Saratoga Picks | Amsterdam Stakes 2024

Donegal Racing’s lightly-raced Donegal Momentum is set for his graded stakes debut in Friday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Amsterdam, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for sophomores, at Saratoga Race Course. 

The Amsterdam is slated as Race 3 on Friday’s 10-race program. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern. 

Trainer Tom Morley, who saddled The Big Torpedo to win the $150,000 Cab Calloway division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series here at Saratoga on July 18, looks to keep the momentum going as Donegal Momentum makes his third career start. 

The Uncle Mo dark bay enters off a last-out runner-up finish versus elders in a one-turn mile allowance on June 27 at Belmont at the Big A. He set the pace under returning Hall of Fame rider Javier Castellano before a half-length defeat to 4-year-old Surface to Air. 

“This is a big step up in class. From what I’m gauging, it is a very contentious field of unexposed 3-year-old colts who are trying to make a splash on the scene,” said Morley. “I’m looking forward to it.”

In defeat, Donegal Momentum earned a career-best 93 Beyer Speed Figure, one point higher than a 92 for his 8 1/4-length debut victory sprinting six furlongs on May 16 at Belmont at the Big A.  

Donegal Momentum completed his preparations for the step up in class with a half-mile breeze in 48.76 seconds Thursday over the Saratoga main track. Morley said the move left a great impression going into the Amsterdam. 

“His work was absolutely beautiful over the main track. It was a half-mile by himself, Castellano came and breezed him, off in 24 and four, finished in 48 and two,” said Morley. “He just looks like he does everything so effortlessly. You wouldn’t even know he was breezing, which is normally a sign of a good horse.” 

Out of the winning Malibu Moon mare Moon Dash, Donegal Momentum was a $375,000 purchase at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. 

Castellano looks to engineer a winning trip from post 2.

Godolphin’s Kentucky homebred Jefferson Street [post 4, Junior Alvarado] also steps into stakes-company for the first time for Hall of Famer Bill Mott. The Street Sense dark bay holds a pair of dominant victories in his two efforts at Friday’s distance, including by eight lengths last-out versus allowance-level elders on June 7 here at Saratoga during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. 

There, he traveled five lengths back in third position before surging to the front in the stretch and drawing off impressively to stop the clock in 1:14.96 over the fast going, earning a career and field-best 102 Beyer Speed Figure. 

“I thought he ran very well. He ran very good,” said Mott. “He’s maintained everything pretty well, I just hope he runs as well as he did last time. They get stronger as they go along, and he’s slowly worked his way to that.”

The victory marked a second much-the-best score to go along with a nine-length third-out graduation over sloppy and sealed footing on April 11 at Keeneland. 

When not an open lengths winner, Jefferson Street has posted a trio of third-place efforts to reputable foes, including next-out Grade 1-placed General Partner on debut in September and dual Grade 1-contestant Be You next in March at Gulfstream.

In his first try versus winners, he saw the graded stakes-placed and next-out stakes winner Raging Torrent take a May optional-claimer at Churchill.

Jefferson Street is out of the Bernardini mare Apiary, a half-sister to multiple Grade 1 winner Frosted and a full-sister to graded stakes winner Indulgent. 

Dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox will send out the unbeaten Pure Force [post 3, Florent Geroux], a 2-for-2 Kentucky homebred for Juddmonte. The Constitution dark bay has proven his name in his two starts, winning a 6 1/2-furlong sprint on debut versus elders on the May 4 Kentucky Derby-card at Churchill Downs ahead of a five-length victory traveling seven-furlongs on June 19 there. 

Blake Cox, son and assistant to Brad, said Pure Force has trained well as of late, citing a half-mile bullet in 47 seconds flat over the Oklahoma dirt on July 13, fastest-of-64 workers at the distance, and most recently a five-furlong breeze in 1:02.25 Saturday. 

“He seems like he likes it up here. He is a horse that always puts a lot into his works. He doesn’t need any company, he knows his job,” said Blake. “Two weeks out, we put a little more into him and today [Saturday] was just maintenance.” 

Cox added that Pure Force, out of the Group 3-winning Medaglia d’Oro turf miler Mexican Gold, is built like a true sprinter. 

“I think he may be able to get up to one mile. But farther, we’ll see as he gets older and matures,” Cox added.

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen will saddle multiple stakes winner Valentine Candy [post 5, Joel Rosario], who represents the only member of the compact field with graded stakes experience. The Justify chestnut enters from a Saratoga fifth in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun on June 8 and also finished off-the-board in the Grade 1 Hopeful here in September. 

In his ventures elsewhere for owners William Heiligbrodt, Corinne Heiligbrodt, Jackpot Farm, Whispering Oaks Farm and Coteau Grove Farms, Valentine Candy won the six-furlong Listed Bachelor in April at Oaklawn Park over next-out graded stakes-winner Frost Free.

In victory, he added a fourth stakes score sprinting at Oaklawn after capturing the Ozark in February, plus the Renaissance and Advent in December. 

Rounding out the field is Siena Farm and WinStar Farm’s stakes-placed World Record [post 1, Flavien Prat], who adds blinkers for trainer Rodolphe Brisset. The Gun Runner bay was third last-out in the seven-furlong Listed Maxfield on June 30 at Churchill, won by Raging Torrent.