Ocean Knight returns in allowance sprint
Ocean Knight, sidelined since a seventh-place finish March 7 in the Tampa Bay Derby, returns to the races Saturday in a second-level allowance race at seven furlongs at Saratoga.
David GreningAug 06, 2015
Ocean Knight, sidelined since a seventh-place finish March 7 in the Tampa Bay Derby, returns to the races Saturday in a second-level allowance race at seven furlongs at Saratoga.
For the second time this year, Palace Malice is on the comeback trail. Palace Malice, the 2013 Belmont Stakes and 2014 Metropolitan Handicap winner, makes his second start of the year Sunday in the $100,000 Alydar Stakes, and if his connections thought they were landing in a soft spot, they were mistaken.
What’s in a name? If anything, the headline Saturday features at America’s two foremost racing sites answer the question in spades, for it is impossible to imagine what Saratoga would be like without the Whitney family any more than thinking Del Mar would have gotten along just fine without the considerable influence of John C. Mabee.
If the starting lineup in Saturday’s $500,000 Test Stakes looks vaguely familiar to Saratoga regulars, it should. The Grade 1 sprint for 3-year-old fillies reunites the majority of the field from last year’s Adirondack Stakes, including Eclipse Award champion 2-year-old filly Take Charge Brandi.
Rosary Man looms the one to beat Saturday in the $50,000 Robert Dupret Derby. The 1 1/16-mile turf event for 3-year-olds drew a field of six.
Ticking Katie overcame soft turf, a slow pace, and a nine-month layoff to win a third-level allowance race at Belmont Park on June 17. On Saturday, she will have to overcome a brutal post when stepping up in class in a deep renewal of the $100,000 De La Rose Stakes going a mile at Saratoga.
Gimme Da Lute may be bound for Pennsylvania after winning his fourth stakes of the year in the $200,000 Real Good Deal Stakes for California-bred 3-year-olds last Sunday.Trainer Bob Baffert said on Thursday that Gimme Da Lute is a candidate for the $1 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing on Sept. 19.
Mrazek won his first stakes in Wednesday’s $100,000 Graduation Stakes for California-breds at Del Mar, and his late summer plans will not be finalized until this weekend at the earliest.
Arranmore Girl, a 2-year-old filly who won a minor race in England in April, was euthanized after sustaining an injury in a workout at Del Mar on Thursday, track officials said.
Anybody and everybody entered in the Whitney Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga seems to be in the 1 1/8-mile race with a shot. V.E. Day’s penchant for the track, the fact he has had only two races this year, and an expected fast pace could make him a value play at 8-1 on the morning-line.