Aldrin, kin to Tapit, has look of a good one
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Aldrin, a three-quarter brother to the hot stallion Tapit, makes his career debut Saturday at Saratoga in what looks to be a hot 2-year-old race. The race, carded as the third on an 11-race card, is at six furlongs.
Aldrin, a $1 million purchase as a juvenile in training, is by Malibu Moon and out of the dam Tap Your Heels, her first foal since Kalavinka in 2008. Tapit won the Grade 1 Wood Memorial in 2004.
“He’s been very impressive since coming into the barn,” trainer Chad Brown said. “He’s one of those horses that has speed. He’s real athletic-looking, but ultimately, he’ll be a route horse. He has a big turn of foot. I think he can sprint effectively when he needs to, from what I’ve seen in his training, but certainly he’s going to get better as the distances get longer.”
Also in the race is Da Jenius, a son of Malibu Moon out of the Grade 1-winning stakes mare Madcap Escapade. She produced the Grade 1 winner Mi Sueno.
Also entered in Saturday’s third race was Competitive Edge, a highly regarded son of Super Saver trained by Todd Pletcher. But he wound up on the also-eligible list because 2-year-old races in Saratoga are limited to eight starters.
“I’ve been an opponent [of the rule] since the beginning,” Pletcher said. “If there needs to be a restriction on the number of 2-year-olds entered in a race, in my opinion, the correct number is not eight, especially at six furlongs. I think there has been some movement to get it changed to 10, which to me would make a lot more sense.”