Angela Renee gets the call for Grade 1 Spinaway
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Though he is keeping the Schuylerville Stakes winner Fashion Alert in the barn, trainer Todd Pletcher still comes into Sunday’s Grade 1 Spinaway Stakes at Saratoga well armed.
Pletcher, who is seeking his fifth Spinaway victory, will send out Angela Renee and Curalina in the $350,000 Spinaway going seven furlongs over the main track. The Spinaway goes as race 10 on a 12-race card and will be the final race called by legendary announcer Tom Durkin, who will be feted in a post-race retirement ceremony.
Pletcher opted to give Fashion Alert more time and bring Angela Renee back three weeks after finishing second to Cavorting in the Grade 2 Adirondack Stakes here Aug. 10. Angela Renee was late in changing her leads that day and appeared to cock her head to the right in the stretch. Pletcher is adding blinkers to Angela Renee’s equipment Sunday.
“Johnny [Velazquez] just felt like she was a little timid around other horses. He felt like there was a little more there than what she gave to him,” Pletcher said. “She’s such a kind filly. Felt like experimenting with blinkers in the morning would be worthwhile. Johnny breezed her with blinkers and felt like we got a good result.”
Velazquez will ride Angela Renee from post 2.
Pletcher also will send out the maiden Curalina, who finished second to High Dollar Woman in a maiden race here over a sloppy track July 27.
“She lost position around the turn. A lot of mud hit her in the face. She rallied late and was gaining at the end to a quality filly that already had a start,” Pletcher said. “So, we thought it was a very good effort. It was a winning effort while finishing second, and certainly if she had won, this is what we would have done.”
Javier Castellano rides from post 7.
Trainer Rudy Rodriguez sends out Condo Commando, a 12-length winner of a $75,000 maiden claimer Aug. 3.
“She’s got little issues. We know she can run, but you’re running against Todd and Chad [Brown], and they got their horses cranked up, so you try to avoid them,” Rodriguez said. “She ran a very, very good race. I don’t think we had her 100 percent. She had some issues. We were going to run her at Belmont, and we had to back off.”
Condo Commando will break from the rail.
“The rail is brutal,” Rodriguez said.
Key Contenders
Angela Renee (Last 2 Beyers: 85-82)
* Won her debut at Belmont by 2 1/2 lengths and beat two next-out winners, including the highly regarded High Dollar Woman.
* Gets blinkers for her third career start.
Curalina (Last Beyer: 87)
* Though still a maiden, she owns the highest last-out Beyer in the field when running second to High Dollar Woman.
“In light of how fast she ran and how well she’s trained since then, she fits,” Pletcher said. “You could argue she could be the favorite.”
Darling Sky (Last Beyer: 78)
* Despite ducking in during the stretch run, Darling Sky won her debut by 7 1/4 lengths Aug. 9 at Parx.
* Has been stabled at Saratoga for 12 days, long enough to get a work in over the main track. She went a half-mile in 48.80 seconds, though she jumped a shadow nearing the wire.