August 24th
Race 1: Maiden Special Weight
5-1/2 furlongs on turf for New York-bred 2yo fillies
Magical Moon was the favorite for trainer Al Stall Jr., and she more than ran to her odds, settling into fourth early on before accelerating sharply around the turn and drawing off in the stretch to win by 10 1/4 lengths. While it is true that she was urged hard throughout the stretch, her margin of victory was nevertheless quite impressive, as was her final time of 1:02.14 seconds. Lighthouse Bay set a good pace of :22.22 and :44.79 and stayed on well to finish second best, but was no match for the winner. Runway Ready was bumped at the break and again at the half-mile pole, but did turn in a good effort to finish third.
Race 2: Maiden Claiming
6 furlongs for 2yo fillies
Owner Zayat Stables, trainer Rudy Rodriguez, and jockey Javier Castellano teamed up to win this race with No More Fives, a first-time starter sired by J Be K. The filly showed speed from the start, opening up a two-length lead early on while running the opening quarter mile in :22.88 seconds. Then, when no one attempted to challenge her, she slowed the pace down to a crawl and ran the half-mile in :47.23 seconds. From there, the race was hers, and she stayed on strongly in the homestretch to win by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:12.94. Go the Distance put in a good run from fifth to finish second best, but was unable to wear down the winner late. It was a good effort considering that she had broken through the gate prior to the start. Star Black rallied from last to secure the show, but was beaten five lengths by the runner-up.
August 25th:
Race 2: Maiden Special Weight
6 furlongs for 2yos
Honorable Dillon, coming off of a third-place finish here at Saratoga on July 28th, stepped up his game sharply in this race for trainer Eddie Keneally. With jockey Jose Lezcano aboard, Honorable Dillon tracked a pace of :22.26 and :45.39 set by Hot West before wearing that one down in the stretch and drawing away to win by 1 3/4 lengths. The final time was a sharp 1:10.31 seconds. Delhomme, a first-time starter for trainer Todd Pletcher and owner WinStar Farm, rallied well after a poor start to secure second in an eye-catching performance that left me thinking he could be one to watch in the future.
Race 3: Maiden Special Weight
1 1/16th miles on turf for 2yos
Given how Todd Pletcher has been dominating the two-year-old races here, you would think that every juvenile he entered would be well-bet. And yet, that isn't always the case. In this race, he sent out the first-time starter Slamarama, who won the race in gate-to-wire fashion at odds of 5.50-1. With Rosie Napravnik aboard, the colt got off to an excellent start, set moderate fractions of :23.08, :48.02, and 1:12.67, the accelerated sharply in the homestretch to open up a three-length lead before hanging on to win by 1 1/4 lengths in 1:43.54 seconds. Saint Vigeur, from the barn of Chad Brown, rallied well from off-the-pace to secure second, but just couldn't get to the winner. Secretive raced along the rail for much of the race, split horses near the eighth pole, and rallied well to finish third.
Race 6: Maiden Special Weight
1 1/16th miles on turf for 2yo fillies
Tap Twenty One was the favorite, but trailed the field with five-sixteenths of a mile to go and failed to seriously rally en route to a sixth-place finish. In the meantime, Summer of Fun settled into second while racing between horses, seized command of the lead turning for home, opened up a 2 1/2-length advantage in the homestretch, and just held on to win by a neck for trainer George Weaver. The final time was 1:42.86. Wave Theory sat in fourth early on before finishing up with a powerful rally that fell just short. Flashy Gal rallied mildly from last to finish a distant third. Worthwhilepursuit, from the barn of Todd Pletcher, set a slow pace of :23.94, :48.81, and 1:13.44 seconds before giving way and finishing fifth.
August 26th
Race 2: Maiden Special Weight
6 furlongs for 2yo fillies
Sign stamped herself as a filly to watch with an authoritative victory in this race. With Rosie Napravnik aboard for trainer Albert Stall Jr., the daughter of Pulpit raced in fourth early on as Honor Bright set decent fractions of :22.56 and :45.96. Sign then made a bold four-wide bid around the turn and entered the homestretch with the lead, which she extended throughout the stretch en route to a dominating 11 3/4-length triumph. The final time was a good 1:10.37 seconds. Honor Bright held on to finish second in a good performance, while Marcellina d'Oro rallied from sixth to finish third.
Race 6: Maiden Special Weight
6 furlongs for New York-bred 2yo fillies
Red Hook was the favorite for trainer Dominick Schettino, but after setting fast fractions of :21.93, :45.38, and :58.51, the filly gave way to finish fourth. In the meantime, Heidi's Holiday took advantage of the fast pace to rally from fifth and score an impressive 8 1/4-length victory under Junior Alvarado, stopping the clock in 1:11.47 seconds. She is trained by Eoin Harty. Stellerite raced in sixth early on before closing well to finish second by a neck over Daisysgonnamakeit, who raced in third for much of the race before narrowly out-finishing the above-mentioned Red Hook for the show spot.
August 27th
Race 1: Maiden Special Weight
5-1/2 furlongs for New York-bred 2yo fillies
True Fortune, from the barn of George Weaver, was sent off as the second choice but turned in an impressive performance to secure the victory. With Javier Castellano aboard, the filly went straight to the lead and dueled with Carla Sweetrevenge through fractions of :22.49 and :46.10 before kicking away in the stretch and holding on late to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:05.54 seconds. Polan tracked the speed duel in third before finishing up well to make the finish close. Bit Bustin trailed the field by a large margin early on before rallying very well to finish third.
Race 3: Aristie Stakes
6 furlongs for New York-bred 2yo fillies
Agilion was the odds-on favorite for trainer John Kimmel, and did turn in a winning effort, rallying strongly from four lengths behind at the eighth pole to miss by a just a head. But the winner was Effie Trinket, who tracked a good pace of :23.01 and :46.75 seconds before taking the lead in the stretch and narrowly holding off Agilion's late run under a good ride from Alan Garcia. Richard Violette Jr. is her trainer. Zekes Surprise ran evenly to finish a good third.
Race 5: Maiden Claiming
6 furlongs for 2yos
O' Frederica shipped in from Delaware Park for this race, and the Anthony Dutrow-trainee rewarded the bettors that sent her off as the second choice by breaking her maiden in good fashion. Ridden to victory by Ramon Dominguez, the son of Flatter took advantage of a pace duel to rally for a convincing 1 1/4-length triumph in the decent time of 1:11.38 seconds. Let's Have Us One dueled with Gladhander through fractions of :22.86 and :46.33 seconds, disposed of that rival in the homestretch, fought on strongly in the final furlong, but couldn't hold off the winner's challenge. One More Cat tracked the pace in third and stayed on well to secure that spot at the finish.
Race 7: Maiden Special Weight
5-1/2 furlongs on turf for 2yo fillies
Sent off at 15-1, Sensational Appeal took advantage of a blazing pace to rally from fifth and score a strong victory for trainer Michael Matz. With Joel Rosario aboard, the daughter of Successful Appeal sat five lengths behind as Indian Splendor ran the opening quarter in a blazing :21.31 seconds, then finished up strongly on the outside to win by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:04.21 seconds. Speaking Role rallied from about thirteen lengths off the pace to finish an excellent second. Neon Moon helped set the fast pace and led past the eighth pole before weakening in the stretch and finishing third.
Race 8: Maiden Special Weight
6 furlongs for New York-bred 2yos
Shot Rock was favored off of a runner-up effort here at Saratoga on August 10th, but after racing in second for five furlongs, the colt gave way and finished fifth. In the meantime, Leap rallied from fifth under John Velazquez to win the race by a determined head, stopping the clock in 1:11.39 seconds. He is trained by John Kimmel. Commandante broke quickly and set a good pace of :22.52, :46.08, and :58.26 seconds before getting caught right at the wire. Western Grit raced greenly, but rallied well late to finish third.
-Keelerman
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