Saratoga Picks | Quick Call Stakes 2024

Stonestreet Stables’ stakes-winner Fandom will look to make the grade in Sunday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Quick Call presented by Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, at Saratoga Race Course.

The Quick Call is slated as Race 9 on Sunday’s 10-race card. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.

Fandom [post 3, Jose Ortiz, 122 pounds] made his first three starts for trainer Wesley Ward, graduating on debut last April at Keeneland before heading overseas to finish 11th that June in the Group 2 Coventry at Royal Ascot. The Showcasing bay returned to action on April 7 with a rallying score in the 5 1/2-furlong Listed Palisades, besting returning rival Mansa Musa by a neck with reopposing pacesetter No Nay Mets in fourth.

He has since joined the barn of dual Eclipse Award-winner Brad Cox and has posted his last three works over the Oklahoma training turf, including a half-mile effort in 47.80 seconds Monday that ranked second of 54 efforts at the distance.

“He’s doing well at Saratoga. We’ve breezed him a few times and we like what we’ve seen from him,” Cox said. “He’s a really good-looking horse and he’s obviously lightly-raced. He has won a couple races, so there’s not a lot of options, but based off what he’s accomplished in his short career, I definitely think he fits with this group.”

The $195,857 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale purchase is out of the Pivotal mare Brogan, who is a half-sister to Group 1-winner Lezoo.

Godolphin’s British homebred filly Star of Mystery [post 6, Flavien Prat, 119 pounds] is cross entered in Friday’s Listed $150,000 Coronation Cup here for trainer Charlie Appleby.

The Kodiac bay enjoyed success at Newmarket as a juvenile, taking the Maureen Brittain Memorial Empress last July 1 ahead of a runner-up effort in the Group 2 Duchess Of Cambridge just 13 days later.

Star of Mystery wintered in Dubai while making four starts against the boys at Meydan Racecourse, taking the Al Wasl in her seasonal debut on January 12 ahead of a score in the Group 2 Blue Point Sprint on January 26 that garnered a 109 TimeForm Rating. She completed her campaign with runner-up efforts in the Group 3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint on March 2 and the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint on March 30, the last three Dubai efforts coming against older company.

Star of Mystery, who has banked $683,862 through a 10-4-4-1 record, arrives from a third-place finish here against older males in the Grade 1 Jaipur presented by Resolute Racing, a 5 1/2-furlong sprint on the Saratoga-hosted Belmont Stakes Day June 8 won in course-record fashion by Cogburn.

Trainer George Weaver, who is just four wins shy of 1,000 career victories heading into Thursday’s racing action, will saddle a pair of contenders in multiple stakes-winner No Nay Mets [post 1, Irad Ortiz, Jr., 118 pounds] and stakes-placed Feltrinelli [post 4, Luis Saez, 118 pounds].

Bregman Family Racing, Ivan Cabrera and Edge Racing’s No Nay Mets arrives from a last-of-12 finish in the Grade 1 Jaipur where he stumbled from the gate and raced near the back of the pack.

A three-time winner from eight starts, No Nay Mets took the Royal Palm Juvenile on debut last May at Gulfstream Park and boosted his ledger with scores in the Tyro last July at Monmouth Park and the Rosies in September at Colonial Downs.

No Nay Mets finished fourth to Fandom in the Palisades and crossed the wire second in the Listed William Walker on May 1 at Churchill Downs but was disqualified and placed fourth for shifting into the path of Mansa Musa [placed third] in upper stretch.

Bred in Ireland by Coolmore, No Nay Mets is out of the Group 3-winning War Front mare Etoile, who is a half-sister to Group/Grade 3-winner Ancient Rome.

R. A. Hill Stable and Kerri Radcliffe’s Feltrinelli, out of the multiple graded stakes-winning Harlan’s Holiday mare Fantastic Style, graduated at third asking sprinting six furlongs in gate-to-wire fashion in May at Belmont at the Big A.

The Uncle Mo bay, a $400,000 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training purchase, followed with an even third-place finish in the six-furlong Listed Paradise Creek on May 19 at the Big A when 2 1/4-lengths back of his victorious returning rival Smokey Smokey.

Last out, Feltrinelli attended the pace when stretching out in distance in the 1 1/16-mile Tale of the Cat on June 23 at Monmouth Park before fading to seventh.

Pura Vida Investments’ Smokey Smokey [post 2, Ramon Vazquez, 122 pounds] arrives from a pace-pressing score in the aforementioned Paradise Creek.

Trained by Mike Maker, the Mendelssohn colt broke outward but quickly corrected to press the pace of Mattingly through a half-mile in 45.11. Smokey Smokey kept the pressure on through a stirring stretch duel, getting up in the final jumps to score by a neck in a final time of 1:08.19.

Smokey Smokey debuted in August traveling the Quick Call distance at Saratoga when second to Good Lord Lorrie, who exited that race to win the Woodhaven in April at the Big A. He would graduate at fifth asking in December over the Turfway Park synthetic by besting next-out winner Epic Ride, who would subsequently take the Leonatus at Turfway and land 14th in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby.

Smokey Smokey entered the Paradise Creek from a dead-heat for second in the six-furlong Animal Kingdom over the Turfway synthetic. He has worked back twice, including a half-mile in 49.15 Sunday over the Saratoga main track. He is out of the War Front mare Weaponry, who is a half-sister to graded stakes-placed Jessica Krupnick.

Rounding out a talented Saratoga Sunday field are:

• Stakes winner Set [post 8, Kendrick Carmouche, 122 pounds] for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse
• Stakes winner American Rascal [post 7, Joel Rosario, 118 pounds] for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen
• Multiple stakes-placed Mansa Musa [post 5, Junior Alvarado, 120 pounds] for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott
• Stakes-placed Apollo Ten [post 9, Manny Franco, post 10] for conditioner Christophe Clement

Entered for the main-track only are the Wesley Ward-trained filly Baraye, who is cross-entered in the main body of the Coronation Cup; as well as Works For Me for conditioner Joe Lee.