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Pick Pony | Aug. 6, 2024, 12:38 p.m.
Reigning Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Mile champion and Eclipse Award finalist Master of The Seas makes his Empire State debut in Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 FanDuel Fourstardave at Saratoga Race Course. The one-mile inner turf handicap for 3-year-olds and up offers a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Mile in November at Del Mar.
Stabled at Saratoga’s Godolphin-owned Greentree since late spring, the 6-year-old gelding is a son of Irish 2000 Guineas winner Dubawi and French 1000 Guineas runner-up Firth of Lorne. He has made his last four starts in North America at this distance, including wins in September’s Grade 1 Woodbine Mile and April’s Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile at Keeneland - his only start this year.
Training towards his return for the second half of the season, the Charlie Appleby trainee has been working steadily in the mornings, including a four-furlong breeze in 48 seconds - ranked fourth of 75 moves - on July 26 over the Oklahoma training turf. The eight-time graded/group stakes winner and earner of more than $2.5 million aims to add to his career when Flavien Prat rides from post 2 carrying a field-high 126 pounds.
“We’re very happy with him and he’s a horse who goes very well fresh,” said Chris Connett, assistant to Appleby. “Ever since he won the Maker’s Mark down at Keeneland, this was always the idea to come to the Fourstardave with a fresh horse. He’s been working nicely over the Oklahoma track. He’s just a lovely horse to be around who keeps it pretty simple for us.”
The Godolphin team will also send the in-form Ottoman Fleet, fresh off two Churchill Downs 1 1/16-mile stakes wins in June - the Grade 3 Arlington and Grade 2 Wise Dan. An easy winner of those runs, the $574,516 Tattersalls October 2020 purchase returns to top-level company for the first time since a runner-up finish to future 2024 Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan winner Measured Time in Meydan’s Jebel Hatta in January, while dropping back to one mile for the first time.
A winner of five graded/group stakes, including Belmont’s Grade 2 Fort Marcy last year, this millionaire makes his 20th start, this time with Hall of Famer Joel Rosario in the saddle from post 6 with 123 pounds.
One of the few New York turf Grade 1s to elude Chad Brown is the Fourstardave, but that could change on Saturday, especially with e Five Racing Thoroughbreds’ Carl Spackler [post 4, Tyler Gaffalione, 122 pounds].
A son of dual French classic winner Lope de Vega, the 4-year-old colt is 4-for-5 at one mile and 3-for-4 at Saratoga, including the course-and-distance Grade 3 Kelso on July 13. The chestnut finished his prep work with a best-of-6 five-furlong breeze in 1:01.55 on August 2.
Victory Racing Partners’ Cherie DeVaux-trained Grade 3 winner More Than Looks [post 7, Irad Ortiz, Jr., 120 pounds] makes his first start of the season in the Fourstardave, one week after being scratched from the rained-off Listed Fasig-Tipton Lure on August 3 at The Spa. A respectable sixth in Master of The Sea’s Breeders’ Cup Mile, he rallied impressively to pass seven horses in the stretch and lose by two lengths.
“It is not an ideal ‘Plan B’ to come off such a long layoff into this spot,” DeVaux said. “Ultimately, I think he obviously belongs with these horses, but it’s a tough spot to return to the races. I wouldn’t be opposed to running if the turf had a bit of give in it. We were going to run yesterday if it had stayed on the turf.
“The goal is definitely to run him back in the Breeders’ Cup Mile,” DeVaux continued. “He ran exceptionally well in that race last year, but just couldn’t get in a position to make his run. He came home in 22 and change after being last basically the whole race until the top of the stretch. He does belong with these horses, but he is coming back from a pretty significant tendon injury, so we are just hoping we can have him about 80-85 percent ready for this run.”
Spendthrift Farm’s Major Dude [post 3, John Velazquez, 120 pounds], trained by Todd Pletcher, won a nine-furlong race at The Spa on July 20, finishing two lengths ahead. He is a triple graded stakes winner on different tracks, including the Grade 2 Pilgrim at Aqueduct in 2022. He returns to the same distance where he won the Grade 2 Penn Mile in 2023.
Gary Barber and Kinsman Stable’s dual Listed stakes winner Strong Quality [post 1, Dylan Davis, 119 pounds] has not placed in three Grade 1 attempts and finished seventh in the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan, but has finished fifth or better in all other stakes attempts. He is trained by three-time Fourstardave-winning Hall of Famer Mark Casse.
“He loves it up here,” Casse assistant Shane Tripp said. “He’s put on some weight and I’m looking forward to leading him over. With his speed, I’m looking forward to running him a mile around those two turns. He’s such an honest horse. He shows up every time.”
Jordan V Wycoff’s Money Supply [post 5, Manny Franco, 119 pounds] seeks his fourth win of the season for trainer Joe Sharp.
Winner of last month’s Listed Jonathan B. Schuster Memorial at Horseshoe Indianapolis, the son of Practical Joke steps up in class in his second start on turf. A Saratoga winner last year on dirt for former trainer Chad Brown, he was claimed after that run and proceeded to win five straight races, as well as six of his past eight.
The Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational, originally scheduled for Saturday, August 3, was rescheduled for Saturday, August 10 due to heavy rain.
For the second year, through a partnership between the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and Moonee Valley Racing Club, the $600,000 winner will receive an automatic berth into the Group 1, AUD$5 million Ladbrokes Cox Plate, set for October 26 in Australia.
The 1 3/16-mile Mellon turf test for sophomores, initially with eight horses, was brought back as an extra with entries taken Sunday and again attracted a field of eight.
From the original field, Aidan O'Brien-trained dual group-stakes winner Diego Velazquez returned to Europe; Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey-trained Cugino was scratched after spiking a temperature and did not re-enter; and the Chad Brown-trained White Palomino opted out.
However, the field includes last-out Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational-winner Trikari [post 8, John Velazquez] for trainer Graham Motion.
The Oscar Performance bay has won 4-of-7 starts, including wins this year in the 1 1/16-mile Rushaway in March at Turfway Park, and a 47-1 win in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 American Turf in May at Churchill Downs.
Five members of the original Saratoga Derby Invitational field return for Saturday's test, including the third and fourth-place Belmont Derby finishers in Legend of Time [post 1, Flavien Prat] for trainer Charlie Appleby and Royal Majesty [post 3, Junior Alvarado] for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. Also returning are the Christophe Clement-trained graded stakes-winning duo of Deterministic [post 6, Joel Rosario] and Carson's Run [post 4, Dylan Davis], along with allowance winner Izzy d'Oro [post 2, Irad Ortiz, Jr.] for trainer and co-owner Blake Kelly.
Newcomers to the Saratoga Derby field are dual Grade 3-winner First World War [post 7, Frankie Dettori] for trainer Brendan Walsh, and graded stakes-placed Fulmineo [post 5, Tyler Gaffalione] for trainer Arnaud Delacour.
The Fourstardave is Race 10 on Saturday’s 12-race card, while the Saratoga Derby Invitational will be Race 6. The program also features the Grade 2, $200,000 Saratoga Special in Race 8, the rescheduled Grade 2, $300,000 Troy in Race 9, and the Listed $150,000 Galway in Race 12. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.