Saratoga Report #4

Three Stars of the Week

– 1st Star: GRAND ARCH – The Fourstardave is usually one of the more exciting races of the Saratoga meet, and this year was no different. Basically four horses were separated by a about a length crossing the finish line in a thrilling victory that went to Grand Arch. He sat a perfect trip in the race while positioning himself to get the jump on a fast closing Ironicus and Seek Again. The win now makes him a two time Grade 2 winner, and gives him his first victory since April at Keenland. The mile distance seems to fit him perfectly.

– 2nd Star: EXAGGERATOR – Trainer Keith Desormeaux is certainly on a roll at Saratoga when it comes to winning big races. He captured the Jim Dandy with Texas Red, and followed that up this Sunday with a win in the Saratoga Special. Exaggerator could be future star with his outstanding breeding (by Curlin) and budding talent. He sat just off the heels of the front runners for most of the race, and was able to sneak up the rail in mid stretch and put away Saratoga Mischief without much issue. It was impressive to see his willingness to go inside horses without a lot of experience doing so. He is based in California so there are a ton of options for this ones next start.

– 3rd Star: JUST WICKED – Half way through the Adirondack Stakes on Saturday it looked as though heavily favored Tonasah was going to sneak away on the front end and be uncatchable, but Just Wicked had other plans. After stalking the leader for most of the race she was able to pull along side her as the top of the stretch and put her away late in a stylish effort. The win was her second at Saratoga this year as she was a maiden special weight winner last time out. Trainer Steve Asmussen commented that she could be heading to the Spinaway Stakes at the end of the meet for her next start.

Flop of the Week

– CARAMEAWAY – After winning a state bred stakes last time out she went off as the short priced favorite in the Saratoga Dew, but set a decent early pace and faded to dead last. It’s hard to know what exactly went wrong, but it looked as though she could have had a physical issue that caused the poor performance. We know she’s better than that effort.

Trainer Standings	Jockey Standings
1. Todd Pletcher – 21	1. Irad Ortiz Jr. – 36
1. Chad Brown – 21	2. John Velazquez – 27
3. Kiaran McLaughlin – 10	2. Javier Castellano – 27
4. William Mott – 9	4. Luis Saez – 19
5. David Jacobson – 7	5. Joes Ortiz – 18
6. Rudy Rodriguez – 6	6. Joel Rosario – 15
7. Linda Rice – 5	7. Junior Alvarado – 13
7. John Terranova – 5	8. Jose Lezcano – 12
8. Christophe Clement – 5	9. Cornelio Velazquez – 7

Preview to Next Week

Wed., Aug. 19	Bolton Landing (NYB)		$100,000	F2YO	5 1/2 (Turf)
Thu., Aug. 20	Union Avenue (NYB)		$100,000	F&M 3&UP	6 1/2 Furlongs (Dirt)
Fri., Aug. 21	Schenectady (NYB)		$100,000	2YO	5 1/2 (Turf)
Sat., Aug. 22	Troy		$100,000	3&UP	5 1/2 (Turf)
Sat., Aug. 22	Alabama	I	$600,000	F3YO	1 1/4 (Dirt)
Sun., Aug. 23	Tale of the Cat		$100,000	3&UP	6 Furlongs (Dirt)
Mon., Aug. 24	Summer Colony		$100,000	F&M 3&UP	1 1/8 (Dirt)