Saratoga Picks | Mahony Stakes 2024

Cheyenne Stables’ Apollo Ten will look to double up on stakes scores in Sunday’s Listed $150,000 Mahony, a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf sprint for sophomores, at Saratoga Race Course.

The Mahony, slated as Race 8 on Sunday, is named in honor of Patrick Mahony, the longtime Senior Vice President of Mutuels at NYRA who spent more than 50 years in the racing industry before retiring in 2016. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.

Trained by Christophe Clement, the Violence colt has won 3-of-4 turf starts and arrives from a frontrunning three-quarter length score in the 5 1/2-furlong My Frenchman on July 14 at Monmouth Park. There, he zipped through splits of 22.21 seconds and 44.90 over the firm turf en route to a narrow score over Roi Soleil in a final time of 1:02.53. The winning effort registered a career-best 86 Beyer Speed Figure.

The victory added to a second-out maiden score in September over firm Belmont at the Big A turf along with an optional-claiming score in April at Gulfstream Park. He was a good second in the six-furlong Tom Ridge over the Presque Isle Downs synthetic ahead of his stakes coup.

Apollo Ten worked a half-mile in 48.48 seconds August 4 over Saratoga’s Oklahoma dirt training track.

“He won very impressively last time in a stake at Monmouth. Now, we are going to have to face a tougher field in Saratoga,” Clement said. “He deserves the opportunity to run up here, even if it’s a little ambitious. He is training well and we have Manny Franco in the saddle.”

Apollo Ten, a half-brother to graded stakes-winning millionaire Bay Storm, is out of the graded stakes-placed Midshipman mare Stormy Regatta.

Franco has the call from post 4.

Gary Barber and Team Valor International’s Mansa Musa [post 7, Junior Alvarado] enters from a runner-up effort to filly Star of Mystery in the Grade 3 Quick Call presented by Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation on July 14 here at Saratoga.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the Ten Sovereigns colt entered the Quick Call from a rallying allowance win against elders on June 8 at Saratoga over the Mahony course and distance. In the Quick Call, he tracked the pace of No Nay Mets from second position through a sharp half-mile in 43.90 and made a narrow lead at the three-sixteenths but could not turn back the rallying Star of Mystery. Mansa Musa earned a career and field-best 100 Beyer for the effort.

Mansa Musa launched his career in his native Ireland with trainer Diego Dias, including strong second-place finishes in the Group 3 Round Tower last August at The Curragh and the Blenheim in September at Fairyhouse. He joined the Mott barn for his sophomore season and was a closing second to returning rival Fandom on debut in the Listed Palisades in April at Keeneland and elevated to third in the Listed William Walker in May at Churchill Downs ahead of his Saratoga allowance score.

Gold Square’s Howard Wolowitz [post 2, Ramon Vazquez] is named for the character portrayed by Simon Helberg from the popular television series The Big Bang Theory.

The Munnings colt debuted in March with an off-the-board effort over the Gulfstream Park main track for conditioner Brittany Russell. He was then moved to the barn of Jose D’Angelo and returned a winner on June 22, blitzing gate-to-wire in a five-furlong synthetic sprint through splits of 21.59 and 44.31 en route to a 7 3/4-length score in a final time of 55.86. The winning effort garnered a 92 Beyer.

“He’s a big, strong boy,” D’Angelo said. “He won very impressively. He’s a nice horse. We’re looking for good things this year for him. Our main plan for him was the turf but with the flood and the rains in Florida, we had to run on the Tapeta.”

Howard Wolowitz worked a half-mile from the gate in 48.24 seconds August 2 over the Saratoga main track. He went a half-mile over the Oklahoma training turf in 50.66 on July 8.

“Last time he won easy at Gulfstream Park and he looks ready based on how I have seen him train on the grass,” D’Angelo said.

The $240,000 purchase at the 2022 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale is out of the winning Uncle Mo mare Forget Me Not, who is a half-sister to multiple stakes-winner Needs Supervision.

Stonestreet Stables’ Kentucky homebred American Rascal [post 6, Joel Rosario] rallied wide down the lane to finish fourth while racing off a five-month layoff in the Quick Call, defeated 5 1/4-lengths by the victorious Star of Mystery.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, the Curlin bay was making just his second turf start in the Quick Call, having finished off-the-board in the Group 2 Norfolk last June at Royal Ascot after having dwelt at the break.

He captured the Zia Park Juvenile in November by 5 3/4-lengths and followed with a runner-up effort to Legalize in the Sugar Bowl in December at Fair Grounds before finishing off-the-board in the Ozark over muddy and sealed going in February at Oaklawn Park.

Asmussen said American Rascal, out of the dual Group 1-winning Scat Daddy mare Lady Aurelia, should improve second off the layoff.

“He will run better, but I think that was a very strong race in his first back,” Asmussen said.

American Rascal, who blitzed through three-eighths in 37.85 August 2 over the Oklahoma training turf, has banked $141,845 through a 7-2-1-0 record.

Stonestreet Stables also sends out Fandom, who adds blinkers after a last-out off-the-board finish in the Quick Call where he made his first outing for dual Eclipse Award-winning conditioner Brad Cox.

The Showcasing bay earned a 93 Beyer for an effort that saw him bumped at the start to track in sixth early and angle five-wide in the final quarter-mile to make a late bid and finish 3 3/4 lengths behind Star of Mystery. He earned the same number two starts back for his determined neck score over Mansa Musa in the Palisades.

Jose Ortiz retains the mount from post 1.

A talented Saratoga field also includes:

• Stakes winners No Nay Mets [post 5, Dylan Davis, blinkers off] for trainer George Weaver and the Joe Lee-trained New York-bred Works for Me [post 8, Flavien Prat]
• The stakes-placed Reef Runner [post 9, Tyler Gaffalione] for trainer David Fawkes
• Last-out allowance-winners Run Carson [post 10, Ricardo Santana, Jr.] for trainer Kelsey Danner and Yellow Card [post 3, Irad Ortiz, Jr.] for conditioner Michael McCarthy

Baraye has been entered for the main track-only.