Friday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Fond Farewell can build upon impressive debut
Saratoga | Race 9 | Post Time 5:38 p.m. (ET)
Likely favorite Asbury Park (No. 1) is going to be a handful as he steps up against winners for the first time, but he also figures to be a very short price going out for popular connections. This colt was pretty impressive when he won his maiden here during Belmont Stakes week. He had performed deceptively well on debut last summer, racing greenly before galloping out with a flourish past the wire. Maturity often mitigates those issues, and he really seemed to put it all together when he returned from the layoff last time. Some give in the ground arguably enhanced his performance, since he does have a European pedigree, but he nevertheless seems like a colt with real talent. However, there isn’t as much speed signed on here as there was when this race was initially drawn last Friday, and he did benefit from an honest pace last time.
I’m not as keen on the two horses that I pegged as the second and third choices on the morning line. King of Ashes (No. 7) has been in good form, but he’s gotten very good trips in his last two races and may not benefit from the slight cutback in distance. Strate Cash (No. 6) may look intriguing to some based on his visually impressive debut win at Santa Anita. Yet he was going for a shrewd ownership operation that probably had him primed to win first time out. He’s been sold privately since then, and I don’t like the way he’s trained since coming into Cherie DeVaux’s care.
If I’m going to take a horse stretching out, I would much rather go to Fond Farewell (No. 4). This gelding ships in from Kentucky for the ever-dangerous Will Walden off an encouraging debut victory. He took money to go off favored in that spot and gave his backers a scare after he broke poorly from the starting gate. However, he recovered to settle off the pace before advancing willingly through traffic in the lane. He had to alter course in tight quarters at midstretch and showed some professionalism to maintain his momentum through the late stages. The second-, fifth-, and seventh-place finishers from that race have all returned to win, suggesting that he beat a field of decent quality. While the debut was just 5 1/2 furlongs, he looked like a horse that should appreciate more ground, finishing with big, loping strides. He’s certainly bred to stretch out and may have an opportunity to attain better forward position here if he breaks more alertly.