Fast Anna wears the target
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Fast Anna figured to show speed regardless of his post position in Sunday’s $100,000 Tale of the Cat Stakes at Saratoga. But with Fast Anna having drawn the rail, there is little doubt he will be sent away from the gate running under Channing Hill and play “catch me if you can” in the six-furlong stakes race.
Drawing the rail was no problem for Fast Anna’s trainer, Wayne Catalano, who noted that horses breaking from the rail in six-furlong races at Saratoga this summer were winning at a 28 percent clip (11 for 40).
“He’s got speed, he’s got the rail,” Catalano said Friday at Saratoga, where Fast Anna trained after arriving on Thursday from Kentucky. “The rail’s been real good. We’re expecting a big performance out of him.”
Catalano has been training Fast Anna for about a month after owner Frank Calabrese transferred the horse to him from Kathy Ritvo. Fast Anna, who won the Sawgrass Handicap on turf at Gulfstream in June, finished third as the 1-2 favorite in the Hockessin Stakes at Delaware Park on July 18.
Fast Anna likely will have to outfoot A.P. Indian and Weekend Hideaway for the early lead in the Tale of the Cat. A.P. Indian won the Decathlon Stakes at Monmouth in May and the Don LeVine Memorial at Parx in June on the front end.
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A.P. Indian missed the Teddy Drone Stakes at Monmouth on Aug. 2 due to a “little setback,” according to trainer Arnaud Delacour. Weekend Hideaway is a Saratoga horse-for-course, with three wins and a second from five starts over this track.
Also among the contenders are Stallwalkin’ Dude, who was second to A.P. Indian in the Don LeVine, and the top three finishers from a June 18 allowance race at Belmont – Catron, Scarly Charly, and Loki’s Vengeance.
Key Contenders
Fast Anna (Last 3 Beyers: 95-80-98)
◗ Faded to third in a four-horse field in the Hockessin Stakes after setting sharp fractions of 21.60 seconds and 44.40 for the half-mile.
“With the rail, we’ve got to break, then Channing can get him to relax a little bit,” Catalano said. “He won’t go as fast, hopefully.”
◗ Hill, who has spent this summer riding at Indiana Grand and Ellis Park, rides at Saratoga for the first time since 2011.
Stallwalkin’ Dude (Last 3 Beyers: 94-93-93)
◗ Won four consecutive races, including the Diablo Stakes at Belmont, before running second or third in four consecutive stakes against the likes of Rock Fall, A.P. Indian, Private Zone, and Wildcat Red.
◗ He has a record of 4-2-1 from eight starts at six furlongs.
“He appears he should be better at seven-eighths, but his better races are at six furlongs,” said David Jacobson, owner and trainer of Stallwalkin’ Dude.
A.P. Indian (Last 3 Beyers: 98-105-102)
◗ Appears to do his best running on the lead, a position that figures to be occupied by Fast Anna.
“That’s going to be interesting to see a different pace setting for him,” said Delacour, who named Jose Lezcano to ride. “I’m not sure what we’ll do; probably leave it up to the jockey. We’ve never been in a situation where we were stalking pace. He’s done that in the mornings in his breezes. I don’t see it being a problem.”