Embolden may be price play in Saranac Stakes
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Though Embolden’s only two wins have come in races restricted to Virginia-breds, he’s competed more than creditably in open-company stakes.
In what looks to be a wide-open renewal of Saturday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Saranac Stakes for 3-year-olds on turf at Saratoga, Embolden could offer some value when making his second start off a prolonged layoff for trainer Michael Stidham.
In stakes at age 2, Embolden was third to Four Wheel Drive and second to Jack and Noah. Four Wheel Drive beat Embolden in the Grade 3 Futurity at Belmont, and came back to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. Jack and Noah beat Embolden in the Atlantic Beach at Aqueduct, and has since won two stakes, including the $85,000 Mahony here on Wednesday.
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Embolden even competed well on the dirt, finishing third, beaten just a half-length in the Springboard Mile last December at Remington Park. With rain in the forecast, Embolden would be tough should the Saranac be moved to dirt.
Stidham said Embolden needed knee surgery after the Springboard Mile. He didn’t run until July, when he finished second to Largent – a Todd Pletcher trainee who is 3 for 4 this year – in the Edward P. Evans Stakes on turf at Colonial Downs.
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“He ran well in his first start back,” Stidham said. “We like where we are right now with him.”
Jose Ortiz has the call on Embolden from post 9.
Don Juan Kitten comes off a solid allowance win here July 25, a race that produced a next-out winner in Kingmeister. Two starts back, Don Juan Kitten finished second, beaten a neck by Domestic Spending, who has since come back to win the Saratoga Derby Invitational.
Don Juan Kitten’s only bad race is a 10th-place finish in the English Channel Stakes at Gulfstream Park, his first race off a six-month layoff.
“I think he’s a talented horse,” trainer Danny Gargan said. “He needed that race in Florida.”
Bodecream makes his first start since owner Mike Repole bought him for $50,000 out of a Fasig-Tipton horses of racing age sale in July and turned him over to Mike Maker. The horse had won the Texas Turf Mile on good ground at Sam Houston following a solid allowance try over yielding turf at Fair Grounds. Bodecream broke poorly and did little running when finishing 10th of 13 in the War Chant Stakes at Churchill Downs in May, trained then by Danny Pish.
“He’s really put on some weight,” Maker said. “His whole attitude has changed since we had him – he’s more aggressive. He needs to race.”
Bodecream attracted leading rider Irad Ortiz Jr.
Vanzzy comes off a win in the Jersey Derby at Monmouth Park for Michael Pino.
Three Technique, a son of Mr Speaker, is expected to make his turf debut in the Saranac. He has breezed twice over that surface for trainer Jeremiah Englehart. He would almost certainly be the horse to beat were this race to come off the turf and be run at seven furlongs on the main track.
Trainer Chad Brown sends out European import L’Imperator, who has shown the ability to handle soft turf in Europe.
Perhaps hoping to beat the rain, New York Racing Association officials carded the Saranac as the third race on the card (2:18 p.m.)