Year 14 • No. 28 Friday, August 22, 2014 T he aratoga Saratoga’s Daily Newspaper on Thoroughbred Racing Wave Runner Close Hatches streaks into Personal Ensign Tod Marks Tod ENTRIES & HANDICAPPING • UNCLE SOUTHERN WINS UNION AVENUE Keeneland September Yearlings • Week One Book 1 Tuesday • September 9 215 WAR FRONT Colt Out of G2 SW SANGRITA. Family of G1 SW OFFLEE WILD 260 WAR FRONT Colt Out of GSP SO GLITZY. Family of G1 SW SILVER WAGON 353 FLATTER Colt Out of GSW / Stakes Producer TRIP. Family of G1 SW ZENSATIONAL Wednesday • September 10 382 WAR FRONT Colt Out of GSW WEND. Family of GSW and NTR CLEARLY NOW Thursday • September 11 680 WAR FRONT Colt Out of GOLD VAULT, dam of multiple G1 SW CONTESTED Book 2 Saturday, September 13 Yearlings by Such Sires as: Arch • Flatter • War Front Trappe Shot • Pulpit • Curlin • Speightstown • Blame From the Families of G1 SWs: Zensational, Preach, Lion Tamer, I’m the Tiger, English Channel, Harmony Lodge, etc. Post Office Box 150 Paris, Kentucky 40362-0150 Tel.(859) 233-4252 Fax 987-0008 claibornefarm.com INQUIRIES TO BERNIE SAMS e-mail: [email protected] 2 14-0555.CLB.SeptWeekOne.Aug22.indd 1 The Saratoga Special Friday, August8/21/14 22, 3:42 2014 PM here&there... at Saratoga NAMES OF THE DAY Successful Brothers, sixth race. How can we not like a name (or theme) like that? Special Dinner, sixth race. See above. QUESTIONS OF THE DAY (by fans to the jump jocks at Wednesday’s autograph signing) Is it fun? What’s the scariest part? Who’s the guy who came off in the first race? Why don’t you ride the other races too? LICENSE PLATES OF THE DAY GALLOP, New York. ECTBRED, Virginia. We’re still trying to figure it out. BY THE NUMBERS 21.40: Payoff of Bossy Saratoga in the Wednesday’s second race, correctly picked on top by The Special’s Charles Bedard. 1: Horse blanket being repaired at a local dry-cleaning establishment. Tod Marks Angling for an Answer. Trainer Charlie LoPresti ponders the merits of using WORTH REPEATING a woolly bugger vs. a bead belly damsel next time he heads out on the Battenkill. Oh, and DAR6949 Saratoga Special Lonhro 22 AUG14 21/08/2014 16:14 Page 1 “Am I in there?” where to run Wise Dan. Jocks’ agent Winston Heslop, when opening Thursday’s Special A Pierrless stallion! Lonhro, Champion sire in Australia and sire of Pierro, the brilliant undefeated winner of the G1 Golden Slipper and G1 ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes. Yearlings from his first US crop are at the sales – a colt out of Sadler’s Wells mare Pepiniere sells for $241,000 at Deauville! LONHRO Octagonal – Shadea (Straight Strike) 859-255-8537 www.darleyamerica.com Darley Friday, August 22, 2014 The Saratoga Special 3 here&there... at Saratoga “Like zero.” “That guy knows how to get a free jacket.” WORTH REPEATING Dave Lynett when asked how many Railbird, about a habitual souvenir-jacket wearer “That’s the Jamaica way.” breezers he’d seen on the main track Thursday Jock’s agent Winston Heslop, on why he knows Usain Bolt “That horse has a good transmission. Some horses redline and “No longer our best office.” don’t shift gears too smoothly. He shifts real smooth.” “I need one for my head.” Text from Sean Clancy to Joe Clancy and Tom Law Jockey Rajiv Maragh, Trainer Todd Pletcher, when taking a copy of as water flooded The Special’s office Wednesday night; about Sword Dancer winner Main Sequence The Special on a rainy Thursday morning it turned out to be minor but does go on the list of disasters we’ve overcome including blackouts, “The Chief kicked a trash can 15 feet. There was trash all over “People don’t read in the rain.” heatwaves, an earthquake and a ceiling collapse the place. I was afraid he was going to kill me so I called my The Special’s Ryan Clancy, justifying agent. The next day, we went by the barn and The Chief gave his late arrival Thursday morning “Story of my life.” me the call on 10 horses.” West Point Thoroughbreds’ Tom Bellhouse, when told that Maragh, about the reaction of trainer “For a duck.” Sean Clancy wrote 3,000 words on a race that never hap- Allen Jerkens after Maragh lost on a horse Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, finishing a statement pened (Thursday’s postponed New York Turf Writers Cup) at Gulfstream Park as an apprentice years ago about it being a nice day Thursday morning “I guess if it’s ‘worth repeating’ it’s worth repeating again. “Don’t take 19 years to do the 46!” “Having fun?” Thanks for another great year. The Special is a must read, even Reader Bronson Thayer, in a letter of encouragement Herbie Castillo while jogging one here in Alexandria, Virginia.” to The Special’s Joe and Nolan Clancy in the rain Thursday morning Loyal Special reader Jack Hutcheson (who have 45 Adirondack high peaks to go) QUOTE OF THE DAY “I’ve always thought those long-distance grass horses can run back quicker than sprinters. Sprinters put more into it and seem to take more time to get over a race. Of course back home we run them a mile and a quarter three days before we run in the Melbourne Cup, as a prep.” Australian-born, Canadian-based trainer Brian Lynch 800-523-8143 Tod Marks The Orange River. Thursday morning got a little wet outside trainer Jimmy Toner’s barn. 2014 Breeding Partnership forming now! Since 1978, Dutchess Views Farm has assisted owners with racing and breeding programs. • Mare care, foaling and race horse lay-ups Contact resident owners: • Bloodstock, insurance Michael Lischin & Anya Sheckley and legal services in Pine Plains, New York (518) 398-5666 • Breeding and racing [email protected] partnerships dutchessviewsfarm.com 4 The Saratoga Special Friday, August 22, 2014 Friday,LE-14305-Discreetly August Mine-Saratoga 22, 2014 Special FP-Aug 21.indd 1 The Saratoga Special 8/21/14 5:19 PM5 The aratoga Building two-year-olds 112 Spring Street, Suite 109 one individual at a time Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 (859) 312-3414 | kirkwoodstables.com Phones of the day Sean Clancy Mobile: (302) 545-7713 Joe Clancy Mobile: (302) 545-4424 Tom Law Mobile: (859) 396-9407 E-mail: [email protected] joe @thisishorseracing.com [email protected] www.thisishorseracing.com Published Wednesday through Sunday during the racing season. Every day of Sales Week Aug. 4-10. The Staff Editors/Publishers: Sean Clancy, Joe Clancy Saratoga Managing Editor: Tom Law Sandbox. Staff Writers: Kristin Brennan, Katelyn Brush, Photo by Connie Bush Ashley Dingeman, Jackie Dugas, Ryan Jones, Dan McDonough, Dan Tordjman Layout/Design: Katherine Lasak Photographers: The Chief . .Day 28 Tod Marks, Dave Harmon, Connie Bush Handicappers: Charles Bedard, Gaile Fitzgerald, Tom Law, “Pete Anderson said the second time he rode Forego, Don Brumfield asked him John Shapazian, Chad Summers to give him a shot leaving there and Pete said, ‘You picked the wrong day.’ Chief Head Honcho of Circulation: Another time, Pete Anderson was riding a real good horse in the Jack Clancy Help When We Need It: Hopeful, he said, ‘Man, I’m getting ready to make my move, Nolan Clancy, all of a sudden on my right, I hear this ‘whoa, whoa, whoa.’ Ryan Clancy, Miles Clancy. Baeza is galloping past him saying whoa on Buckpasser.” – Trainer Allen Jerkens The Saratoga Special thisishorseracing.com Thoroughbred Racing Calendar The Best of The Saratoga Special Call us about your editorial needs. The New York Thoroughbred ST Publishing Inc. Home Office 364 Fair Hill Drive, Suite F, Horsemen’s Association Elkton, MD 21921 www.nytha.com | 516.488.2337 (410) 392-5867 • Fax (410) 392-0170 visit us on Facebook www.thisishorseracing.com Tod Marks photo Tod 6 The Saratoga Special Friday, August 22, 2014 Go South for the Winners Registered NY-Breds Selling at OBS Aug. 26 - 28 Barn 13 25 C Here Comes Ben - Bee in a Bonnet 38 C Here Comes Ben - Brassy Shirley 146 F Freud - Lindsay’s Point 162 F Here Comes Ben - Milliondollarsmile 252 F Langfuhr - Truly Charming 520 C Here Comes Ben - E. Queen 682 F Utopia (JPN) - Lemme 748 C Here Comes Ben - Moonwalk Beauty 808 F Catienus - Perfect Design 840 C Utopia (JPN)- Private Escort 885 F Here Comes Ben - Rock Hall Honey 898 C Here Comes Ben - Ryann Rocks 913 C Here Comes Ben - Sassy Splash McMahon OBS Sale grad EFFIE TRINKET 997 C Utopia (JPN) - Sydney’s Lexington ($546,820, 4XSW/MGSP) Inquiries to Joe or John McMahon / 180 Fitch Road / Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 (518) 587-3426 / [email protected] / www.mcmahonthoroughbreds.com Friday, August 22, 2014 The Saratoga Special 7 PERSONAL ENSIGN PREVIEW Round 5 Close Hatches, Princess Of Sylmar renew rivalry in Gr. 1 BY SEAN CLANCY It was that time of day. Metal rakes began to cover the morning’s hoof beats. Trainers opened condition books. Exercise riders fled for breakfast. Bill Mott leaned off his pony, snapped a shank on the loose ring snaffle bit of a big bay filly and began a long slow walk to the main track. Exercise rid- er Neil Poznansky adjusted his left iron, sliding it Sean Clancy down, then adjusted his right iron, sliding it down Close Hatches gets ready to train alongside trainer Bill Mott on the stable pony. to match. main track long after rush hour. At the gap, they out of school early and Poznansky asked her to jog Past the seven-eighths pole gap of the Oklahoma stood for seconds, which turned to minutes before straight toward the inside rail, she swished her tail track, past George Weaver’s Labrador Retriever, walking to the middle of the track.