Saturday’s 12-race GI Whitney S. Day card generated an all-sources handle record of $35,796,435, eclipsing the previous Whitney Day record of $31,835,863 set in 2019.
2019 Whitney Day, which was held Aug. 3, saw paid attendance of 40,791 with fans on the grounds of Saratoga wagering $4,658,622.
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According to a Newsday story, a 2-year-old filly let out of her stall Thursday at Belmont Park by a former employee resulted in a fall that led to the filly’s death. The former employee, identified by the Nassau County Police Department as Ramzan Antooa, 38, of Elmont, had been spotted at approximately 7:45 p.m. by Belmont’s security personnel releasing the filly. He was arrested at the scene and charged with burglary and reckless endangerment of property.
Newsday quoted New York’s Gaming Commission’s database as stating the horse “…ran loose and fell. Injuries sustained in fall subsequently necessitated euthanasia.”
Arraigned Friday at First District Court, Antooa was freed without bail. The case is due back in court Sept. 21. Antooa’s burglary charge is a felony, while the endangerment charge is a misdemeanor.
Patrick McKenna, New York Racing Association’s director of communications and media relations, told Newsday the deceased horse was a filly named Pasta (Fr) (Frankel {GB}). There was an unraced filly by that name who last worked three furlongs at Belmont July 26. The owner and trainer’s names were not immediately available, but the filly had gone through the Tattersalls October yearling sale last year as an 150,000gns RNA. She was bred by Al Asayl Bloodstock Ltd.
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L & N Racing’s Echo Town (Speightstown) registered his first win at the highest level with a 7-1 upset in Saratoga’s GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S. Saturday. The bay raced in mid-pack early as recent GI Woody Stephens S. hero No Parole (Violence) doled out a first quarter in :22.67 with MGSW Mischevious Alex (Into Mischief) pressing from second. Mischevious Alex turned up the heat on No Parole as the half went in :45.31 and Tap It to Win (Tapit) ranged up menacingly on their outside turning for home. Echo Town swung out four wide turning for home and swiftly inhaled the top three in mid-stretch, charging clear to a dominant 3 1/2-length victory. Tap It to Win held second and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Shoplifted (Into Mischief) completed the trifecta. Favored No Parole faded to ninth.
“He ran an excellent race,” winning trainer Steve Asmussen said. “It’s extremely significant winning the Allen Jerkens. Ricardo [Santana] did a great job with him today. I think the timing for him was better going into today than the Woody Stephens, and he showed it today. I thought 22 and 3 was soft for this group. I thought Echo Town ran the race of his life and Shoplifted, who was second in the [GI] Hopeful last year here obviously likes this track.”
The Hall of Famer continued, “It was great to see him put it all together when it matters so much on this stage. He ran solidly here. He ran really well into the Woody Stephens, but I thought the timing of this race was better.”
“He broke really sharp today and when the dirt started hitting him in the face, he was jumping a little bit but he was really comfortable,” Santana said. “I took him outside and he gave me a nice kick at the end. He was traveling really well. I knew there was plenty of speed today and I just wanted to sit behind the speed. I’m really happy with the horse.”
A debut winner at the Fair Grounds Jan. 18, Echo Town was third next out at Oaklawn Feb. 23 and returned to winning ways in the slop there Mar. 13. Missing by a head in the Bachelor S. in Hot Springs Apr. 25, he captured a Churchill Downs sprint May 25 prior to his effort in the Woody June 20 at Belmont.
Pedigree Notes:
Echo Town is the 18th Grade I victory for his sire Speightstown, as well as the 56th graded winner and 113th black-type scorer for the WinStar stallion. Out of GSW Letgomyecho, the winner is a half to Grade III victor J Boys Echo and GSP Unbridled Outlaw (Unbridled’s Song). The 18-year-old mare is also responsible for the 2-year-old colt Burrow (Candy Ride {Arg}), a $200,000 OBSAPR buy; a yearling filly by Gun Runner; and an American Pharoah filly born May 8 of this year.
Saturday, Saratoga
H. ALLEN JERKENS S. PRESENTED BY RUNHAPPY-GI, $300,000, Saratoga, 8-1, 3yo, 7f, 1:22.53, ft.
1–ECHO TOWN, 120, c, 3, by Speightstown
1st Dam: Letgomyecho (GSW, $136,200), by Menifee
2nd Dam: Echo Echo Echo, by Eastern Echo
3rd Dam: Kashie West, by Sir Ivor
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I
WIN. ‘TDN Rising Star’ ($100,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP). O-L & N
Racing LLC; B-Betz, Betz, Burns, CHNNHK Thoroughbreds,
Magers, CoCo Equine & R (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen;
J-Ricardo Santana, Jr. $165,000. Lifetime Record: 7-4-2-1,
$375,320. *1/2 to Unbridled Outlaw (Unbridled’s Song), GSP,
$253,478; J Boys Echo (Mineshaft), GSW, $377,543. Werk Nick
Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Tap It to Win, 120, r, 3, Tapit–Onepointhreekarats, by
Medaglia d’Oro. O-Live Oak Plantation; B-Live Oak Stud (FL);
T-Mark E. Casse. $60,000.
3–Shoplifted, 120, c, 3, Into Mischief–Shopit, by Yes It’s True.
‘TDN Rising Star’ ($525,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP; $800,000 2yo ’19
FTFMAR). O-Grandview Equine, Cheyenne Stables, LLC & LNJ
Foxwoods; B-Machmer Hall, Carrie & Craig Brogden (KY);
T-Steven M. Asmussen. $36,000.
Margins: 3HF, HF, 1HF. Odds: 7.20, 3.65, 18.50.
Also Ran: Captain Bombastic, Sonneman, Mischevious Alex, Eight Rings, Hopeful Treasure, No Parole, Three Technique, Liam’s Pride.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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‘TDN Rising Star’ Improbable (City Zip) scored back-to-back Grade I victories and provided his conditioner Bob Baffert with his second straight renewal of Saratoga’s prestigious GI Whitney S. Saturday with a dominant score in this ‘Win and You’re In’ event for the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic. Heavily Favored Tom’s d’Etat (Smart Strike) missed the break and was relegated to last early as native New Yorker Mr Buff (Friend or Foe) took command, loping through early splits of :25.12 and :49.74 with 3-1 shot Improbable keeping close tabs from second. Improbable seized command from Mr Buff as three-quarters went in 1:13.36 with MGSW By My Standards (Goldencents) charging up behind him. Improbable charged clear at the top of the lane and it was all over from there as the flashy chestnut rolled home to a two-length victory. By My Standards held on for second over Tom’s d’Etat. Last term’s GI Travers S. hero Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}) could only manage fourth over a tiring Mr Buff.
“He got up really quick and he put me in the race,” said winning pilot Irad Ortiz. “I just took a little hold because Mr Buff looked like the speed of the race. I put him in second in the clear, like we wanted and went from there. He was comfortable. By the backside, we felt pressure but by his own he started picking it up. I let him do his thing because they were going really slow so I let him go early. When I asked him turning for home, he responded really well.
“Big race. Big race,” said co-owner WinStar Farm’s Elliott Walden. “Obviously, we had to get over the gate [issues] a little bit and Irad and the gate crew did a wonderful job. He broke great, Irad had him in a super position and felt great all the way around there. Bob [Baffert] had him ready to go, as usual, when he comes east. When he got in the position that we had hoped for, which was kind of tracking Mr. Buff, we felt really good. Then they throw up kind of easy fractions. But, he’s just a different horse this year. That’s his second Grade I in a row. He got beat by Tom’s d’Etat in his first start at Oaklawn, but he’s set up for a big year and we’re just excited to continue that.”
As for the beaten favorite, Tom d’Etat, jockey Joel Rosario said, “He stumbled coming out. There was a lot going on. He was standing fine, he just missed the break. It changed my plan because I had to really get riding from there. I couldn’t take my time. I thought the pace was fine. Even after that, I was not too far from the lead. It looked like I was in a good spot. But stumbling coming out of the gate, I lost ground right away.”
A perfect three-for-three as a juvenile, including his first top level success in the GI Los Alamitos Futurity, Improbable faced his first defeat when second in last term’s GII Rebel S. and filled the same spot behind Omaha Beach (War Front) in the GI Arkansas Derby last term. Fifth, but promoted to fourth in the GI Kentucky Derby, the $200,000 KEESEP buy finished sixth in last year’s GI Preakness S., after which he was given a brief freshening. Making a successful comeback in the Shared Belief S. at Del Mar, he was fourth in the GI Pennsylvania Derby in September and could only manage fifth in the GI Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile Nov. 2. Coming up just 3/4 of a length short of Tom’s d’Etat in the Oaklawn Mile Apr. 11, Improbable flashed signs of his impressive juvenile form when running off to a 3 1/4-length success in the GI Hollywood Gold Cup S. going 10 panels in Arcadia June 6.
Pedigree Notes:
Improbable is one of 10 Grade I winners, 30 graded winners and 87 stakes winners for his late sire City Zip. He is also one of 26 top-level scorers, 103 graded victors and 221 stakes winners produced by a daughter of A.P. Indy. Improbable is the first foal to race out of Rare Event, whose -year-old filly Redemption Day (Quality Road), a $180,000 KEESEP purchase by WinStar, broke her maiden July 9 and finished second last time July 30. The 11-year-old mare is also the dam of juvenile colt Snake Doctor
Saturday, Saratoga Racecourse
WHITNEY S.-GI, $695,000, Saratoga, 8-1, 4yo/up, 1 1/8m, 1:48.65, ft.
1–IMPROBABLE, 124, c, 4, by City Zip
1st Dam: Rare Event, by A.P. Indy
2nd Dam: Our Rite of Spring, by Stravinsky
3rd Dam: Turkish Tryst, by Turkoman
‘TDN Rising Star’ ($110,000 Wlg ’16 KEENOV; $200,000 Ylg ’17
KEESEP). O-WinStar Farm LLC, CHC Inc. and SF Racing LLC; B-St.
George Farm LLC & G. Watts Humphrey Jr. (KY); T-Bob Baffert;
J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $400,000. Lifetime Record: 13-6-3-0,
$1,529,520. Click for eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk
Nick Rating: A.
2–By My Standards, 122, c, 4, Goldencents–A Jealous Woman,
by Muqtarib. ($150,000 2yo ’18 OBSAPR). O-Allied Racing
Stable, LLC; B-Don Ladd (KY); T-W. Bret Calhoun. $140,000.
3–Tom’s d’Etat, 124, h, 7, Smart Strike–Julia Tuttle, by Giant’s
Causeway. ($330,000 Ylg ’14 KEESEP). O-G M B Racing; B-SF
Bloodstock LLC (KY); T-Albert M. Stall, Jr. $75,000.
Margins: 2, HF, 2HF. Odds: 3.25, 5.60, 1.00.
Also Ran: Code of Honor, Mr. Buff. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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