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Oh, Brother! American Sailor Awarded Troy Stakes Win Via Disqualification

Raj Jagnanan's American Sailor was elevated to first following the disqualification of Imprimis in Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 Troy, a 5 ½-furlong sprint on the Mellon turf course at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Breeze Easy's Imprimis, trained by Joe Orseno and piloted by Jose Ortiz, rallied to the lead down the lane but not before lugging in on Shekky Shebaz, guided by his brother, Irad Ortiz, Jr., who was forced to check.

Imprimis crossed the wire 2 1/4-lengths lengths in front of the pacesetting American Sailor, who was a head better than Shekky Shebaz in third. Following a stewards inquiry, Imprimis was disqualified and placed third behind Shekky Shebaz.

“When I hit him the first time, that's when he switched leads and I think that's when I bothered the other horse,” said Ortiz. “It looked like [Imprimis] was the best horse but probably did cost the other horse [Shekky Shebaz] a position.”

American Sailor, with Tyler Gaffalione up, set a swift early tempo of 21.92 seconds and a half-mile in 44.01 with Shekky Shebaz following his early foot. Imprimis settled in third position and began his move into the turn racing outside of horses.

American Sailor maintained a precarious lead at the head of the lane but Imprimis and Shekky Shebaz loomed large. Shekky Shebaz, stopped briefly by Imprimis, re-rallied late in the lane to challenge American Sailor for place.

Rounding out the order of finish were Chewing Gum, Pulsate, Lonhtwist, and the slow starting Pure Sensation.

The victory marked the first stakes win for an emotional trainer Wayne Potts as well as a first win at the Spa from four attempts for the veteran conditioner.

“I'm speechless. This is my first graded win,” said Potts. “My clients have stood behind me through the years with claimers and this is where we're at.”

An 8-year-old son of City Zip, American Sailor arrived at the Troy from a runner-up effort to Archidust in the Wolf Hill on July 18 at Monmouth Park and was making just his third start of the campaign.

“We gave him the winter off this year and I had him for about three years and he really needed a break. He really deserved it,” said Potts. “He doesn't owe us anything, so we decided to give him a break this year and give him some time off instead of shipping him to Sam Houston for the Turf Sprint. He came back at Laurel and ran a fantastic race in his first race back and then he ran in the Wolf Hill, where he got beat by a nice horse for [Hall of Famer Steve] Asmussen. He came out of it well and so I was confident when I brought him up here.”

Gaffalione said he was happy to end up in the winner's circle regardless of the circumstances.

“I don't want to take anything away from my horse, he put in a huge effort today,” said Gaffalione. “I'm thrilled for the owners to come up here and win a nice race like this. It's not the way you want to get it done, but he put in a big effort and he's definitely deserving.”

American Sailor became a stakes winner in the 2016 Bucharest Turf Sprint at Sam Houston for former trainer Joe Sharp and made the grade by capturing the Troy in just his third graded attempt in 45 career starts.

Bred in Kentucky by KatieRich Farms, American Sailor banked $110,000 in victory while improving his record to 15-9-3. He paid $16.80 for a $2 win ticket.

Live racing returns Sunday at Saratoga with a 10-race card featuring the $85,000 Alydar in Race 9 and a mandatory payout in the Empire 6. First post is 1:10 p.m.

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Hot-Handed Clement Sends Pure Sensation, Shekky Shebaz Into Troy

Christophe Clement, who topped the trainer standings with 15 wins heading into Wednesday's card at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., will look to add to his impressive numbers when he sends out Pure Sensation and Shekky Shebaz in Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 Troy over the Spa's Mellon turf course.

The Troy, a 5 ½-furlong turf sprint for older males, is one of five graded races on a loaded Runhappy Travers Day card headlined by the Grade 1, $1 million Runhappy Travers at 1 1/4 miles for the country's most talented 3-year-olds. The card is bolstered by the Grade 1, $300,000 Longines Test for sophomore fillies; the Grade 1, $300,000 Ballerina presented by NYRA Bets for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up going seven furlongs and offering a “Win and You're In” berth to the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint; and the Grade 3, $150,000 Waya, a 1 ½-mile turf route for older fillies and mares. The card will be broadcast on Saratoga Live on FOX Sports and MSG Networks.

Patricia Generazio's homebred Pure Sensation, a 9-year-old Zensational gelding, boasts a record of 37-14-5-7 with purse earnings of $2,001,050. The popular grey won 4-of-6 starts last season, including a pair of graded-stakes at Parx where he captured his third Grade 3 Parx Dash [which he also won in 2016-17], and his fourth Grade 3 Turf Monster [2015, 2017-18] at Parx.

Pure Sensation wintered at Payson Park in Florida and made his seasonal debut with a seventh in the Grade 1 Jaipur on June 20 at Belmont Park. He posted a pair of turf works following the Jaipur, including a bullet three-eighths in 37.23 seconds on July 31 on the Oklahoma training turf.

“I was very disappointed with his race in the Jaipur. He was in a speed duel that day and I hope it's the reason that he ran poorly,” said Clement. “He came back and had a very good work on the turf the other day here. He worked well and looks well.”

Pure Sensation will be making his third start in the Troy after finishing sixth in 2018 and third last year. Clement said he's hoping the ultra-consistent Pure Sensation will return to form on Saturday.

“He's 9 years old, so we'll go one race at a time with him,” said Clement. “It's an important race for him as he has to do well in order for me to carry on. He's a very good-looking horse. He still looks very well and he's very sound.”

Kendrick Carmouche, who had guided the gelding to seven wins, has the call from post 5.

Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables and Bethlehem Stables' Shekky Shebaz owns a record of 21-6-5-4 with purse earnings of $382,400 and will look to make the grade in his fourth start of the season.

The 5-year-old Cape Blanco gelding finished third in the 2019 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint in his graded-stakes debut. Last out, making his first start for Clement, Shekky Shebaz closed to finish third in the 5 ½-furlong Wolf Hill at Monmouth Park.

Shekky Shebaz posted a bullet three-eighths breeze in 36.98 Sunday on the Oklahoma turf training course.

“He's had one start with us and ran fair at Monmouth,” said Clement. “He ran wide all the way. He also looks good and trained well on the grass here. Irad knows him well, so we'll give him a shot.”

Shekky Shebaz will exit post 4 under Irad Ortiz, Jr.

Breeze Easy's Imprimis, a seven-time winner from 13 starts for trainer Joe Orseno, is winless in four starts since taking the 2019 Grade 2 Shakertown in April at Keeneland.

The 6-year-old Broken Vow gelding shipped to Ascot last June for the Group 1 King's Stand and finished sixth. He returned stateside for a three-race fall campaign that included a fourth in the Grade 3 Runhappy Turf Sprint at Kentucky Downs; a third in the Grade 2 Woodford at Keeneland and a sixth in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Santa Anita.

Jose Ortiz, who guided Imprimis to victory in the 2018 Wolf Hill at Monmouth Park, will pilot Imprimis from the inside post.

Rounding out the field is American Sailor [post 2, Tyler Gaffalione], Lonhtwist [post 3, John Velazquez], Pulsate [post 6, Manny Franco], and Chewing Gum [post 7, Joel Rosario].

The Troy is slated as Race 8 on Saturday's 12-race card, which offers a first post of 12 p.m. Eastern. Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the 40-day summer meet on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the 40-day summer meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, NYRA Bets is currently offering a $200 new member bonus in addition to a host of special weekly offers. The NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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‘Huge Heart’: 8-Year-Old American Sailor Better Than Ever, Takes Aim On Troy Stakes

Firm in his belief that Raj Jagnanan's stakes winner American Sailor is better than ever at the age of 8, trainer Wayne Potts is taking aim at a big target.

Based with Potts at Laurel Park, where he opened his season in impressive fashion last month, American Sailor is being pointed to a return to graded-stakes competition in the $200,000 Troy (G3) Aug. 8 on the Saratoga turf.

The 5 ½-furlong Troy would be the third time facing graded company for American Sailor and the first since running 10th in the 2016 Twin Spires Turf Sprint (G3) at Churchill Downs for previous trainer Joe Sharp.

“He has a huge heart, a huge heart. He just does everything you ask him to do,” Potts said. “When he hits the racetrack, he's all business.”

American Sailor, a gelded son of City Zip, won a turf sprint stakes at Sam Houston in 2016 and ran second in subsequent editions to begin his 2017, 2018 and 2019 campaigns. The connections skipped the trip this past winter and wound up not getting started until June 8, in part due to the coronavirus pandemic that paused live racing in Maryland for 2 ½ months until May 30.

“I think we did the right thing by finally letting him go out and drop his head and be a horse. We gave him the winter off and he came back, and I think he's better now than when I previously had him, knock on wood, that's for sure,” Potts said. “We're very pleased with him.”

The speedy American Sailor earned his 14th career victory in the third-level optional claiming allowance at Laurel, opening up by as many as five lengths after a half-mile to win by a length in 1:03.53 for 5 ½ furlongs. He followed up with a determined runner-up effort after setting the pace in the Wolf Hill Stakes July 18 at Monmouth, finishing between Archidust and Shekky Shebaz – both turf stakes winners at Saratoga.

“It was a very solid field. We were thrilled. It was a super effort, and he gave it everything he had,” Potts said. “He came out of the race very good so I nominated him to the Troy. We're going to look at the race at Saratoga, and I nominated him to the Da Hoss [Aug. 15] at Colonial [Downs] as a backup plan.”

American Sailor, seventh in last year's Da Hoss, is among 17 nominees to the Troy. He was claimed by Potts for $25,000 out of a Sept. 3, 2017 win at Suffolk Downs and ran nine times with two wins and a second in the stakes at Sam Houston before being lost for a $7,500 tag in June 2018.

Jagnanan purchased American Sailor privately after he made one start for owner-trainer David Nunn, and has a record of 4-3-1 with nearly $300,000 in purse earnings from 12 races since being reunited with Potts.

Potts made two starts at Saratoga last summer, both with the gelding Dazzling Okie, finishing third in a mid-July claimer.

“I've never won a race at Saratoga, so it would be a steppingstone in the right direction,” Potts said. “We might get a short field there, who knows. We have to see how it all plays out, but as long as he stays like he is right now, I plan on being there.”

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Oleksandra To Point For Troy, Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint Before She Is Offered At Auction

Team Valor International's Oleksandra came out of her Grade 1 victory over males in the Grade 1 Jaipur Stakes in good shape, except for a nick on a lower front limb as a result of runner-up Kanthaka bearing into her at the break.

Trainer Neil Drysdale has decided to leave her at Belmont Park instead of returning her to Southern California. She will point for the Grade 3 Troy Stakes going 5 1/2 furlongs on grass for a $200,000 purse on the Travers Stakes undercard on Aug. 8 at Saratoga.

The 6-year-old daughter of Animal Kingdom may have one more race before contesting the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland.

“That will be her last race for Team Valor,” said Barry Irwin of Team Valor International. “She will be offered for sale after the BC at an auction in Kentucky with an as-yet undetermined agent.”

William Nader of the Hong Kong Racing Club tendered an invitation to the mare for “the world's richest turf sprint on December 13” so it is possible the mare's new owner could race her there or in Dubai over the winter before sending her off to the breeding shed.

Oleksandra became the first Australian-bred to win a Grade 1 in North America since the Pattern Race scheme went into being in 1974.

Her 101 Beyer Speed Figure was bettered on Saturday's Belmont Stakes card only by runaway Grade 1 Acorn Stakes winner Gamine.

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