Aveenu Malcainu, Cause We Are Loyal win New York Showcase juvenile stakes

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Owner Al Gold and trainer Jeremiah Englehart rode the roller-coaster that is Thoroughbred racing Friday at Saratoga, winning the $200,000 Funny Cide Stakes for 2-year-old males with Aveenu Malcainu and then finishing last with favored I Still Miss You in the $200,000 Seeking the Ante Stakes for juvenile fillies on New York Showcase Day.

In the Funny Cide, Aveenu Malcainu sat a close-up third under Luis Saez before taking over from What a Catch in midstretch and drawing clear to a 2 1/2-length victory over Inalienable Rights.

In the Seeking the Ante, I Still Miss You was sitting in third position until the top of the stretch and then faltered down the lane. Cause We Are Loyal, an invader from Southern California, beat fellow West Coast-based Newport Breeze by three-quarters of a length to win the Seeking the Ante.

Aveenu Malcainu won for the second time in two starts. Gold purchased the son of Into Mischief for $150,000 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.'s April 2-year-olds in training sale.

Englehart was pleasantly surprised that Aveenu Malcainu was able to win his July 28 debut going 5 1/2 furlongs, fearing that distance might be too short for him. He was very much looking forward to the Funny Cide, at 6 1/2 furlongs. That is, until his assistant Axelle Angeliaume called him early Friday afternoon to tell him the horse was bleeding from his nose and above an eye, presumably from hitting his head in the stall.

“She said we have to scratch,” Englehart said. “I said ‘Well, let me look at him first.’ I was thinking the worst-case scenario is we scratch today and try him in the Hopeful. He was okay; he’s a big boy.”

Aveenu Malcainu sat third while Morning Breez set fractions of 22.36 seconds and 45.72 for the opening half-mile stalked by What a Catch, the 2-1 favorite. What a Catch took over from Morning Breez in upper stretch, but Aveenu Malcainu was in pursuit, collaring What a Catch and jockey John Velazquez at the eighth pole.

“When we came to the three-eighths I saw Johnny was going easy, so I put pressure on my horse and he took off,” Saez said.

Aveenu Malcainu covered the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:17.69 and returned $6.70 as the second choice.

“He’s been training very forward," Englehart said. "He put Luis into the race a little bit sooner than I wanted, but then he made his sustained run. We’ll try to stretch him out a little farther next time. Hopefully he keeps progressing.”

Gold said he would like to give Aveenu Malcainu a shot in the Grade 1 Champagne at Belmont Park on Oct. 7.

:: Save up to 55¢/card on PPs with a 5-pack

In the Seeking the Ante Stakes, Cause We Are Loyal rallied from fifth position, made the lead inside the eighth pole, and held off the re-rallying Newport Breeze. It was another three-quarters of a length back to Miss Mystique in third.

Pauseforthecause, who ended up fourth, set fractions of 22.10 seconds and 46.16 for the half-mile in the Seeking the Ante. Newport Breeze, who was second early, dropped back dramatically on the turn, and rallied again along the inside.

Cause We Are Loyal covered the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:20.21 and returned $24.40.

A daughter of Creative Cause, Cause We Are Loyal was purchased by Paul Reddam for $120,000 at the Fasig-Tipton March 2-year-olds in training sale. She was coming off an 8 1/4-length win at Los Alamitos in July, but received a Beyer Figure of only 56.

Since Reddam and trainer Doug O’Neill were bringing Irap for the Travers and two others for Saturday stakes, they decided to send Cause We Are Loyal along as well.

“We didn’t buy her because she was a New York-bred, this was a Dennis O’Neill production,” said Reddam, referring to trainer Doug O’Neill’s brother and the team’s bloodstock agent. “He liked the filly in the sale and I was a Creative Cause fan as a racehorse.”

Reddam said Cause We Are Loyal “did what she had to do."

"It’s not going to break any land-speed records,” he said.

:: Get bonus PPs for Saturday's pick four at Canterbury Park

Jockey Jose Ortiz said Newport Breeze backed up when she felt dirt in her face and then got back into the race again along the inside where there was running room before having to alter course around a tiring Pauseforthecause.

As for I Still Miss You, the 6-5 Seeking the Ante favorite, Englehart said that jockey Javier Castellano said she let go of the bridle "and he didn’t want to beat her up."

"We’ll go back and scope her and see if anything shows up,” he said.