Saratoga: Trinniberg sizzles in prep for King's Bishop

Tom Keyser

Trinniberg, with Willie Martinez aboard, breezes three furlongs in 35.42 seconds on Friday morning.

Anybody who might have jumped off the Trinniberg bandwagon after he was upset as the 1-5 favorite in the Grade 3 Carry Back last month at Calder may have second thoughts after the multiple graded sprint stakes winner blew out three furlongs in 35.42 seconds from the gate here at Saratoga on Friday in preparation for next Saturday’s King’s Bishop.

With regular rider Willie Martinez aboard, Trinniberg broke a step or two behind his stablemate Nick Rules, quickly moved alongside, and was under only moderate urging in the run down the backstretch. Trinniberg left his company while galloping out very willingly around the turn, completing four furlongs in 47.29 before pulling up five-eighths in 1:00.08.

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“The breeze was nice; very, very nice,” said Shivananda Parbhoo, who owns Trinniberg and is overseeing his training at Saratoga for his father Bisnath Parboo. “He broke a step slow but that’s him, he always comes out maybe a half a length slow, even in his races. But once he comes out then he shoots on his way.”

Trinniberg didn’t gallop out very well after each of his first two local breezes but looked much stronger at the end of Friday’s work.
“We’ve taken it easy with him because we know he’s fit and everything,” said Parbhoo. “But I said today is it for him going into this race although Willie didn’t really push him much at all. I was actually surprised he went so fast, but the track was fast after the break.”
Parbhoo said he thought Trinniberg ran extremely well in the Carry Back, even in defeat, considering he had not been pointed for that race. The objective remains the Grade 1, $500,000 King’s Bishop on Aug. 25.

“He was totally not ready for the race at Calder,” said Parbhoo. “He breezed 51 in his last work and that’s not me. I helped out Calder to fill the race. It was a last-minute decision to run. This is the race we’ve been pointing for all summer. This is the race we’ve come to win.”   

Ruthenia gets green light for Ballston Spa

Trainer Christophe Clement reported Friday that Ruthenia seems to be none the worse for wear after Wednesday’s workout over the Oklahoma turf course during which she slammed off the inner railing while approaching the eighth pole breezing in company with stablemate Right One.

“We’ve jogged her for the last two days and she’s fine,”  said Clement. “We were very lucky.”

Ruthenia is expected to make her next start, as scheduled, in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa on next Saturday’s Travers undercard.