Three Stars of the Week
– 1st Star: Wise Dan (KY) – The defending Fourstardave winner was back to defend his title, and he was simply brilliant in winning it for the second straight year on Saturday. Carrying ten or more pounds than every other runner in the field, Wise Dan easily defeated his five rivals like they were a bunch of 5k claimers. The win was his eighth in a row, and his seventieth win in twenty-four starts. It’s obvious that last year’s Horse of the Year hasn’t lost a step, and should be right on track to become a back to back Breeders Cup Turf Mile Champion. His race schedule is under much scrutiny, but lets all just enjoy this great champion while we have the chance!
– 2nd Star: Corfu (KY) – After digging down deep just 17 days ago to break his maiden, Corfu returned Sunday to win the Saratoga Special…and he had to DIG DEEP again to get the job done! After setting blistering early fractions, Corfu stubbornly held off a pesky Wired Bryan and a let charge from his stable mate Danza. The win makes Corfu 2 for 2 on his career, and also makes him a very early leader of the two-year old division. Corfu reminds me a lot of Pletcher’s dominant two-year old of last year; Shanghai Bobby. With his early turn of foot, he should be very hard to beat in one turn races.
– 3rd Star: Designer Legs (LA) – It took a disqualification, but it was still a tally in the win column for Designer Legs in the Adirondack Stakes. She was actually beaten by a neck by Who’s in Town, but Who’s in Town interfered with favorite Fiftyshadesofgold in he stretch run and was disqualified. The win was a fascinating one considering Designer Legs was coming off a maiden win at Canterbury and a small stakes win at Prairie Meadows. Those two tracks and Saratoga don’t usually mix, but it’s obvious that this horse can run with anyone in the division right now. She ended up being the second longest price on the board, and paid $35.00 to win. She’s now three for three lifetime, and will most likely be pointed towards graded stakes for the rest of the season.
Flop of the Week
– Candy Dandy (KY) – There was much hype for Candy Dandy leading up to the Saratoga Special, but things didn’t work out like most expected on Sunday. After being bet down to the even money favor based on several solid Saratoga workouts, Candy Dandy was a well beaten fifth, beaten by over nine lengths. It’s hard to get too down on a two-year old this time of year, however disappointing they might be. I’d say there was some sort of problem, and he’ll come back running next time out.
Trainer Standings
Rank |
Trainer Name |
Sts |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
Total $ |
Win% |
Top3 |
Top3% |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Todd A. Pletcher | 63 | 23 | 5 | 10 | $2,473,366 | 37% | 38 | 60% | |
| 2 | Chad C. Brown | 51 | 13 | 8 | 9 | $1,057,906 | 25% | 30 | 59% | |
| 3 | David Jacobson | 45 | 9 | 5 | 7 | $493,113 | 20% | 21 | 47% | |
| 4 | Steven M. Asmussen | 32 | 8 | 6 | 3 | $687,156 | 25% | 17 | 53% | |
| 4 | Michael J. Maker | 51 | 8 | 7 | 10 | $533,619 | 16% | 25 | 49% | |
| 6 | William I. Mott | 45 | 7 | 7 | 4 | $588,142 | 16% | 18 | 40% | |
| 6 | George Weaver | 21 | 7 | 3 | 3 | $512,658 | 33% | 13 | 62% | |
| 6 | Dominic G. Galluscio | 24 | 7 | 6 | 2 | $319,555 | 29% | 15 | 63% | |
| 9 | Kiaran P. McLaughlin | 33 | 5 | 6 | 3 | $434,236 | 15% | 14 | 42% | |
| 9 | Rudy R. Rodriguez | 43 | 5 | 7 | 7 | $317,625 | 12% | 19 | 44% | |
| 11 | Christophe Clement | 32 | 4 | 5 | 11 | $390,640 | 13% | 20 | 63% | |
| 11 | Claude R. McGaughey III | 14 | 4 | 1 | 4 | $290,050 | 29% | 9 | 64% | |
| 11 | John P. Terranova, II | 13 | 4 | 0 | 2 | $192,463 | 31% | 6 | 46% | |
| 14 | Albert M. Stall, Jr. | 13 | 3 | 2 | 2 | $265,794 | 23% | 7 | 54% | |
| 14 | Bruce N. Levine | 29 | 3 | 5 | 4 | $243,735 | 10% | 12 | 41% | |
| 14 | Dale L. Romans | 26 | 3 | 3 | 2 | $238,923 | 12% | 8 | 31% | |
| 14 | Wesley A. Ward | 21 | 3 | 3 | 2 | $197,805 | 14% | 8 | 38% | |
| 14 | Anthony W. Dutrow | 13 | 3 | 3 | 2 | $189,445 | 23% | 8 | 62% | |
| 14 | Michael E. Hushion | 11 | 3 | 2 | 1 | $187,366 | 27% | 6 | 55% | |
| 14 | Nicholas P. Zito | 27 | 3 | 3 | 3 | $183,671 | 11% | 9 | 33% | |
| 14 | Michael R. Matz | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | $181,721 | 30% | 4 | 40% | |
| 14 | Eddie Kenneally | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | $134,075 | 25% | 4 | 33% | |
| 14 | Mitchell E. Friedman | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | $127,152 | 27% | 4 | 36% | |
| 14 | Richard Metivier | 10 | 3 | 0 | 2 | $109,970 | 30% | 5 | 50% |
Jockey Standings
| Rank |
Jockey Name |
Sts |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
Total $ |
|
Win% |
Top3 |
Top3% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joel Rosario | 170 | 32 | 32 | 24 | $2,577,697 | 19% | 88 | 52% | |
| 2 | Javier Castellano | 169 | 31 | 30 | 34 | $2,392,388 | 18% | 95 | 56% | |
| 3 | John R. Velazquez | 131 | 28 | 16 | 19 | $2,891,701 | 21% | 63 | 48% | |
| 4 | Jose Lezcano | 116 | 15 | 14 | 17 | $1,494,930 | 13% | 46 | 40% | |
| 5 | Jose L. Ortiz | 98 | 13 | 8 | 10 | $785,620 | 13% | 31 | 32% | |
| 6 | Junior Alvarado | 83 | 11 | 9 | 4 | $857,749 | 13% | 24 | 29% | |
| 7 | Irad Ortiz, Jr. | 130 | 10 | 15 | 23 | $950,067 | 8% | 48 | 37% | |
| 7 | Joseph Rocco, Jr. | 76 | 10 | 5 | 1 | $709,887 | 13% | 16 | 21% | |
| 7 | Cornelio H. Velasquez | 91 | 10 | 11 | 11 | $686,693 | 11% | 32 | 35% | |
| 10 | Luis Saez | 124 | 9 | 13 | 13 | $926,819 | 7% | 35 | 28% | |
| 11 | Rosie Napravnik | 93 | 8 | 14 | 10 | $729,826 | 9% | 32 | 34% | |
| 12 | Rajiv Maragh | 87 | 7 | 6 | 16 | $484,528 | 8% | 29 | 33% | |
| 13 | Alex O. Solis | 50 | 5 | 5 | 5 | $393,259 | 10% | 15 | 30% | |
| 13 | Abel Lezcano | 46 | 5 | 1 | 3 | $230,740 | 11% | 9 | 20% | |
| 15 | Edgar S. Prado | 59 | 4 | 11 | 9 | $565,633 | 7% | 24 | 41% | |
| 15 | Robby Albarado | 32 | 4 | 5 | 3 | $337,389 | 13% | 12 | 38% | |
| 15 | Jose L. Espinoza | 56 | 4 | 4 | 3 | $241,699 | 7% | 11 | 20% |
Preview to Next Week
– Wednesday: The Troy Stakes – 3 year olds and upward – 5 1/2 Furlongs (Turf) – Purse: $100,000
– Thursday: The West Point Stakes – New York bred 3 year olds and upward – 1 1/16 Miles (Turf) – Purse: $150,000
– Friday: The Yaddo Stakes – New York bred Filly and Mares 3 Year olds and upward – 1 1/16 Miles (Turf) – Purse: $150,000
– Saturday: The Sword Dancer Stakes (Grade 1) – 3 year olds and upward – 1 1/2 Miles (Turf) – Purse: $600,000
– Saturday: The Alabama Stakes (Grade 1) – 3-year-old fillies – 1 1/4 Miles – Purse: $600,000
– Sunday: The Lake Placid Stakes (Grade 2) – 3-year-old fillies – 1 1/8 Miles (Turf) – Purse: $200,000
– Monday: The Union Avenue Stakes – New York Bred Fillies and Mares 3 year olds and upward – 6 furlongs – Purse: $100,000
