Horse Watch Saratoga Report #4 August 14, 2012 Horse Watch Saratoga Report #4 August 14, 2012 By: Aaron Halterman twitterfacebooklinkedinemail Share: share on facebook share on twitter share on linkedin email this article 3 Stars of the Week – 1st Star: Wise Dan (KY) – This was the type of performance that makes you think Wise Dan needs to stay on the turf. You have to admire how versatile this horse is, but is there any question he would be the favorite in the Breeders Cup Turf Mile right now? After hitting the gate at the start, Wise Dan settled in nicely behind the two front-runners, and shot through a hole along the rail in the stretch. Once he got through, there was no stopping him as he cruised to a five length victory under a hand ride. Newly inducted Hall of Fame member John Valezquez gave him a smart ride, but Wise Dan deserves the credit for making the most of it. There are plenty of options for his next race, but there is no doubt in my mind he’s at his best at a flat mile. – 2nd Star: My Miss Aurelia (KY) – The champion is back, but she gave us all a little scare on Wednesday. My Miss Aurelia went in the gate as the heavy favorite in the Mandys Gold Stakes, but stumbled badly at the start and spotted the field several lengths. Like a true champion, she settled herself down the back stretch, and still was able to win easily under a hand ride. You could tell My Miss Aurelia was not as sharp as we’ve seen her in the past, but I look for her to improve a lot off this effort. Where and when they race her again will be interesting. Will they keep her sprinting, or try to stretch her out? Do they look to the Breeders Cup, or take their time with her? It will be fun to see how it unfolds. – 3rd Star: Spurious Precision (FL) – I can’t say I was overly impressed with either two-year old performance on Sunday, but out of the two Spurious Precision was a little better I thought. Both races were carbon copies of each other. They went extremely fast early, and struggled home late. Both Spurious Precision and Kauai Katie will both have to learn to ration their speed once they stretch out, but when you are winning grade 2’s at Saratoga you are doing something right. Flop of the Week – The Weather – There was no question the weather was this weeks biggest flop. It all but ruined the cards on Friday and Saturday, and took the first four races off the turf on Sunday as well. I guess it’s good to get it out of the way early, as we certainly don’t want rain on Travers weekend. Trainer Standings Rank Trainer Name Sts 1st 2nd 3rd Total $ Win% Top3 Top3% 1 Todd A. Pletcher 81 20 12 9 $1,407,832 25% 41 51% 2 Chad C. Brown 49 14 13 7 $969,564 29% 34 69% 3 Steven M. Asmussen 38 8 8 3 $562,083 21% 19 50% 4 Rudy R. Rodriguez 42 7 6 5 $407,436 17% 18 43% 4 George Weaver 31 7 0 6 $335,680 23% 13 42% 6 William I. Mott 47 6 8 7 $770,911 13% 21 45% 7 Anthony W. Dutrow 23 5 4 3 $287,930 22% 12 52% 7 Dominic G. Galluscio 26 5 5 2 $282,033 19% 12 46% 7 Christophe Clement 24 5 1 4 $276,119 21% 10 42% 7 Gary C. Contessa 40 5 5 3 $248,280 13% 13 33% 11 Richard E. Dutrow, Jr. 32 4 8 5 $416,443 13% 17 53% 11 Eddie Kenneally 24 4 7 1 $300,996 17% 12 50% 11 Richard A. Violette, Jr. 18 4 0 3 $291,040 22% 7 39% 11 David Jacobson 30 4 3 2 $232,456 13% 9 30% 11 Michael E. Hushion 15 4 0 2 $185,469 27% 6 40% 11 Jason Servis 9 4 2 0 $159,890 44% 6 67% 11 Chris J. Englehart 21 4 1 4 $131,980 19% 9 43% Jockey Standings Rank Jockey Name Sts 1st 2nd 3rd Total $ Win% Top3 Top3% 1 Ramon A. Dominguez 163 39 29 25 $2,641,399 24% 93 57% 2 Javier Castellano 144 21 24 21 $1,955,347 15% 66 46% 2 Jose Lezcano 126 21 24 14 $1,477,072 17% 59 47% 4 Joel Rosario 126 17 17 21 $1,271,955 13% 55 44% 5 Junior Alvarado 108 16 16 12 $1,259,930 15% 44 41% 6 Julien R. Leparoux 110 15 19 7 $1,228,002 14% 41 37% 6 John R. Velazquez 59 15 2 5 $1,225,677 25% 22 37% 8 Rajiv Maragh 122 11 9 15 $906,269 9% 35 29% 9 Rosie Napravnik 122 9 14 16 $1,110,834 7% 39 32% 10 Irad Ortiz, Jr. 118 8 14 15 $904,644 7% 37 31% 10 Cornelio H. Velasquez 84 8 9 16 $601,748 10% 33 39% 12 Wilmer A. Garcia 78 7 6 5 $389,572 9% 18 23% 13 Eddie Castro 66 5 4 7 $457,113 8% 16 24% 13 Edgar S. Prado 70 5 8 8 $451,752 7% 21 30% 13 Alan Garcia 43 5 1 6 $437,159 12% 12 28% 13 Shaun Bridgmohan 37 5 2 1 $225,329 14% 8 22% Preview to Next Week – The Troy Stakes – Wednesday – 3 year olds and upward – five and one half furlongs (Turf) – $100,000 – The West Point Stakes – Thursday – NY Breds 3 years old and upward – 1 /16th mile (Turf) – $150,000 – The Yaddo Stakes – Friday – NY Breds fillies and mares 3 years old and upward – 1 1/16th mile (Turf) – $150,000 – The Alabama Stakes (Grade 1) – Saturday – 3-year-old fillies – 1 1/4th miles – $600,000 – The Sword Dancer Invitational (Grade 1) – Saturday – 3 year olds and upward – 1 1/2 miles (Turf) – $600,000 – The Lake Placid Stakes (Grade 2) – Sunday – 3-year-old fillies – 1 1/8th (Turf) – $200,000 – The Union Avenue Stakes – Monday – NY Breds Filly and mares 3 year olds and upward – six furlongs – $100,000
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