Evan Shipman suits Royal Posse to a ‘T'
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Those who subscribe to the horses-for-courses axiom probably cashed a decent ticket when Royal Posse won the Alydar Stakes here on Aug. 7 at 5-1. The win was the fourth in six starts at Saratoga for the New York-bred gelding by Posse who has now won races here at three straight meets.
Royal Posse will seek to improve his Spa record on Friday when he heads a field of five entered in the $100,000 Evan Shipman Stakes for New York-breds, a race Royal Posse won last year, also at 5-1.
Royal Posse won’t be 5-1 on Friday but does face some solid competition, including stablemate Good Luck Gus and the improving Wake Up in Malibu as well as Finger Lakes shipper Crackerjack Jones and the Todd Pletcher-trained Ostrolenka.
Trainer Rudy Rodriguez claimed Royal Posse for $20,000 on behalf of Michael Dubb on May 31, 2015. Since then, Dubb has brought in partners – Bethlehem Stables and Gary Aisquith – and the horse has five wins and six seconds from 11 starts for $511,400 in earnings.
All five of those wins have come in races at 1 1/8 miles and run around two turns, the same configuration as the Evan Shipman.
“He’s a grinding-type horse, and he just keeps coming and coming and coming,” Rodriguez said Wednesday. “Around two turns, it looks like he can be a little closer to the pace; he doesn’t have to work as hard. He won on the main track at Aqueduct, and he won at Gulfstream. At Belmont, he won, but it looks like he runs better around two turns.”
Royal Posse will break from post 3 and carry 124 pounds, the same as Good Luck Gus and Wake Up in Malibu.
Good Luck Gus, also trained by Rodriguez for Dubb, Bethlehem Stables, and the Elkstone Group, is 2 for 3 at Saratoga. In 2015, he won the Albany Stakes, also run at 1 1/8 miles around two turns.
“For him, hopefully the race falls apart,” Rodriguez said. “He beat Royal Posse one time. I don’t know how, but he did. He’s training very, very good. He’s an honest horse; he tries very hard.”
Key Contenders
Royal Posse, by Posse
Last 3 Beyers: 101-94-92
◗ He’s a six-time winner at 1 1/8 miles, with four of those victories coming at Saratoga.
◗ Incredibly, he has finished second in his last four New York-bred stakes attempts since winning the Evan Shipman here last September.
◗ Last three stakes wins have come against open company.
Wake Up in Malibu, by Malibu Moon
Last 3 Beyers: 92-98-88
◗ Beat Royal Posse and Good Luck Gus in the Saginaw Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile race run around one turn at Belmont.
◗ Finished fourth in a seven-furlong allowance against open company here Aug. 10.
◗ Tries 1 1/8 miles for the first time.
Good Luck Gus, by Lookin At Lucky
Last 3 Beyers: 91-83-85
◗ Has not run in two months, owing to a race failing to fill at Laurel.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 1 Crackerjack Jones. Owns a 5-for-5 record in dirt routes on a fast track. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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DRF FORMULATOR FACT: NNo. 5 Ostrolenka. Trainer Todd Pletcher is 14-4-3-1 with a $6.20 ROI over the past five years going sprint to route on dirt at Saratoga. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan