Frosted, Texas Red battle in Jim Dandy
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Regardless of who eventually shows up in the starting gate for Saturday’s Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga, Frosted and Texas Red are the two horses to beat in the 1 1/8-mile race, which serves as a prep for the $1.25 million Travers on Aug. 29.
Seven were entered in the Jim Dandy, but Upstart, the Holy Bull Stakes winner, is going to scratch to run in Sunday’s $1.75 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park. Competitive Edge and Tekton also were cross-entered in other races, but it appears that at least one could run in the Jim Dandy. Tekton was entered in Friday’s Curlin Stakes here. Competitive Edge was entered in the Haskell.
The Jim Dandy has been a race the connections of Frosted and Texas Red have zeroed in on for a long time. Frosted, who won the Grade 1 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct in April, shipped to Saratoga two days after he finished second to American Pharoah in the Belmont Stakes.
“Our horse is doing great, and that’s all we can worry about is our horse,” said Kiaran McLaughlin, the trainer of Frosted. “We’re ready to go.”
:: DRF Live: Watch live handicapping analysis starting at 4:00 p.m. Eastern
After Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Texas Red recovered from a foot problem that forced him to miss the Triple Crown series, trainer Keith Desormeaux targeted the Jim Dandy and Travers. His summer campaign started with a respectable second-place finish in the Grade 3 Dwyer behind the undefeated Speightster.
Texas Red signaled his readiness for the Jim Dandy by firing a bullet five-furlong work in 59.60 seconds last Saturday.
“That’s atypical for him,” said Julie Clark, assistant to Desormeaux. “It drew him up and got his attention, but he’s since gotten back to being his old laid-back self. He usually needs a race or two to get him real fit.”
Japan has won two straight, including the three-horse Easy Goer Stakes last out. The two horses who finished behind him came back to win stakes in their next outing.
Frammento has run in five graded stakes, with his best finish a third in the Fountain of Youth.
The Jim Dandy goes as race 10 on an 11-race program that includes the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt for older sprinters, the Grade 2 Amsterdam for 3-year-old sprinters, and the Grade 2 Bowling Green on turf.
KEY CONTENDERS
Frosted (Last 3 Beyers: 98-100-103)
◗ Before chasing American Pharoah in the Kentucky Derby (finishing fourth) and Belmont (second), he won the Wood Memorial, which like the Jim Dandy is a two-turn, 1 1/8-mile race.
◗ Figures to get a good stalking trip from the outside post off Japan and either Competitive Edge or Tekton. Joel Rosario rides.
“The post is probably good for us,” McLaughlin said. “He always breaks sharp. If he needs to be close, Joel can make that decision.”
Texas Red (Last 3 Beyers: 99-91-104)
◗ Gets to run around two turns for the first time since his tour-de-force 6 1/2-length victory in last November’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
◗ Had a good prep when a clear second behind Speightster in the Dwyer, a one-turn, one-mile race at Belmont.
“I think he’ll really move forward,” Clark said. “I’m hoping he peaks toward the Travers, but I’m super-happy with how he is coming into this race, too.”
Japan (Last 3 Beyers: 89-88-89)
◗ While he beat only two horses in the Easy Goer, trainer Bill Mott noted that he did not have an easy trip. Japan defeated Stanford, ridden by Javier Castellano, by 1 1/4 lengths, with Nonna’s Boy (John Velazquez) another neck back in third.
“He had to overcome the Johnny and Javier mousetrap,” Mott said. “They had him for a little while around the turn, and he shook loose. Once he was able to shake loose, he came running.”