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Saratoga Report #2

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

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