Saratoga Report #4

3 Stars of the Week

– 1st Star: Wise Dan (KY) – This was the type of performance that makes you think Wise Dan needs to stay on the turf.  You have to admire how versatile this horse is, but is there any question he would be the favorite in the Breeders Cup Turf Mile right now?  After hitting the gate at the start, Wise Dan settled in nicely behind the two front-runners, and shot through a hole along the rail in the stretch.  Once he got through, there was no stopping him as he cruised to a five length victory under a hand ride.  Newly inducted Hall of Fame member John Valezquez gave him a smart ride, but Wise Dan deserves the credit for making the most of it.  There are plenty of options for his next race, but there is no doubt in my mind he’s at his best at a flat mile.

– 2nd Star: My Miss Aurelia (KY) – The champion is back, but she gave us all a little scare on Wednesday.  My Miss Aurelia went in the gate as the heavy favorite in the Mandys Gold Stakes, but stumbled badly at the start and spotted the field several lengths.  Like a true champion, she settled herself down the back stretch, and still was able to win easily under a hand ride.  You could tell My Miss Aurelia was not as sharp as we’ve seen her in the past, but I look for her to improve a lot off this effort.  Where and when they race her again will be interesting.  Will they keep her sprinting, or try to stretch her out?  Do they look to the Breeders Cup, or take their time with her?  It will be fun to see how it unfolds.

– 3rd Star: Spurious Precision (FL) – I can’t say I was overly impressed with either two-year old performance on Sunday, but out of the two Spurious Precision was a little better I thought.  Both races were carbon copies of each other.  They went extremely fast early, and struggled home late.  Both Spurious Precision and Kauai Katie will both have to learn to ration their speed once they stretch out, but when you are winning grade 2’s at Saratoga you are doing something right.

Flop of the Week

– The Weather – There was no question the weather was this weeks biggest flop.  It all but ruined the cards on Friday and Saturday, and took the first four races off the turf on Sunday as well.  I guess it’s good to get it out of the way early, as we certainly don’t want rain on Travers weekend.

Trainer Standings

Rank	Trainer Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $		Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Todd A. Pletcher	81	20	12	9	$1,407,832		25%	41	51%
2	Chad C. Brown	49	14	13	7	$969,564		29%	34	69%
3	Steven M. Asmussen	38	8	8	3	$562,083		21%	19	50%
4	Rudy R. Rodriguez	42	7	6	5	$407,436		17%	18	43%
4	George Weaver	31	7	0	6	$335,680		23%	13	42%
6	William I. Mott	47	6	8	7	$770,911		13%	21	45%
7	Anthony W. Dutrow	23	5	4	3	$287,930		22%	12	52%
7	Dominic G. Galluscio	26	5	5	2	$282,033		19%	12	46%
7	Christophe Clement	24	5	1	4	$276,119		21%	10	42%
7	Gary C. Contessa	40	5	5	3	$248,280		13%	13	33%
11	Richard E. Dutrow, Jr.	32	4	8	5	$416,443		13%	17	53%
11	Eddie Kenneally	24	4	7	1	$300,996		17%	12	50%
11	Richard A. Violette, Jr.	18	4	0	3	$291,040		22%	7	39%
11	David Jacobson	30	4	3	2	$232,456		13%	9	30%
11	Michael E. Hushion	15	4	0	2	$185,469		27%	6	40%
11	Jason Servis	9	4	2	0	$159,890		44%	6	67%
11	Chris J. Englehart	21	4	1	4	$131,980		19%	9	43%

Jockey Standings

Rank	Jockey Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $		Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Ramon A. Dominguez	163	39	29	25	$2,641,399		24%	93	57%
2	Javier Castellano	144	21	24	21	$1,955,347		15%	66	46%
2	Jose Lezcano	126	21	24	14	$1,477,072		17%	59	47%
4	Joel Rosario	126	17	17	21	$1,271,955		13%	55	44%
5	Junior Alvarado	108	16	16	12	$1,259,930		15%	44	41%
6	Julien R. Leparoux	110	15	19	7	$1,228,002		14%	41	37%
6	John R. Velazquez	59	15	2	5	$1,225,677		25%	22	37%
8	Rajiv Maragh	122	11	9	15	$906,269		9%	35	29%
9	Rosie Napravnik	122	9	14	16	$1,110,834		7%	39	32%
10	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	118	8	14	15	$904,644		7%	37	31%
10	Cornelio H. Velasquez	84	8	9	16	$601,748		10%	33	39%
12	Wilmer A. Garcia	78	7	6	5	$389,572		9%	18	23%
13	Eddie Castro	66	5	4	7	$457,113		8%	16	24%
13	Edgar S. Prado	70	5	8	8	$451,752		7%	21	30%
13	Alan Garcia	43	5	1	6	$437,159		12%	12	28%
13	Shaun Bridgmohan	37	5	2	1	$225,329		14%	8	22%

Preview to Next Week

– The Troy Stakes – Wednesday – 3 year olds and upward – five and one half furlongs (Turf) – $100,000

– The West Point Stakes – Thursday – NY Breds 3 years old and upward – 1 /16th mile (Turf) – $150,000

– The Yaddo Stakes – Friday – NY Breds fillies and mares 3 years old and upward – 1 1/16th mile (Turf) – $150,000

– The Alabama Stakes (Grade 1) – Saturday – 3-year-old fillies – 1 1/4th miles – $600,000

– The Sword Dancer Invitational (Grade 1) – Saturday – 3 year olds and upward – 1 1/2 miles (Turf) – $600,000

– The Lake Placid Stakes (Grade 2) – Sunday – 3-year-old fillies – 1 1/8th (Turf) – $200,000

– The Union Avenue Stakes – Monday – NY Breds Filly and mares 3 year olds and upward – six furlongs – $100,000