Gargan looking to bring Saratoga momentum to Belmont

ELMONT, N.Y. – The usual names were among the top 10 in the final Saratoga trainer standings, with one notable exception.

Danny Gargan finished ninth in the standings with 10 wins from 38 starters, by far his best Saratoga meet. Gargan had won 11 races over the previous four Saratoga meets combined.

“I thought I could win seven or eight – that was our goal,” Gargan said. “I probably entered a couple of horses wrong and got unlucky with a couple of trips, but it still worked out.”

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Gargan hopes things continue to work out at this Belmont fall meet, where he will run several of the nine horses he claimed at Saratoga, including Portfolio Manager, who runs in Saturday’s third race. Portfolio Manager was one of three horses Gargan and Midwest Thoroughbreds claimed from Chad Brown for $40,000 each. They also claimed Got the Gist, who ran second in a New York-bred maiden special weight race off the claim for Gargan, and Follow the Signs, who won a maiden $40,000 claimer by 11 1/4 lengths.

“They just happened to be the horses I liked,” Gargan said. “I don’t single anybody out, it’s all about the horse. Chad’s running live horses. I’ve had a lot of luck claiming off him in the past. I’ve had some good, I’ve had some bad. I’m not saying the horses I took are worth the money. You never know till you run them. It’s a lot of luck.”

Gargan claimed nine horses and lost eight through the claim box at Saratoga. He said he has 32 head stabled at Belmont, including 20 for Midwest Thoroughbreds, a high-action outfit headed by Rich Papiese. Midwest was responsible for eight of Gargan’s nine Saratoga claims.

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Gargan also has some young horses, including the New York-bred 2-year-old filly Trouble for Skylar, an eight-length debut winner who finished seventh in the Seeking the Ante Stakes. Gargan plans to try her on turf. He is also looking forward to getting the 2-year-old Crossways started at this meet.

Gargan took some shots in Grade 1 stakes with Divine Miss Grey, who finished seventh in the Test, and Phi Beta Express, who ran seventh in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial. Both horses have conditions left and should run at this meet.

“We won’t be super strong at the beginning of this meet, but I think toward the end of the meet, we’ll have some really nice horses running that we claimed,” Gargan said.