3-year-olds try to make a name for themselves in Curlin Stakes

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Creative Minister comes into Friday’s $135,000 Curlin Stakes as the most recognizable name among the nine 3-year-olds entered in the 1 1/8-mile feature at Saratoga. It is quite possible coming out of the race there could be some other names to remember in the lead-up to the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers on Aug. 27.

The Curlin sometimes creates angst among observers who don’t see the necessity for such a race the day before the Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy for the same age group at the same distance. However, many of the Curlin runners are lightly raced and perhaps not ready to meet the likes of Jim Dandy runners Early Voting and Epicenter – the one-two finishers in the Preakness – or Blue Grass winner Zandon and Ohio Derby victor Tawny Port.

Be Better, a son of Uncle Mo owned by Mike Repole and trained by Todd Pletcher, will be making his stakes debut in the Curlin. He debuted here last summer on Travers Day, finishing third behind Jack Christopher, and wasn’t seen again for 10 months. In two starts at Monmouth Park, Be Better ran down a loose-on-the-lead Carvellian Quest in a mile and 70-yard maiden race and then came back to beat 3-year-olds by 5 1/4 lengths in a first-level allowance on July 4.

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“He’s a colt we liked last year,” said Pletcher, who already has Dwyer winner Charge It pointing to the Travers. “Always thought longer would be better. It’s always nice to have a 3-year-old on the improve this time of year.”

Pletcher said he ran Be Better in a maiden race at Monmouth because he had another horse for a similar maiden race at Belmont at the same time. Be Better ran back at Monmouth for the allowance because it was against just 3-year-olds and a similar condition race at Belmont would have meant facing older horses.

Luis Saez rides Be Better from post 8.

Pletcher also runs Make It Big for the first time. At 2, when trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., Make It Big won all three of his starts, including the Springboard Mile at Remington Park. This year, he finished 10th of 12 in the Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs in February for Joseph and has not run since.

Artorius, a son of Arrogate out of the Grade 1-winning $1.5 million-earner Paulassilverlining, is stepping into stakes company off a one-mile maiden win June 10 at Belmont. He has been holding his own with some of trainer Chad Brown’s better 3-year-olds in the morning.

“Super-training horse,” Brown said. “He’s lightly raced but he’s coming the right way, and I’ve been dying to run him two turns.”

In the Preakness, Creative Minister was where Be Better and Artorius are now – a horse making his stakes debut against more-seasoned and -tested individuals. He acquitted himself well with a third behind Early Voting and Epicenter before finishing a well-beaten fifth in the Belmont.

“He really struggled with the ground,” trainer Kenny McPeek said of the Belmont. “He’s run in two toughies. We’d like to give him a little easier one, though it still won’t be easy.”

McPeek also entered Wolfe County – a half-brother to 2016 Preakness and Haskell winner Exaggerator – who is coming off a maiden win going 1 3/16 miles on June 24 at Churchill. That was just his second start for McPeek after the horse got beat a head by the older horse Tiwanaku in a maiden $50,000 claimer on June 9.

McPeek said he may opt to run Wolfe County in a starter allowance scheduled for Sunday, if it fills.

Western River, a full brother to 2016 Belmont Stakes winner Creator, finished fourth in the Peter Pan at Belmont after stumbling badly at the break. He came out of that race to win a 1 1/2-mile allowance at Churchill by 5 1/4 lengths.

Gilded Age finished third to Early Voting and Un Ojo in the Withers in February. He was sent to Dubai, where he finished 13th in the UAE Derby. He came back to the United States with a first-level allowance win going 1 1/8 miles at Churchill.

Trainer Bill Mott said that in Dubai Gilded Age “jumped up and down” from the dirt hitting him.

He benefitted from the drop in class in the Churchill allowance.

“He’s got a little run in him,” Mott said. “He’s one of those horses who doesn’t give you anything for free, but you got to give him some encouragement to give it to you.”

Mott celebrates his 69th birthday on Friday. Going back to 1992, Mott has won at least one race at Saratoga on his birthday in 17 of the 25 years there has been racing.

A. P.’s Secret, fourth in the Wood Memorial and third in the Texas Derby, and Golden Glider, second in the Peter Pan and last in the Belmont Stakes, complete the field.

The Curlin goes as race 7 on a 10-race card that begins at 1:05 p.m.