SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Race Course is bracing for the arrival of Debby Downer.
Last weekend, the track had planned some exciting turf stakes, but due to rain, they were postponed until this Saturday. However, the impending downpour from Tropical Storm Debby, which arrived on Friday, could cause further disruptions.
Considering the weather conditions, the New York Racing Association took the unusual step of adding Saturday’s Grade I Saratoga Derby Invitational, one of the postponed races, and the regularly scheduled Grade I Fourstardave to Sunday’s card. This move was made as a backup plan in case the turf courses are too waterlogged on Saturday.
Given the heavy rain forecast, NYRA decided to cancel Friday’s card and won’t attempt to run the Saratoga Derby Invitational and Fourstardave on Saturday. Following the announcement of Friday’s card cancellation, these races will now take place on Sunday.
The Grade II Troy, led by turf star Cogburn, was also postponed to this Saturday and remains solely scheduled for that day. The Galway turf sprint will also only take place on the Saturday card, as initially planned.
As of Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service predicted rain showers and possible thunderstorms all day Friday and through the night, followed by consistent sunny weather from Saturday to Wednesday.
Adding to the challenges, turf star Master of the Seas, the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Mile winner, suffered a bone bruise to a hoof and has been scratched from the Fourstardave, whether it’s on Saturday or Sunday.
The rescheduling of the Saratoga Derby Invitational for 3-year-olds resulted in the loss of the top two on the morning line, Diego Velazquez and Cugino, as well as White Palomino. However, the field for this Saturday gained Trikari, Fulmineo and first World War, all of whom are cross-entered in the Grade II Secretariat at Colonial Downs.
Cogburn is the favorite on the morning line for the 5 1/2-furlong Troy, a distance at which he set a North American record with a time of 59.80 in the Grade I Jaipur on Belmont Stakes Day at Saratoga on June 8.
“We’re extremely excited about him and how he’s doing,” trainer Steve Asmussen told the New York Racing Association. “He’s just a very fast horse. Last year when we moved him to the turf, it brought him to a new level.
“We felt with the lucrative turf races not being until late summer, we’d give him a nice break. He came back better than he left, and we are very excited to run him again.”
Cogburn won the Troy last year and has a 5-for-6 record since being switched to the turf.
The turf course was listed as “soft” that day, and Cogburn also won on an off track in the Grade II Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day May 4, so a wet track in Saturday’s race probably won’t be a problem for him.
Without Master of the Seas in the Fourstardave, Ottoman Fleet and Carl Spackler remain as the top contenders.
Carl Spackler offers trainer Chad Brown a good opportunity to fill a blank spot on his resume of turf stakes success. And, like Cogburn, Carl Spackler has some history of success on soft turf, in particular at Saratoga.
Last year as a 3-year-old, he swept the Grade II National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame and Grade III Saranac on turf listed as “good.”
The Saratoga Derby Invitational and Fourstardave had been drawn as the sixth and 10th races, respectively, on Saturday’s card, and are the 11th and 10th races, respectively, on Sunday. These races will not be included in multi-race wagers on Sunday.
At 5-2, Legend of Time is the slight favorite in the redrawn Saratoga Derby Invitational despite the fact that he was a close third to Trikari in the grade I Belmont Derby Invitational on July 6.
“Unfortunately, in the Belmont Derby, it was a tactical race off the draw and was going to be tricky, and that’s how it panned out, needless to say,” trainer Charlie Appleby said. “He came out of the race well and we head there as a live contender again.”
In the Galway, Appleby and Godolphin also have the 3-year-old filly Star of Mystery, who tackled older males in the Jaipur and was a respectable third behind Cogburn in the Jaipur.
She’s the 2-5 Galway favorite off a win in the Grade III Quick Call, also against males, at Saratoga on July 14.
“It will be interesting for her to go against only 3-year-old fillies this time,” Appleby’s traveling assistant Chris Connett said. “She’s been going up against the boys, and older boys, in her last few runs. She’s proven herself worthy of that in the Quick Call and ran well in the Jaipur. The Galway is a nicely placed race for her to use as a steppingstone to a race at Keeneland and then hopefully the Breeders’ Cup [Turf Sprint].”
EARLY WORKS
In anticipation of lousy weather, several top 3-year-olds, including the filly Thorpedo Anna, got the jump on the weekend by breezing on Thursday morning.
Trainer Kenny McPeek called ans audible and sent Thorpedo Anna out in the first set on the Oklahoma training track at 5:30. She covered five furlongs in 59.59 in preparation to run against males in the Travers on Aug. 24.
Another Travers prospect, Jim Dandy winner Fierceness, also breezed on Thursday instead of Friday, going four furlongs on the main track in 49.59.
“Perfect,” trainer Todd Pletcher. “He did really good and seems very happy. He went with Surprisingly for a nice, steady half and was moving well. It’s what we were looking for and he did it very willingly.”
ROTKNEE’S STREAK ENDS
Looms Boldly took advantage of a stumbling start by Rotknee to win the Thursday feature, the John Morrissey sprint for New York-breds.
Rotknee, who tackled open company with a fourth to Baby Yoda in the Grade II True North last time out, had won eight straight overall and six straight sprint stakes against New York-breds since the summer of 2021.
Ridden by Florent Geroux, the Brad Cox-trained Looms Boldly got to the front from the No. 6 post, just outside of Rotknee, and won by 3 1/4 lengths. Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., eased Rotknee to the wire to finish last of six.
“Great post position outside with a speed horse,” Looms Boldly’s assistant trainer Blake Cox said. “We were going to try and be the speed of the speed. We broke well, the horse to the inside of us did not, so he [Geroux] took advantage of it and took them the whole way.”
Disagree – Rain or shine, the show must go on at Saratoga Race Course.
Disagree – Let the horses run, rain won’t stop the excitement at Saratoga Race Course.
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