Frank's Rockette hoping for cleaner trip in Spinaway

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Four weeks ago, Perfect Alibi beat Frank’s Rockette by a half-length in the Grade 2 Adirondack Stakes here, but it was Frank’s Rockette who had a legitimate excuse for getting beat as the 3-5 favorite.

Trainer Bill Mott and owner Frank Fletcher will hope for a cleaner trip when Frank’s Rockette takes on Perfect Alibi and five other juvenile fillies in Sunday’s Grade 1, $350,000 Spinaway Stakes at Saratoga.

Just as they did in the Adirondack, Frank’s Rockette will break from post 2 and Perfect Alibi post 3 in the Spinaway.

In the Adirondack, Frank’s Rockette was sitting right behind the speed. In upper stretch, when Julien Leparoux tried to move Frank’s Rockette off the rail, he got slammed by longshot Fly Away under Luis Saez. Though Frank’s Rockette still got through a hole, she was outfinished by Perfect Alibi, who had rallied five wide under Irad Ortiz Jr.

“Saez made me win a Derby and he cost me an Adirondack,” said Mott, referring to Saez getting disqualified on Maximum Security and Mott’s Country House getting placed first in the Kentucky Derby.

Mott said he was fine with the inside trip Leparoux was getting in the Adirondack to the point of impact.

“It opened up, he started coming through there, he was up in there, and the other horse slammed him,” Mott said.

Prior to the Adirondack, Frank’s Rockette galloped to an 8 3/4-length maiden win at Churchill in June.

Perfect Alibi won her debut by 9 1/2 lengths at Churchill in May, then finished second to Maryanorginger in the Astoria Stakes at Belmont. In the Adirondack, she raced in between horses, then tipped outside of Fly Away when that horse came in on Frank’s Rockette.

“Bill’s filly had some trouble, but I thought our filly got held up a little bit too. But she did have a nice trip,” said Mark Casse, the trainer of Perfect Alibi. “She’s not much of a work horse at all, but she’s trained a little better since the Adirondack.”

Risky Mischief and Figure of Speech each comes off a debut victory on July 31 here. Risky Mischief won a six-furlong race race run over a sealed track by 7 1/2 lengths.

“The time and the [speed figure], I wasn’t so concerned about that because it was a sealed, fast racetrack. They never run fast when it’s like that,” trainer Jeremiah Englehart said. “The fact she handled that gave me a lot of confidence.”

Figure of Speech won a 5 1/2-furlong maiden race by 5 1/2 lengths over a harrowed track later on the same July 31 card.

“She ran well. It wasn’t an Earth-shattering time, but she acts like a horse that’s going to move forward off that race,” said Chad Brown, trainer of Figure of Speech.

Miss Peppina, fourth in the Adirondack, gets Lasix for the first time. Shippy, third in the Schuylerville, and Mundaye Call, beaten a head in a maiden race here on Aug. 11, complete the field.

The Adirondack goes as race 11 on a 12-race card that begins at 12:30 p.m.