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Lexitonian Will Try To Carry Momentum Into Forego

Calumet Farm homebred Lexitonian, a racing enigma who broke through with his biggest performance to date last month, goes after a second consecutive win for the first time in his career in Saturday's Grade 1, $600,000 Forego at Saratoga Race Course.

The 42nd running of the Forego, a seven-furlong sprint for older horses, is one of seven graded-stakes, six of them Grade 1, worth $4.6 million in purses on a blockbuster program highlighted by the 152nd renewal of the Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers.

Five of the eight horses entered in the Forego are Grade 1 winners, including Firenze Fire, Mind Control, Mischevious Alex and Whitmore, the champion sprinter of 2020. Lexitonian joined the group with a half-length victory in the six-furlong Alfred G. Vanderbilt July 31, his 19th career start and first since being eased to the wire in the Grade 1 Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Handicap June 5 at Belmont Park.

“He's probably not a fan favorite horse because he's a tough horse to handicap. No one knows what to expect,” trainer Jack Sisterson said. “We've always had the confidence to put him in races like that. He does from time to time throw a clunker in. He got beat [45 ¼] lengths in the Met Mile. A lot of people probably would have dropped him down a grade to get him a confidence win and get him back on track, but he showed signs that he was still capable of winning a type of race like the Vanderbilt. We stuck him in there and he proved to everybody that he's got the capability of jumping up with a big performance.”

Sisterson approached the Vanderbilt with a different strategy, asking jockey Jose Lezcano to get the 5-year-old son of champion sprinter Speightstown involved early. Breaking from the rail, they dueled first with Strike Power and then with Special Reserve on the lead before prevailing at odds of 34-1, the longest shot in a field of nine that also included Whitmore [third], Firenze Fire [fifth] and Mischevious Alex [eighth].

“We sort of changed the tactics with him,” Sisterson said. “He'd been breezing down on the inside of horses, and he's very workmanlike. It was just by chance we drew the one hole. I suppose when you draw the one, you have to jump and go forward. Going three-quarters, you're not going to take back and make one run. I'd never be someone to tell a jockey what to do, but I just chatted to Jose about the race. I said, 'Let's be real aggressive early and see if you can put him on the lead.' Credit to Jose, it was a brilliant ride. Lexitonian really responded to that.”

Lexitonian became a graded-stakes winner in the Grade 3 Chick Lang in 2019 at Pimlico Race Course, later that summer returning to Maryland to take the Concern at Laurel Park. He won one of his next 11 starts prior to the Vanderbilt, coming up a nose short in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby last August and a head shy in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs May 21. He also ran fifth in last year's Forego, beaten 2 ½ lengths by Win Win Win.

“He'd probably been a bit unfortunate not to already have been a Grade 1 winner. Obviously I'm biased. He's had some near misses but he put it all together in the Vanderbilt,” Sisterson said. “He's shown us signs that he's going to run the same sort of race he did in the Vanderbilt. We haven't changed anything up with him. We've just kept it simple. With him, less is more. We found that out pretty quickly. We're excited about Saturday. It would be great to see him duplicate a performance like that. I think he's well capable of doing it. He couldn't be doing any better.”

Lezcano returns to ride from post position 3.

Robert LaPenta, trainer Ron Moquett and Head of Plains Partners' Whitmore rallied to be third after some early trouble in the Vanderbilt, beaten less than two lengths. According to Equibase, the 8-year-old gelding – a winner of 15 races including the 2018 Forego and nearly $4.5 million in purse earnings from 42 career starts – can become the second-oldest horse to win a Grade 1 event at Saratoga behind John's Call, who was 9 when he won the Sword Dancer in 2009.

The Vanderbilt was Whitmore's first race since running third by a head in the Churchill Downs, a nose behind Lexitonian. Winner of the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint last fall to clinch his first year-end championship, he will have the services of Joel Rosario from post position 2.

Another multi-millionaire in the Forego is Mr. Amore Stable's Firenze Fire, a 14-time winner with nine graded victories who earned Grade 1 credentials in the 2017 Champagne at Belmont Park. The 6-year-old Poseidon's Warrior horse has enjoyed great success downstate, including wins in the Grade 2 True North and Grade 3 Runhappy this spring, but his lone win in eight Saratoga starts came in the Grade 3 Sanford in 2017, his second career race.

Making his third straight appearance in the Forego, having run second to champion Mitole in 2019 and 11th behind Win Win Win last year, Firenze Fire will have Jose Ortiz in the irons from post position 8.

Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stables' Mind Control [post 4, John Velazquez] snapped an eight-race losing streak last out in the Grade 2 John A. Nerud July 4 at Belmont Park, his first start for newly inducted Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. His two career Grade 1 victories have come at Saratoga in the 2018 Hopeful and 2019 H. Allen Jerkens, both at the Forego distance, for previous trainer Gregg Sacco.

“He's good at the distance. He's won over the track and seems to be maintaining form,” Pletcher said. “We expect a tough race, but he's doing good.”

Cash is King and LC Racing's Mischevious Alex won back-to-back Grade 3 stakes last year in the Swale at Gulfstream Park and Gotham at Aqueduct for trainer John Servis. Moved to South Florida-based Saffie Joseph, Jr. for 2021, the 4-year-old Into Mischief colt put together a three-race win streak that included the Grade 3 Gulfstream Park Sprint and Aqueduct's Grade 1 Carter. Third in the Met Mile, he regressed with an eighth-place finish in the Vanderbilt that left Joseph scratching his head.

“Last race, he didn't show up. Hopefully, we can correct it this time and he can come back and run his usual race for us,” Joseph said. “If he runs his race, he's a horse who goes in there with a good chance.”

Mischevious Alex's stablemate, Shooting Star Thoroughbreds' Chance It, has run second two starts this year, both at Gulfstream. He was beaten less than a length each time after returning from more than a year layoff, first by Double Crown in a May 23 optional claimer and then by Miles Ahead in the Grade 3 Smile Sprint July 3.

“Chance It is making his third start off a layoff and seems to be training really well. He always had a lot of potential. He'll have to step it up against these types of horses, but he's entitled to have a chance,” Joseph said. “He's come back and in his both his races, he's been just as good as before the layoff. The added distance will work to his advantage. This will be his test to see if he belongs against these types of horses. We feel like he does, so fingers crossed.”

Tyler Gaffalione has the call on Chance It from post position 6, while Irad Ortiz, Jr. rides Mischevious Alex from post position 1.

Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt's Yaupon won each of his first four career starts last year, two of them coming at Saratoga – an open allowance triumph over older horses and the Grade 2 Amsterdam – as well as the Chick Lang. Following a troubled eighth in both the Breeders' Cup Sprint to end 2020 and the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen to open 2021, Yaupon returned to capture Pimlico's Lite the Fuse July 4 in his most recent outing.

“[The Breeders' Cup] was too much too soon,” Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen said. “He had run well at Pimlico previously and thought it was a very fast race. He came out of it in good shape. Obviously, I think he deserves the chance in the Forego. He's run very well at Saratoga, as well.”

Ricardo Santana, Jr. rides Yaupon from post position 7.

Three Diamonds Farm's Doubly Blessed [post 5, Luis Saez] is set to make his graded-stakes debut in the Forego. Fourth in the 1 3/8-mile Stud Muffin March 27 at Aqueduct, the 4-year-old Empire Maker gelding will be cutting back to a sprint for the first time in a 13-race career that began last spring on the turf. Last out, he won a 1 1/16-mile optional claimer in the Belmont Park slop May 29.

The Forego is slated as Race 8 on the 13-race card. First post is 11:35 a.m. Eastern. For the third consecutive year, FOX will air the Runhappy Travers as the centerpiece of a 90-minute telecast beginning at 5 p.m. The networks of FOX and FOX Sports will air 7.5 total hours of live racing and analysis on Runhappy Travers Day, with coverage scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. on FS1. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

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Midnight Bourbon, Jackie’s Warrior Work Ahead Of Travers, H. Allen Jerkens

Winchell Thoroughbred's Midnight Bourbon, trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, worked a half-mile in :49.60 Sunday on the Oklahoma training track in preparation for Saturday's $1.25 million Grade 1 Runhappy Travers.

Asmussen said the graded stakes-winning sophomore son of Tiznow has worked well after a troubled trip last out in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational, where he was a close third in mid-stretch before clipping heels and falling, unseating rider Paco Lopez.

“He's a very impressive horse,” Asmussen said. “I think we're obviously very fortunate that he came out of the mishap in the Haskell in good shape and he's training well, per usual.”

Midnight Bourbon, a winner of the Grade 3 Lecomte at Fair Grounds Race Course in his 2021 debut, was second in the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico to Rombauer prior to the Haskell.

Asmussen and Winchell finished third twice in the Travers with Pyro [2008] and Gun Runner [2016].

Also breezing on Sunday for Asmussen was five-time graded stakes winning millionaire Jackie's Warrior, who went a half-mile in :48.98 seconds in preparation for the $500,000 Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on the Runhappy Travers Day undercard.

William and Corrine Heiligbrodt's dual graded stakes winner Yaupon went a half-mile in :50.50 seconds over the Oklahoma training track. The 4-year-old son of Uncle Mo is targeting the $600,000 Grade 1 Forego.

Asmussen was pleased with a solid runner-up finish from Stonestreet Stables' Clairiere in the Grade 1 Alabama. The winner of the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra in February at Fair Grounds closed late under Irad Ortiz, Jr. to finish second, 1 ½ lengths in arrears to Malathaat. Asmussen said no plans have been made for the daughter of Curlin's next start.

“She came out of it in good shape,” Asmussen said. “There's a lot going on between now and what's next for her.”

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Russell Considering De Francis Memorial Dash For Wondrwherecraigis

Patience and perseverance paid off handsomely for owners Michael Dubb, The Elkstone Group, Madaket Stables, and Michael Caruso and trainer Brittany Russell when Wondrwherecraigis became a stakes winner for the first time in Friday's Tale of the Cat at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Based at historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., the 4-year-old gelding's front-running 2 ¾-length triumph under jockey Luis Saez has the connections thinking of taking the next step in their own backyard in the prestigious $200,000 Grade 3 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash Saturday, Sept. 18 at Laurel Park.

Named for the late president and chairman of both Laurel and Pimlico, the De Francis' illustrious roster of winners includes Hall of Famer Housebuster, fellow sprint champions Cherokee Run, Smoke Glacken, Thor's Echo and Benny the Bull, and Lite the Fuse, the race's only two-time winner (1995-96) honored with his own stakes race in Maryland.

The six-furlong De Francis for 3-year-olds and up headlines four stakes worth $500,000 in purses, representing the first stakes action over Laurel's newly reconstructed main track. Laurel's fall meet is scheduled to open Thursday, Sept. 9.

“It's not out of the question. It seems like the timing is good, but we'll have to just see how things fall into place,” Russell said. “We have to see who nominates and what it looks like, but I think he could be very useful around here. If it means the Grade 3, great. If not, we'll look around.

“I like the idea. I like the distance, the timing, all those things,” she added. “But, we also want to be reasonable. It would be exciting for me.”

Married to jockey Sheldon Russell and 10 weeks away from delivering the couple's second child, Russell stayed behind in Maryland to watch Friday's race, leaving the saddling to assistant trainer Amanda Knox. Saturday morning's report was encouraging.

“Amanda said he's fantastic, sound, ate up,” Russell said. “He was bouncing around, happy as could be.”

Since mid-April, Wondrwherecraigis has been part of Russell's string at Pimlico, where he prepped for the Tale of the Cat with a commanding 5 ¾-length optional claiming allowance triumph July 18. Of his five career wins, two have come at both Pimlico and Laurel.

By multiple graded-stakes winning sprinter Munnings, Wondrwherecraigis cruised by three lengths in gate-to-wire fashion on the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan undercard May 14 at Pimlico, his first race in nearly nine months since finishing fourth in the Grade 2 Amsterdam last August at Saratoga.

Wondrwherecraigis was unraced at 2 after selling for $67,000 as a yearling, debuting with back-to-back wins at Laurel March 13 and June 6, 2020. Two weeks later, he was entered in the Keeneland Horse Association's Horses of Racing Age Sale but failed to meet his $210,000 reserve.

Sent to New York, Wondrwherecraigis ran third in the Gold Fever at Belmont Park before taking on graded competition in the Amsterdam, finishing 7 ½ lengths behind Yaupon – who would come back to win the Grade 3 Chick Lang last October and Lite the Fuse July 4 at Pimlico – before going to the sidelines.

“The partners have been patient. It's a perfect example of if you know the horse has ability, just do the right thing by them,” Russell said. “Hopefully it works out the way it seems to have with this horse.”

Wondrwherecraigis was nominated to the $100,000 Chesapeake Aug. 23 at Colonial Downs, also six furlongs for 3-year-olds and up, but how well he had done since the Pimlico race and the prospect of a smaller field landed him in Saratoga instead. It was Russell's fourth career win at Saratoga and first in a stakes.

“I sort of wrote this race off originally. We actually supplemented him. I didn't even nominate him because I didn't want to feel pressured,” Russell said. “He ran such a big number when he won the last time at Pimlico. I was really thinking that Colonial race was good timing and that track seems to be good for speed horses. There seemed like a lot of positives to go to Colonial.

“But then looking at it, it seemed as though it wasn't going to be a large field [at Saratoga]. I wasn't sure about quality at the time,” she added. “It worked out. It doesn't always work out that well, but it did this time.”

Wondrwherecraigis will return to Maryland next week and begin preparations for his next race. All stakes races at Saratoga and Maryland's graded races such as the De Francis are run Lasix-free.

“I'm going to leave him up there a couple days and just kind of let him recover. I didn't want to put him right on a truck and ship him six hours after that run,” Russell said. “We'll get him back home and see how he is. I think the main thing is, we learned that he doesn't need Lasix and that's a big deal when you're talking about running in the better races like that.”

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Yaupon, Mrs. Orb Take MATCH Races At Pimlico; Series Resumes July 31

Yaupon and Mrs. Orb took their respective Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships Series (MATCH) stakes July 4 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., and the usually contentious 3-Year-Olds and Up Sprint—Dirt division is again shaping up as one to watch

The two MATCH Series stakes joined two other stakes on an 11-race holiday program that generated $10.06 million in pari-mutuel handle that included a mandatory Pick 6 payout wager with a $5.1 million pool and a $1.43 million carryover.

In the $100,000 Lite the Fuse Stakes, the second of six legs in the 3-Year-Olds and Up Sprint—Dirt division this year, Yaupon, owned by Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt, got back on the winning track after eighth-place finishes in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint in November 2020 and the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen in March. The 4-year-old Kentucky-bred by Uncle Mo had been training this spring at Churchill Downs and previously had won his first four races, including the Grade 3 Chick Lang Stakes at Pimlico in October 2020.

With Ricardo Santana Jr. riding for trainer Steve Asmussen, Yaupon stalked front-running Chateau for about a half-mile before taking over in upper stretch in the six-furlong event. He gradually pulled away to win by 1 3/4 lengths over Laki, who bid between those two on the far turn and ran on well for second. Chateau checked in third.

Yaupon, the heavy favorite, paid $2.80 to win and covered the distance in 1:09.43 on a track rated fast.

”He broke really sharp,” said Santana, who rode Yaupon for the first time. “He came in the race from the layoff and I wanted to give him a little break. He put me in a good position, so I let him take a second deep breath and at the three-eighths pole when my horse felt the other horse, he took off back.”

The other horse was Laki, who rated in third early and made his bid on the far turn. Laki, owned by Hillside Equestrian Meadows and trained by Damon Dilodovico, finished fifth in the Grade 3 Maryland Sprint Stakes—the first race in the division—but rebounded nicely in the Lite the Fuse.

“He ran really well,” Dilovodico said. “I thought he may be able to get outside down the backstretch because it looked like Yaupon (wasn't gaining on the leader). But there's no shame in running second to him. We're really blessed to have this horse.”

Yaupon and Special Reserve, winner of the Maryland Sprint, each have 10 points to top the division. Maryland-bred Laki now has 9 points thanks to having started in both stakes in the division thus far.

Mrs. Orb, a New York-bred owned by Ruggeri Stable, Richard Coburn, Script R Farm and trainer Mike Miceli, went over the $500,000 mark in earnings in the 1 1/16-mile Caesar's Wish, the second of six legs in the Filly and Mare Long—Dirt division. Ridden by Horacio Karamanos, who also rode Laki, Mrs. Orb rated in fourth through quick fractions before taking over in mid-stretch and holding off a late rally by Trolley Ride. Sweet Sami D. finished an even third.

Mrs. Orb, a 6-year-old mare by Orb, has been a fixture in New York-bred stakes company but last November was second in a Grade 3 stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack. She has been first, second or third in 13 of 15 starts.

“She's a tough gal—she's not easy to train, but you don't mind when they can run,” Miceli said. “She's a little temperamental. You pretty much have to cater to her.”

Mrs. Orb, a slight favorite, paid $6.20 to win and covered the distance in 1:44.17 on a track rated fast. She collected 10 MATCH Series points to tie Spice Is Nice at the top of the division.

The 2021 MATCH Series continues July 31 at Pimlico with three stakes in the 3-Year-Olds and Up Sprint—Dirt division, Filly and Mare Sprint—Dirt division and 3-Year-Olds and Up Long—Dirt division. Undefeated Chub Wagon, owned by George Chestnut and Daniel Lopez, leads the Filly and Mare Sprint—Dirt division and the overall series with 20 points.

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