut down racing in New York from mid-March to early June.

“There were times when you saw me in May and in the beginning when this place opened, we were scared to death,” he said. “If this thing came back and bit us again, it could be all over. This barn may have to be for sale. I have worked my life to try and build something special for the family and it was tough. This game is, needless to say, hills and valleys. You just hold on and hope to God you can survive going up that hill again.”

Bond said he thinks his best year at Saratoga was 12 victories.

“I am scared to count sometimes because it’s scary,” he said. “You just do your job, that’s all. We don’t look back. We keep doing what we are doing and hopefully it keeps going. I am very proud of the homebreds because a lot of the homebreds have stepped up really, really well. That to me is really huge. I am cautiously optimistic … we have a lot of nice 2-year-olds and we haven’t run any 2-year-olds yet. I think the best is yet to come.”

Describing Prioritize as “a grinder,” Bond said he thinks the nine-furlong win over Money Moves over his home course will set him up for the Woodward.

“Every time I have asked him to do something a little bit better, he has done it,” Bond said. “He is a big, scopey colt. He has a lot of distance pedigree on the bottom. Tizway, I always thought, would go a mile and a quarter but he never had the opportunity, unfortunately. The horse is doing great but he has to step up his game. But you know what? He is in his backyard and I just have to lead him over there and it’s $500,000 in COVID times. All I can do is look good.”

Bond heads a family operation with his wife Tina and their two sons and assistants, Kevin and Ryan. The Bonds have a farm nearby and are deeply connected to the Saratoga Springs region. Despite his stable’s success this summer, Bond said the meet hasn’t been the same without spectators.

“I feel bad for the fans,” he said. “I feel bad for the local people who like to come once or twice a year to say they were here at Saratoga and to get a glimpse of the great work everyone does here, the jockeys, the trainers, the owners picking out horses, the breeders. It’s hard. It is not an easy task for anybody.”

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Twinspires Triple Crown Throwdown: Kentucky Derby

Ed DeRosa of Brisnet.com takes on TDN’s Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato as they handicap Triple Crown prep races plus the big three races themselves. The three will make $100 Win/Place bets in the preps and $200 Win/Place bets in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont. Highest bankroll at the end wins.

DeRosa – Bankroll: $5480 – Pegasus Result – Skyscanner made no impact at a big price.

GI Kentucky Derby – Tiz the Law is my pick to win the GI Kentucky Derby. He is the most likely winner, and my wagers will go through him attempting to hook up other non favorites with him (i.e., I think other favorites are less likely to win their races than Tiz the Law is to win the Derby). But this is a win-place exercise, and Max Player gives us our best chance to catch Brian, as he might pay more to place than Tiz the Law would to win and place. Clockers have noted the work Steve Asmussen has put into Max Player since joining his barn, and as a colt who’s always run his race behind Tiz the Law, he feels more like a should-be third choice than the likely fifth choice. Selection: #2 Max Player (30-1).

Sherack – Bankroll: $4110 – Pegasus Result – Granted, the competition wasn’t much, but still nice to see Pneumatic run the kind of race I knew he was capable of.

GI Kentucky Derby – I’m not nearly as confident as I was a month ago prior to Tiz the Law’s jaw-dropping win in the GI Runhappy Travers S., but it’s still Honor A. P. for me. While the Shared Belief S. was obviously a disappointing result for the stunning dark bay, especially following his breakthrough win in the GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby, it was never going to be the right kind of spot for him cutting back in distance and facing only three rivals ahead of his main objective on the first Saturday in September. Can he improve off his visually impressive win in the Santa Anita Derby and take the necessary leap forward to take on Tiz the Law at 1 1/4 miles here? I’m betting that he does. Ny Traffic is my longshot for underneath. Selection: #16 Honor A. P. (5-1).

DiDonato – Bankroll: $5500 – Pegasus Result – Big City Bob didn’t do anything.

GI Kentucky Derby – Since I’ve got this huge $20 lead to protect, I’m going to chalk out and go with Tiz the Law. I just don’t see a knock on him–especially now that he’s proven over 10 panels and in fact ran his best race ever at that distance. Maybe he’s a bounce candidate, but he certainly wasn’t all out in Saratoga and his recent breezes have been super strong. He’s the tactical type who almost always works out a good trip and the post doesn’t bother me–good luck if you’re trying to beat him. I think Honor A. P. is by far the second most likely winner, but that’s not an interesting opinion either. Money Moves and Max Player are the price horses I’ll likely include underneath to try to spice things up. Selection: #17 Tiz the Law (3-5).

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