Saratoga Report #2

3 Stars of the Week

– 1st Star: Winter Memories (KY) – Talk about a horse that has a world-class closing kick!  This has been one of the classiest filly’s in the country over the last three years.  Saturday’s Diana win was her second grade one victory, and seventh graded stakes victory overall.  It was great to see this horse win another classic Saratoga turf race, as she has run brilliantly here in her career.  Trainer James Toner has done a really nice job of keeping Winter Memories fresh, and ready to fire on the big stage.  It looks like she’ll have a race at Belmont in the fall, then possibly a trip to California for the Breeders Cup.

– 2nd Star: Alpha (KY) – Even though the race was not overly impressive, Alpha is still a horse you have to rate highly.  The Jim Dandy is one of Saratoga’s classic races, and Alpha won it pretty easily on Saturday.  The final time and beyer was nothing out of this world, but you must remember that the Travers winner USUALLY comes out of the Jim Dandy.  That certainly doesn’t look to be the case this year if Paynter shows up, but in this game you never know.  Also remember that this was Alpha’s first race since May, and he might improve off this race.  Finally, don’t look at his record in New York.  Remind you of anyone?  Could he be this year’s version of Stay Thirsty?

– 3rd Star: Currency Swap (FL) – Horse for the course!  Currency Swap may be unbeatable at Saratoga, as he made it three for three Sunday in the Grade 2 Amsterdam Stakes.  This win was probably his most impressive yet.  He rated beautifully behind pace maker Doctor Chit, and cruised to victory late winning by a widening two lengths.  His connections have found the right niche for him, and that is sprinting.  His beyer of 103 is a serious number, and you’d have to think he’ll be tough to beat in the King’s Bishop if that’s where they choose to run him next.

– Honorable Mention: Teen Pauline (KY) – We don’t usually have Honorable Mentions, but how can you leave a track record breaker off your list?  Teen Pauline crushed a maiden field on Wednesday, and set the track record for five furlongs.  The exciting thing is she did it rather easily, and looked like a horse that might be able to stretch out without much of a problem.  This makes two extremely impressive maiden winners for Stonestreet Stables in the last two weeks.  Stonestreet also owns My Miss Aurelia who is back in training at Saratoga

Flop of the Week

– St. John’s River (KY) – Even though she finished second in an allowance race, it was still a flop considering she was bet down to 1/2 and failed to come close to winning.  I’m not sure what to make of this horse right now.  Her three races in 2012 haven’t been horrible, but they haven’t been great either.  She may not have what it takes to compete with the top horses in her class.

Trainer Standings

Rank	Trainer Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $		Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Chad C. Brown	27	8	6	4	$529,557		30%	18	67%
2	Todd A. Pletcher	38	6	7	8	$569,710		16%	21	55%
3	George Weaver	19	5	0	3	$261,407		26%	8	42%
3	Steven M. Asmussen	22	5	6	1	$256,834		23%	12	55%
5	William I. Mott	24	3	3	3	$268,244		13%	9	38%
5	Anthony W. Dutrow	10	3	2	1	$189,150		30%	6	60%
5	Rudy R. Rodriguez	19	3	5	1	$147,330		16%	9	47%
8	Kiaran P. McLaughlin	13	2	1	3	$579,376		15%	6	46%
8	Thomas Albertrani	15	2	2	2	$206,486		13%	6	40%
8	Claude R. McGaughey III	13	2	1	0	$171,960		15%	3	23%
8	Eddie Kenneally	12	2	3	1	$158,126		17%	6	50%
8	George R. Arnold, II	3	2	0	1	$157,360		67%	3	100%
8	Christophe Clement	12	2	1	1	$154,981		17%	4	33%
8	David G. Donk	10	2	0	2	$129,872		20%	4	40%
8	Albert M. Stall, Jr.	5	2	0	0	$109,976		40%	2	40%
8	Michael J. Trombetta	8	2	1	3	$107,130		25%	6	75%
8	Bruce N. Levine	11	2	2	1	$99,626		18%	5	45%
8	Gary C. Contessa	19	2	2	2	$97,205		11%	6	32%
8	Bruce R. Brown	16	2	0	3	$92,100		13%	5	31%
8	Dominic G. Galluscio	9	2	1	1	$89,962		22%	4	44%
8	Jason Servis	5	2	1	0	$55,990		40%	3	60%

Jockey Standings

Rank	Jockey Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $		Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Ramon A. Dominguez	73	21	11	14	$1,531,030		29%	46	63%
2	Jose Lezcano	60	11	12	5	$683,695		18%	28	47%
3	Javier Castellano	70	8	12	14	$1,069,776		11%	34	49%
3	Joel Rosario	65	8	11	9	$655,860		12%	28	43%
3	Junior Alvarado	51	8	4	5	$432,316		16%	17	33%
6	Julien R. Leparoux	53	7	9	3	$604,828		13%	19	36%
6	Rajiv Maragh	61	7	2	9	$517,027		11%	18	30%
8	Rosie Napravnik	62	5	7	6	$639,642		8%	18	29%
9	Cornelio H. Velasquez	42	4	2	8	$267,067		10%	14	33%
10	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	53	3	8	5	$377,272		6%	16	30%
10	Eddie Castro	35	3	2	4	$256,298		9%	9	26%
10	John R. Velazquez	13	3	0	2	$228,340		23%	5	38%
10	Edgar S. Prado	39	3	4	2	$222,400		8%	9	23%
10	Wilmer A. Garcia	40	3	2	0	$161,698		8%	5	13%

Preview to Next Week

– The John Morrissey Stakes – Wednesday – New York Breds 3 year olds and upward – six and one half furlongs – $100,000

– The Honorable Miss Handicap (Grade 2) – Friday – Fillies and Mares 3 year olds and upward – six furlongs – $200,000

– The John’s Call Stakes – Friday – 3 years and upward – 1 5/8th miles (Turf) – $100,000

– The Whitney Handicap (Grade 1) – Saturday – 3 year olds and upward – 1 1/8th miles – $750,000

– The Prioress Stakes (Grade 1) – Saturday – 3-year-old fillies – six furlongs – $300,000

– The De La Rose Stakes – Saturday – Fillies and Mares 3 year olds and upward – 1 mile (Turf) – $100,000

– The Vanderbilt Handicap (Grade 1) – Sunday – 3 year olds and upward – six furlongs – $400,000

– The Signature Stallion Waya Stakes – Monday – Fillies and Mares 3 year olds and upward – 1 1/2 miles (Turf) – $100,000