Following Sea will show way from post 1 in seven-horse Haskell
OCEANPORT, N.J. – Following Sea has displayed sub-45 second half-mile speed. His sire, Runhappy, won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. His dam was a sprinter, and her dam was a sprinter. Yet Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher seems confident that Following Sea is cut out to be a two-turn horse, and Pletcher sends Following Sea from New York to New Jersey to make his stakes and route debut Saturday in the $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park.
“He’s a very leggy, classic two-turn looking horse from a physical standpoint. Watching him train, his works have always been impressive, well in hand, good long-winded gallop outs,” said Pletcher. “This race would answer a lot of questions.”
Following Sea loomed the likely Haskell pacesetter regardless of his draw, but he seems certain to make a run for the lead after landing the one hole when entries were taken and post positions assigned Wednesday for the 1 1/8-mile Haskell. Joel Rosario, aboard for Following Sea’s last two starts, has the mount and Following Sea is a 3-1 shot on the morning line of Monmouth handicapper Brad Thomas.
Seven went into the Haskell after Rombauer’s connections earlier this week opted to pass the race and point for the Jim Dandy at Saratoga. Outside Following Sea comes Antigravity (David Cohen), Mandaloun (Florent Geroux), 6-5 morning-line favorite Hot Rod Charlie (Flavien Prat), Pickin’ Time (Nik Juarez), Midnight Bourbon (Paco Lopez), and Basso (Isaac Castillo). Mandaloun, who won the Pegasus Stakes here in his Haskell prep, is Thomas’s 2-1 morning-line second choice. Midnight Bourbon is listed at 9-2.
Midnight Bourbon is scheduled to ship from Saratoga on Thursday. Mandaloun, who had an easy gallop through the fog at 6:15 a.m. Wednesday morning, arrived last week and worked over the track Saturday. Hot Rod Charlie shipped Sunday from California and after an easy morning Tuesday had a very spirited gallop Wednesday morning, coming past the wire and down the backstretch at nearly a two-minute lick.
Hot Rod Charlie set a strong pace before succumbing late and finishing second in the Belmont Stakes to Essential Quality, but he seems unlikely to outrun Following Sea for the Haskell lead. Following Sea set a strong pace in an impressive Oaklawn Park maiden sprint win two races ago, and in his first start since being transferred from Bob Baffert to Pletcher, he contested a 44-and-change half-mile split before drawing away for the easiest of wins in a first-level allowance over 6 1/2 furlongs.
“His last two races, he won being eased to the wire,” said Pletcher. “He has a high cruising speed we feel like could stretch out. This isn’t the easiest race to try it, especially with some other speed, but if I were a competitor, I’d be wary of trying to go with him early.”
Pletcher said Following Sea’s connections considered the July 5 Dwyer at Belmont before settling on the Haskell. If Following Sea doesn’t stretch out successfully, the timing is good to cut back and go seven furlongs in the Allen Jerkens at Saratoga, and if he does show he can run long, there’s ample spacing to the Travers.
Pletcher runs a Monmouth string and has started many horses under Monmouth’s rules regarding use of the whip, the most stringent in North America. Riders here can’t use the whip for any sort of encouragement, but Pletcher points out that Following Sea has won his last two without being encourage via the crop.
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“Joel is probably one of the riders that uses the crop as little as any other top tier jockey. It would be very natural for Joel not to use it,” said Pletcher.
And if Following Sea can whip a field that includes three elite members of the 3-year-old division – Hot Rod Charlie, Mandaloun, and Midnight Bourbon – there’s no telling how deep his talent goes.
◗ Friday’s six-race twilight card (first post 5 p.m. Eastern) kicks off with an interesting 2-year-old maiden-special-weight sprint and has race 4 as a feature.
The fourth is for New Jersey-bred first-level allowance horses or $15,000 claimers, is carded at six furlongs on dirt, and includes the intriguing Taffy Candy. Three-year-old Taffy Candy makes her second start after overcoming the rail draw and a troubled trip to win a New Jersey-bred maiden sprint last August by five lengths.