Basin leads Asmussen trifecta in Hopeful Stakes
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Benefitting from a perfect trip, his outside draw, added experience, and the scratch of morning-line favorite Green Light Go, Basin dominated Monday’s Grade 1, $350,000 Runhappy Hopeful Stakes on closing day at Saratoga.
Basin, making his third start, galloped to a 6 1/2-length victory over Shoplifted, who got up for second by a neck over Gozilla as trainer Steve Asmussen’s runners finished 1-2-3 in the Hopeful.
American Butterfly, who dueled with Gozilla early, finished fourth followed by By Your Side and Inside Risk.
Green Light Go, undefeated winner of the Grade 2 Saratoga Special, was scratched due to the wet track, according to trainer Jimmy Jerkens. He will now be pointed to the Grade 1 Champagne at Belmont Park on Oct. 5, Jerkens said.
Basin finished second by a nose to By Your Side at Churchill in his debut in June. While By Your Side came back to win the Grade 3 Sanford here, Basin came back to win his maiden by 1 1/4 lengths. That performance was flattered when Three Technique, runner-up to Basin, came back to win his maiden here on Saturday by 5 1/2 lengths.
While Basin had two races coming in to the Hopeful, his stablemates Shoplifted and Gozilla were each coming off a debut victory here earlier in the meet.
“Him having the two races, he really benefitted from that,” Asmussen said.
Basin also benefitted from a speed duel between American Butterfly and Gozilla, who were a head apart after an opening half-mile in 45.84 seconds. Jose Ortiz had Basin perched one length behind them while three wide.
Ortiz bided his time behind the dueling leaders, electing to make a five-wide move approaching the quarter pole. Basin took over above the eighth pole and galloped home an easy winner in the slop.
Basin, a son of Liam’s Man owned by Jackpot Farm, covered the seven furlongs in 1:23.48 and returned $8.20.
“Seven furlongs for the first time for these babies, you got to be a little careful and I was,” Ortiz said. “I took my time. I could have moved a little earlier on the other horse but I didn’t want to since they were fighting. I gave my horse a little breather from the half-mile pole to the quarter pole, and I think that made a big difference. I just made one run with him.”
The win was 60th of the meet for Ortiz, who won the Saratoga riding title for third time in four years. In 2016, he won it with 65 wins.
“I wanted that 60th, and the Hopeful makes it better,” Ortiz said.
Asmussen said Gozilla probably didn’t get enough out of his maiden win while coming back in 22 days. Jockey Joel Rosario told Asmussen that Shoplifted was spinning his wheels early on in the race.
The Hopeful was the 15th win of the meet for Asmussen, his third in a Grade 1, and eighth with his 2-year-old crop.
“We felt great about them coming into the meet, thought we had some extremely talented 2-year-olds, and I think they proved that,” Asmussen said.
Asmussen said he would look to split the trio up for their next start, and that’s a bit easier to do with the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland, the Champagne at Belmont, and the American Pharaoh at Santa Anita coming up this fall.