Year 18 • No. 18 Thursday, August 16, 2018 The aratoga ENTRIES & HANDICAPPING Smooth Landing CALL PAUL PROVES SPECIAL Stillwater Cove spices up Wednesday feature TRICKY ESCAPE SHIPS TO WIN Tod Marks Tod 2 THE SARATOGA SPECIAL THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2018 here&there...at Saratoga BY THE NUMBERS 1: Electrical outlet attached to a tree on the backside. We hope it’s only one. 2: Languages used to announce golf-cart driving restrictions on the backside via post- ed notices. Be careful out there people. 600,000: Dollars paid for a Pioneerof The Nile colt at Fasig-Tipton’s New York-bred sale over the weekend – a record for the sale. Sold by Thorndale Farm to Shortleaf Stable, the colt led a parade of big numbers for the two-day sale including a $450,000 American Pharoah filly and gross receipts of $18,492,000. That figure was up 14 per- cent over 2017. The average and median both rose, and 30 yearlings brought $200,000 or more. NAMES OF THE DAY Believe in Victory, sixth race. Arif Kurtel’s 3-year-old filly is by Victory Gallop out of Common Hope. Hail, eighth race. Juddmonte Farms’ homebred 3-year-old filly is out of Rising Tornado. RELATIVES OF THE DAY Today’s sixth race, for maiden fillies and mares, features horses from star race mares Sightseek and Questing. Sightseek, whose daughter Chamber makes her debut, won 12 races and earned $2.4 million for Juddmonte and trainer Bobby Frankel. Her Sara- toga success included a debut win in 2002 and the Grade 1 Go For Wand in 2003. English-bred Questing, whose daughter Lady Hester makes her American debut, won four races and $876,000 for Godolphin and trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. At Saratoga, she won the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks and Alabama in 2012. Tod Marks Rocking Horse. A racehorse auditions for a spot on the Congress Park carousel. Midsummer heroes Medaglia d’Oro Street Sense Bernardini and son, Alpha Darley stallions, Travers winners. darleyameric a.com 859-255-8537 Darley THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2018 THE SARATOGA SPECIAL 3 here&there...at Saratoga WORTH REPEATING “He won, I wheeled him back in an allowance race, they had a short field, they were hustling it, I threw him back in, Barry’s like, ‘Great.’ I gave him three weeks, I put him back in, he wins. Then, I was pointing him towards a straight 3-year-old a other than open, didn’t fill, I said, ‘this horse loves this course I have to run him again at the meet.’ I put him in the Saranac, he wins. I think sometimes, we should train them a little less and run them a little more.” Trainer Linda Rice, on Voodoo Song’s four wins at Saratoga last summer “The first time I rode him, Linda told me, break, sit and let him be comfortable. I didn’t know the horse. When I warmed him up with the pony, he wanted to run off. I told the pony boy, ‘Stop.’ He broke a little step behind, I tried to grab him and he take off, he got the jump fast, I said, ‘I don’t Now on Broadway. think I can take this horse back.’ He kept going and won easy.” Jockey Jose Lezcano, about Fourstardave winner Voodoo Song “No. No. No. I love the dam, but she was just a minor stakes winner, she didn’t produce anything Wear What You Love™ near what he’s like.” Owner Barry Schwartz, when asked if grit ran in Voodoo Song’s family “I had her in the Keeneland November Sale, in foal to Flatter with a $125,000 reserve and she brought $120,000 live money, I didn’t sell her. I’ve got a Flatter filly, I’m happy with that.” Schwartz, on Voodoo Song’s dam, Mystic Chant EMBRACE THE RACE® 327 Broadway “He’s a beautiful horse. If they walked 50 of them past you you’d pick him out.” Saratoga Springs Bloodstock agent Gary Young, minutes after buying Saratoga Special winner Call Paul at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-old sale in March embracetherace.com “I wanted to get in a little bit later, and I knew the horse was going to go on, but I didn’t want to leave it too long. It worked out once he saw me.” Young, on standing up to get the bid-spotter’s attention while buying Call Paul Mare purchase and Mating that produced Horse of the Year and Woodward G1 winner, HAVRE DE GRACE ® NICOMA® An affiliate of Contact Price Bell at 859.321.5117 or visit www.nicoma.com Lee Thomas © Portfolio Management Editors/Publishers The aratoga Sean Clancy: (302) 545-7713. [email protected] Joe Clancy: (302) 545-4424. [email protected] Managing Editor Tom Law: (859) 396-9407. [email protected] 259 East Avenue Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 Writers: Ben Gowans, Sarah Newman, Shayna Tiller, The Saratoga Special, thisishorseracing.com Brandon Valvo, David Woods. (the old feed store) Thoroughbred Racing Calendar, The Best of The Saratoga Special. Handicappers: Charles Bedard, Donald Phillips, John Shapazian. thisishorseracing.com Call us about your editorial needs. Design: Todd Koch. Published Thursday through Sunday Home Office: 364 Fair Hill Drive, Suite F, Elkton, MD 21921 during the racing season. (410) 392-5867 • Fax (410) 392-0170 Photographers: Tod Marks, Dave Harmon, Connie Bush. Plus Monday, Aug. 6 and Tuesday, Aug. 7. Distribution & More: Jane Crager, Kevin Murphy, Morgan Yaeger. 4 THE SARATOGA SPECIAL THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2018 PAM DIORIO © PAM PHOTO BY Z © BY PHOTO With performance like this, shouldn’t you be buying and racing registered NY-BREDS? Fasig-Tipton Saratoga NY-Bred Preferred Yearlings — August 12 Aug 11, NY-bred VOODOO SONG scores Grade I victory in the Fourstardave H. •••••• NY-bred 2YO SUE’S FORTUNE captures Grade II nytbreeders.org 518.587.0777 Adirondack S. Visit our website or call 518.388.0174 ADAM COGLIANESE RACE PHOTOS © THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2018 THE SARATOGA SPECIAL 5 QUOTE OF THE DAY here&there...at Saratoga “Whitmore is the linebacker in school that you like to dare him to run through a wall and he just does it. That’s him.” WORTH REPEATING Trainer Ron Moquett on the Grade 1 Forego-bound sprinter The following attire is NOT acceptable to wear in the paddock or winner’s circle: Crop or halter tops, Pajamas or lounge wear, Cut off shorts, Open toed shoes, Explicitly revealing attire, Torn clothing, Under garments worn as tops or bottoms. Failure to wear appropriate clothing will result in being asked to leave paddock or winner’s circle. Notice on the Penn National overnight “Horse racing is great in the fact that you have a bad week or month and that has nothing to do with how you do today, but the same side of that is how good you’re doing has nothing to do with how you do today.” Trainer Steve Asmussen, 800-523-8143 on living in the moment in racing “That’s funny, that’s what they said.” Lucy Howard after The Special’s Sean Clancy said if the Saratoga Special Maryland, My Maryland graduates can survive a summer here they can survive anything “Can you come by again tomorrow?” Country Life Farm Trainer Rudy Rodriguez, after winning two races the day his Fasig-Tipton Stable Tour ran in the paper “I can keep my baby in name-brand diapers.” Watercress Farm’s Rob Tribbett, after a successful New York-bred yearling sale “Pickling during the meet, that’s a first.” The Special’s Tom Law, after he spent Tuesday morning pickling banana peppers “He’s a foot soldier.” Trainer Eric Guillot, when seeing Law walking the backside Reader: “Can I get a magazine?” Tod Marks Tod Publisher: “Tomorrow.” CALL PAUL Reader: “Oh great, I’ll be back tomorrow.” My sire is the A. P. Indy son Friesan Fire, at Country Life. He was “They ate a lot more trail mix this year.” the favorite in the 2009 Kentucky Derby, but Pioneerof The Nile stepped Consignor Seth Gregory, handing a bag of his homemade trail mix to The Special on him coming out of the gate. Maybe I can pick up where Pop left off? Golf-cart driver after driving over Bill Mott’s grass and traffic cone:“Don’t tell Mott.” This is me going wire-to-wire in the Grade 2, $200,000 Saratoga Special Bill Mott disciple standing nearby: “Oh, he’ll know.” on Sunday. Maybe see you downstate for the Champagne?” “Hey, Coach.” Josh Pons 443-807-0644 v Mike Pons 410-459-8517 v Christy Holden 410-808-1325 Jockey Irad Ortiz to trainer D. Wayne Lukas Bel Air, MD 21014 v 410.879.1952 v countrylifefarm.com v [email protected] G1 Winner & BC Dirt Mile 79% W/P 1st Three Crops incl. G1-Winning Champion ALBERTUS MAXIMUS by Albert the Great Kent Barnes, Stallion Manager 859-224-4585 www.shadwellfarm.com 6 THE SARATOGA SPECIAL THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2018 The Top 10 Good Catch! The Special keeps up with a list of the Photo of meet’s best – performances, achievements, feats of wonder. We’ll update it daily, or try to anyway. Bold means they’re new. the Day Imperial Hint. Vanderbilt July 28. Presented by 1 Special, small sprinter won Grade 1 with speed, style, simplicity. And we wrote about him 18 months ago. Diversify. Whitney Aug. 4. Best old- 2 er horse on grounds breaks on top and rips it up – winning in hand and Pinhooking stretching streak to three.