Waiting on the Weekend

Real Writing on Racing 💯

🎪 The heat and humidity that have plagued the Saratoga area for weeks finally broke Wednesday. Mostly cloudy weather but comfortable high of 78 degrees with a light breeze, which if you believe the local weather reports, won’t change much through the weekend!

🎪 Jumper Alert! Grey Giant refused to go when the starter dropped the flag, spinning three times like top before being coaxed into competing. The field was sprawled out all over the course and in the end, State Of Affair and Thomas ‘Phil’ Garner coasted home an easy winner for trainer Todd Wyatt and longtime steeplechase owner Mrs. S K Johnston, Jr. The winner was selected on the FS2 show by jumping guru Joe Clancy and returned $18.40.

🎪 Drink the Wind was dropping sharply in class from muddy MSW races where he showed speed earlier in the meet, to a much softer maiden 20000. Tyler Gafflione sent him to the lead right from the start and the More than Ready gelding made quick work of the overmatched field, crushing by 22 lengths at the wire. Yes Drink the Wind was claimed, by Tom Morley and Cutair Racing. Offut Cole dumped Manny Franco in the warmup and ran off making him a late scratch.

🤔 It’s rare to see a race where a single horse causes the entire field to be interfered with, but race 3 from Saratoga is one of those occasions. Makar, ridden by…who else…Irad, ducked in badly from the outside post, causing a domino effect where every horse was affected…except of course Makar. Conman, who the chart lists as having multiple bouts of early trouble, dug deep in the lane and ran down Makar late for the elder Casse and Gafflione. The embattled stewards lit the inquiry sign but ultimately deduced that eliminating much of your competition is ok as long as it’s coming out of the starting gate 🤦🏼‍♂️. The state of on-track adjudication in this country is a dumpster fire. Every incident seems to be a coin flip and the only consistency given, is consistently dubious decisions.

🎪 Coming into the 4th race trainer Jerry O’Dwyer had lost 45 consecutive races. After 8/5 favorite Sibelius finished off dusting a NW2x allowance/opt 62500 race, that streak was history and O’Dwyer was shaking hands in the winners circle. Runner up Mexican Wonder Boy was haltered by trainer Jose Camejo, who has been very active in the claim box.

🎪 Word was out before race 6 that Coach Bill Parcells had a runner and when Maple Leaf Mel’s name had appeared on the overnight with Joel Rosario listed to ride, it felt like that was true. Over the last two years Rosario has only ridden twice for Jeremiah Englehart, so for the trainer to reach out to ride a first time starter, it said much was expected. Clearly it wasn’t a secret as he was buried on the tote board, eventually settling as the 3/5 choice. The daughter of Cross Traffic, who was a $150k two year old in training purchase from the Maryland mid-Atlantic sale, held a few days after the Preakness, quickly shot to the front. Rosario was just a passenger throughout the 6 furlong NYB MSW race, as they hit the wire 5 lengths ahead of a well beaten Security Code, who was second.

⚖️ Monthatham rallied from the back of the pack to finish first across the wire in the 7th, a restricted starter allowance for horses that have run for $50000 or less going 5.5 on the grass. It didn’t take long for the inquiry sign to be put up and after a short deliberation (without showing the on track public the video of the incident) he was taken down and placed last for causing On Our Way Boyz to clip heels and fall at the top of the stretch. Based on video shown on the FS2 show, the call was the correct one. I’d expect jockey Dylan Davis to be getting days for careless riding.

🏆 The key to todays featured 8th race, the restricted Tale of the Cat going 7f, was how intense the expected speed duel between the rail horse, Isolate, and the outside horse, Mr Phil, going to be. That duel never materialized as Tyler Gafflione on Isolate gunned to the lead, and was never headed, drawing off to win by six emphatic lengths. Favorite Southern District never mustered up much of a rally and unfortunately Awesome Gerry broke down on the backside and was euthanized. The win gave trainer Tom Amoss his 4000th career victory, he is only the 15th trainer in North American racing to achieve that status.

🎂 Happy birthday to Mike Smith!

😔 RIP to trainer Noel Hickey who captured the 1998 Breeders Cup Turf with Buck’s Boy

🥊 Saturday’s Saratoga Special looms as a heavyweight showdown in the 2 year old division between Gulfport and Damon’s Mound

Day 21 (19 racing days to go)

No preview today as listed turf sprints are not in our wheelhouse.