The Juveniles at Saratoga -- August 18-19th, 2012

Todd Pletcher sent out a pair of winners over the course of these two days, with both Violence and Kimono turning in impressive performances that could very well lead to appearances in stakes races next month. But the most impressive winner was probably Sonofasamurai, who looks like a legitimate contender for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (gr. I) in November.

August 18th

Race 2: Maiden Special Weight
8.5 furlongs on turf for 2yos

Lemon Drop Dream was an odds-on favorite for trainer Steve Asmussen, but after tracking a moderate pace, he failed to accelerate in the homestretch and wound up finishing a close third. In the meantime, Sonofasamurai raced in fourth, split horses in the homestretch, and burst clear under jockey David Cohen to win the race by a decisive three lengths. Kenny McPeek trains the son of First Samurai, who stopped the clock in 1:44.60. Elmutahid set a slow pace of :24.50, :50.55, and 1:15.48 while leading Lemon Drop Dream by a length, steadied a bit when Sonofasamurai split horses, dropped back to fourth passing the eighth pole, then re-rallied to secure second in a four-horse photo.

Race 4: Maiden Special Weight
7 furlongs for 2yos

Trainer Todd Pletcher had the favorite in Violence, who was sent off at 0.80-1 and ran to his odds. With John Velazquez aboard, the son of Medaglia d'Oro tracked the pace in third before finishing up with a determined run to just get the victory over Titletown Five in 1:22.91 seconds. The latter colt set a good pace of :22.54, :45.14, and 1:09.67 before being surpassed late by the favorite. First-time starter Orb reared at the start and trailed the field by fourteen lengths early on, but put in an exceptional late run under Joel Rosario to finish third, beaten just 1 1/4 lengths. He looks like a good one to me.

August 19th

Race 1: Maiden Special Weight
7 furlongs for 2yo fillies

Kimono and Kansas raced as a coupled entry and were sent off at 1-5. Both were coming off of runner-up efforts on the opening day of this Saratoga meet, and in the end, they ran 1-2. But someone had to emerge as the winner, and the victorious filly was Kimono. Trained by Todd Pletcher, the daughter of Bernardini didn't get off to the best of starts, but quickly recovered to take command of the lead while setting fractions of :22.86 and :46.41. From there, she drew off easily under a hand ride from jockey Javier Castellano to win the race by two lengths in 1:24.07. Kansas, from the barn of Wesley Ward, spent much of the race in fourth place before rallying well in the homestretch to finish second. Liberty Girl also put in a good run, closing from fifth to miss second by just a neck.

Race 5: Maiden Special Weight
8.5 furlongs on turf for 2yo fillies

Citizen Emma was the favorite for trainer Todd Pletcher, thanks to her runner-up effort in a similar race here at Saratoga on July 23rd. But after setting a moderately testing pace of :23.58, :48.09, and 1:11.80, she was unable to accelerate sufficiently in the homestretch and wound up finishing sixth. In the meantime, the D. Wayne Lukas-trainee Broken Spell settled into fourth, slowly advanced throughout the race, and out-finished Always Kitten to win the race in 1:42.28 seconds. The latter filly spent most of the race in fifth before rallying to secure second, although never a serious threat to Broken Spell. J'esprit did not get off to a good start, but nevertheless put in a good run to finish third.

-Keelerman

THE JUVENILES AT SARATOGA -- July 20th, 2012

Last year, right before the Saratoga meet began, I made the somewhat ambitious decision to post an analysis -- and recap -- of every single juvenile race held during the course of the meet. Unfortunately, I didn't realize exactly what I was getting into, and the sheer number of juvenile races held every day -- coupled with the six-days-a-week racing schedule -- quickly overwhelmed me. As a result, I fell behind, and canceled the series after about a week.

This year, I have come up with a better plan. Rather than writing up an analysis and recap of every single race, I shall instead condense the posts into a simple series of once-per-day recaps -- less than 1,000 words each -- giving the important details of how each race was run without getting overly in-depth.

So without further ado, allow us to delve into the results of the juveniles races held early this afternoon at Saratoga, including the $150,000 Schuylerville Stakes (gr. III). Enjoy!

Race 3: Maiden Special Weight
5-1/2 furlongs for 2yo fillies

The favorite was Kimomo, a Todd Pletcher-trainee making her debut, but she eventually proved second-best behind Wesley Ward-trainee Lignite, who finally broke her maiden after finishing second in three consecutive maiden special weights. Under a skilled ride from Joel Rosario, Lignite got off to a quick start, set fractions of :22.23 and :45.59, and held off a determined stretch bid from Kimono to stop the clock in 1:05.02. There was a substantial gap back to the third-place finisher, Sustained, who rallied from last after a poor start to secure the show.

Race 5: Maiden Special Weight
5-1/2 furlongs for 2yo fillies

Can anyone say future stakes winner? Todd Pletcher may not have secured victory earlier on the card with Kimomo, but his first-time starter Kauai Katie gave the impression of being a future stakes winner when she drew off to a twelve-length victory under Rosie Napravnik, stopping the clock in the quick time of 1:03.66 -- little more than a second off of the track record, and considerably faster than Lignite ran earlier on the card. The details of Kauai Katie's victory were equally impressive. Although she bobbled just a bit at the break, she recovered nicely to grab the early lead while setting fractions of :22.29 and :45.67. She then threw in an excellent fifth furlong in :11.71 seconds to open up a commanding lead, and continued to draw away powerfully throughout the stretch. Kansas rallied from fifth to finish second for trainer Wesley Ward, but was never a threat to the winner. Lenderoflastresort tired to finish third after attempting to challenge the eventual winner for command of the early lead.

Race 9: Schuylerville Stakes (gr. III)
6 furlongs for 2yo fillies

(My detailed recap of the Schuylerville can be viewed here: http://triplecrowncountdown.blogspot.com/2012/07/so-many-ways-wins-schuylerville-stakes.html)

-Keelerman