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Spa Notes: Country Grammer Possible for Runhappy Travers

Paul Pompa, Jr.’s GIII Peter Pan S. hero Country Grammer (Tonalist) could make his next appearance in the GI Runhappy Travers S. at Saratoga Aug. 8, the owner told the NYRA notes team Friday.

“If he comes back well, the Travers would be the logical spot. It’s coming back a little soon but so far, so good,” Pompa, Jr. said. “We always have liked this horse, but the COVID-19 situation has created gaps, just due to lack of racing.”

A $60,000 Keeneland September yearling turned $450,000 OBS April breezer, Country Grammer broke his maiden going nine furlongs over the Aqueduct last November and resumed with an even fifth to Ete Indien (Summer Front) in the GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. Feb. 29. He was a wide-trip third in Belmont allowance company June 4, but enjoyed a smoother run in transit in Thursday’s Peter Pan, sneaking through at the rail turning for home before outlasting ‘TDN Rising Star’ Carocaro (Uncle Mo).

Country Grammer became the second graded winner for his second-crop sire in the Peter Pan. The other, Tonalist’s Shape, is the morning-line favorite for Saturday’s GI CCA Oaks at Saratoga.

Dayoutoftheoffice Likely to Reappear During Meet…

Dayoutoftheoffice (Into Mischief), who gave trainer Tim Hamm his first Saratoga stakes winner when upsetting Thursday’s GIII Schuylerville S. at odds of 19-1, is likely to contest one or both of the graded races for juvenile fillies at the Spa over the course of the next six weeks.

“The [GII] Adirondack S. [Aug. 12, 6 1/2 furlongs] is a possibility and the [GI] Spinaway [Sept. 6, seven furlongs] is possible. I don’t know if we would do both or [just] one of the two. But we’ll probably run her up back there at least once.”

Owned by Hamm in partnership with breeder Siena Farm, Dayoutoftheoffice–who led home an Into Mischief exacta–posted a front-running, 4 3/4-length debut victory over 4 1/2 furlongs at Gulfstream May 14. Hamm was confident that his filly would relish the extra real estate in the Schuylerville.

“It’s the kind of read we had on her training up to her first race. We thought the 4 1/2 [furlongs] might be too short for her,” he said. “But she got that down, and I was optimistic she wanted to run farther than that. I believe if she stretches out, she’ll be able to handle that as well. If you don’t look good there, it closes a lot of doors. But if you win, you have options open, and you just want to lay out a good schedule now and get her where she needs to be.”

Tap It To Win Aiming For Jerkens…

Live Oak Plantation’s Tap It To Win (Tapit), who defeated GIII Peter Pan S. hero Country Grammer in the aforementioned June 4 allowance ahead of a low-odds fifth to Tiz the Law (Constitution) in the GI Belmont S. 16 days later, breezed a half-mile in :48.09 Monday morning and will shorten back up for the seven-furlong GI H. Allen Jerkens S. presented by Runhappy at Saratoga Aug. 1.

“He’s looking good. We’re going to the Allen Jerkens with him and he should fit well in there,” said Jamie Begg, assistant to trainer Mark Casse. “I think the cutback to seven-eighths is good and we’ll be able to sit off the speed and make a run.”

The post Spa Notes: Country Grammer Possible for Runhappy Travers appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Casse Hoping Got Stormy Brings ‘A Game’ To Just A Game

Gary Barber's Got Stormy will be running at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., for the second time this month when she competes in the seven-horse Grade 1, $250,000 Just a Game for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up on Saturday.

The 27th running of the Just a Game, contested at one mile on the Widener turf, is one of four graded stakes on the 11-race card. It will also feature three contenders from trainer Chad Brown, including 7-5 favorite Uni, 8-5 second-choice Newspaperofrecord, and 10-1 Regal Glory.

Got Stormy, trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, ran fourth in the Grade 3 Beaugay on June 3, bobbling at the start of the 1 1/16-mile turf route before finishing six lengths back to Rushing Fall, another Brown trainee.

In the Just a Game, Got Stormy drew post 2 with Luis Saez aboard and is listed at 5-1 on the morning line.

“We're just hoping for her to bounce back with her 'A' game. It's a small but mighty field,” Casse said. “There's some speed in there with Newspaperofrecord. My hope would be that we are sitting somewhere in mid-pack.”

All eight of Got Stormy's wins have come at one mile. With weather expected to be in the mid 80-degrees, Casse said he hopes the expected rain doesn't come until after the race's 6:08 p.m. Eastern post time.

“The turf should be fairly hard and the mile is definitely her cup of tea,” Casse said.

Got Stormy won four races in 2019, racking up wins in the Grade 1 Matriarch in December at Del Mar and the Grade 1 Fourstardave Handicap in August at Saratoga Race Course. As a 5-year-old, she ran second, by a neck, to River Boyne in the Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe on March 7 at Santa Anita.

Live Oak Plantation's Tap It to Win was the speed in last Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes before tiring and finishing fifth in the American Classic won by New York-bred Tiz the Law.

Running in the first leg of the Triple Crown was a big step up for the Tapit colt, who started his sophomore campaign with back-to-back wins in an optional claimer and against allowance company.

Casse saw Tap It to Win post a front-running five-length score on June 4 at Belmont, going 1 1/16 miles. Off a quick turnaround, the Florida homebred was put in the Belmont Stakes, contested this year at 1 1/8 miles instead of its famed 1 1/2-mile distance, under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez.

“He's good. We tried. Maybe 16 days [back] wasn't his thing. I don't think he brought his 'A' game,” Casse said. “All credit to Tiz the Law and Barclay [Tagg, winning trainer]. I was disappointed in our horse's effort. But I was happy for the winning connections. It was well deserved.”

With the Saratoga summer meet running from July 16 to September 7, Casse said he has options to run Tap It to Win back at the Spa. He also said he might scale back the distance with the Belmont marking the first time Tap It to Win ran longer than 1 1/16 miles.

“I don't think the distance was a factor. Probably he's a just a horse who can't come back so quickly off such a big effort,” Casse said.

The Grade 1, $300,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial, contested at seven furlongs on Saratoga's Whitney Day on August 1, could be a possibility for his next spot.

“I think the positive is that we know we have a good horse,” Casse said. “I'm going to sit back and let him tell us when he's ready to go again. I don't know; I haven't thought about it too much yet. Going back to seven-eighths in the Allen Jerkens is something we may look at. We're going to let him chill for a little bit. He ran three hard races in not a long period of time, so we'll let him tell us when he's ready to go. We do know he loves Saratoga.”

Tap It to Win fell short in his bid to make Casse the first trainer to repeat as the Belmont Stakes winner since fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas captured three in a row from 1994-96. Casse won the carnations last year with Sir Winston, who followed that 2019 campaign by returning to Belmont's Big Sandy earlier this month. The Awesome Again colt, who started his 4-year-old campaign with a win against optional claimers in January at Aqueduct, ran second to Moretti in the Flat Out on June 11.

Contesting over a sloppy and sealed track, Sir Winston came from off the pace to run second in the nine-horse Flat Out.

“I was happy with him. He was up against it with no speed in the race and the weather,” Casse said.

Sir Winston breezed four furlongs in 50.78 seconds on Friday over Belmont's main track.

Casse said he is still pointing towards the Grade 2, $200,000 Suburban at 1 ¼ miles on Belmont's packed July 4 card that will be headlined by the Grade 1, $500,000 Runhappy Met Mile.

The post Casse Hoping Got Stormy Brings ‘A Game’ To Just A Game appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The Haiku Handicapper Presented By BC2A Equine Sports Performance: 2020 Belmont Stakes

Time to analyze the 2020 Belmont Stakes field, in post position order, in the form of Haiku; a Japanese poem of 17 syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five.

To read previous editions of The Haiku Handicapper, click here.

#1 – Tap It to Win
Did some growing up
From erratic rookie year
Could see redemption

#2 – Sole Volante
Would have liked him more
At a mile and a half
More room to uncoil

#3 – Max Player
Four months on the bench
Bred to get better with age
Wide range of outcomes

#4 – Modernist
Steady and proven
Doesn't enthrall, but trust goes
To Mott in New York

#5 – Farmington Road
Mid-to-deep closer
Has a graded stakes ceiling
Should get a small check

#6 – Fore Left
Last-minute entry
Found his mojo in Dubai
Too much still unknown

#7 – Jungle Runner
Calumet horses
Tend to blow up trifectas
But this one's helpless

#8 – Tiz the Law
The enduring force
In a crumbling division
It all goes through him

#9 – Dr Post
Can't knock his progress
This is his boldest jump yet
He's live in this group

#10 – Pneumatic
Two good ones beat him
Last time out in the Matt Winn
That's his selling point

Prediction
The scales of justice
Tip to the Cide of the Law
Three and four follow

The post The Haiku Handicapper Presented By BC2A Equine Sports Performance: 2020 Belmont Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Triple Crown News Minute Presented By Kentucky Equine Research: Kicking Off The Upside Down Triple Crown

The most unusual Triple Crown in American racing history begins on Saturday, with the 152nd running of the Belmont Stakes from Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. Normally run at a mile and a half in early June after the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, this year's Belmont will be contested around one turn at the abbreviated distance of nine furlongs in front of an empty grandstand because of the restrictions necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Tiz the Law, a New York-bred colt by Constitution, is the 6-5 morning line favorite for Sackatoga Stable and Barclay Tagg, the same owner-trainer combination that won the 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness with another New York-bred, Funny Cide. Empire Maker upstaged Funny Cide's quest for a Triple Crown, winning the Belmont on a day when more than 100,000 braved the cold and rainy weather.

Clear skies are forecast for Saturday.

While Tiz the Law is the clear favorite, based off Grade 1 victories in the 2019 Champagne at Belmont and the 2020 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park, there are some late bloomers who could offer a serious challenge, including Tap It to Win for trainer Mark Casse. In 2019, Casse took the final two legs of the Triple Crown with War of Will in the Preakness and Sir Winston in the Belmont.

In this edition of the Triple Crown News Minute, Ray Paulick and news editor Chelsea Hackbarth go through the field of 10 3-year-olds, assessing their chances and making their selections for this first American classic of 2020.

Watch today's Triple Crown News Minute below:

The post Triple Crown News Minute Presented By Kentucky Equine Research: Kicking Off The Upside Down Triple Crown appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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