Get out the dart board for Fourstardave
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – When the connections of Tepin announced that their champion mare wouldn’t be running in Saturday’s $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap, the race went from being an exhibition to an extremely challenging handicapping puzzle.
It’s not a stretch to say that any of the nine runners entered for turf – another was entered for the main track only – could win the Fourstardave, which will be run as a Grade 1 for the first time this year.
“It’s a very contentious, wide-open event,” said David Donk, the trainer of King Kreesa, who finished second to Wise Dan in this race in 2013 and fourth, beaten just a length, to Grand Arch last year.
Throw in the variable of less-than-firm turf due to forecasted rain Friday and Saturday, and the plot thickens.
The likelihood of soft ground is the reason Chad Brown decided to leave Takeover Target in New York for this race as opposed to shipping to Chicago for Saturday’s Arlington Million. Takeover Target beat Fourstardave rivals Ring Weekend and Grand Arch in the Grade 2 Dixie at Pimlico on May 21 over “good” ground. That was his first start with blinkers, and he equaled his career-best Beyer Speed Figure, a 100.
However, Takeover Target finished fourth to Obviously in the Grade 3 Poker in his next start. The turf was firm that day, the Poker was a one-turn mile, and Obviously was simply a monster in winning that race. This race will be run at a mile around two turns, perhaps over soft ground.
“Getting around two turns, getting soft ground, and some pace ultimately were of more importance than anything else in deciding to stay here,” Brown said.
Manny Franco will ride Takeover Target.
In the Dixie, Ring Weekend and Grand Arch each were coming off a layoff.
Ring Weekend, a 5-year-old gelding by Tapit, was making his first start in 14 1/2 months, since he won the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita.
“It was a shame it came up soft that day,” said Graham Motion, the trainer of Ring Weekend. “Not that he doesn’t handle it, but it made it that much harder coming off a layoff.”
Grand Arch won this race last year after finishing second to Seek Again the previous year. He, too, ran well in the Dixie, his first start since running third in the Breeders’ Cup Mile over “good” turf.
“He ran decent on it in the Breeders’ Cup, and he run good on it at Pimlico, and he has won on it at Keeneland off the layoff, too, so he does handle it, but I wouldn’t say it was his chosen surface,” trainer Brian Lynch said of soft turf.
Tourist, the 5-2 morning-line favorite for the Fourstardave despite his 0-for-7 record in graded stakes, enters off a second-place finish to Midnight Storm in the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita. Last fall, he finished third, beaten a neck by Grand Arch, in the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland.
The Fourstardave goes as the 10th of 11 races on Saturday and is the second leg of a daily double wager that starts with the Arlington Million.
Key Contenders
Ring Weekend, by Tapit
Last 3 Beyers: 100-108-86
◗ Foot issues sidelined him for more than a year, but he came back with a terrific performance in the Dixie. They flared up again following a June 18 workout, forcing him to miss a scheduled prep.
“We were planning to run before this flare-up with his foot issue,” Motion said. “That’s why he ended up having more time in between races.”
Takeover Target, by Harlan’s Holiday
Last 3 Beyers: 94-100-96
◗ Moves up on soft turf and has a stakes win over this course in the Grade 2 Hall of Fame in 2015.
◗ Has made his last two starts with blinkers.
“I like this horse in blinkers a lot more,” Brown said. “He has a win over the course. He’s got some things going for him. He’s going to have to run a career best to win.”
Grand Arch, by Arch
Last 3 Beyers: 89-99-102
◗ Defending winner of this race, he is coming off a last-place finish in the Grade 3 Poker, a race run over firm turf.
“It wasn’t a great performance, so that’s always in the back of your mind, but he’s trained good since,” Lynch said. “And he’s always run well here, so I got to go with confidence that he likes this course, and he’s doing well going into it.”
Tourist, by Tiznow
Last 3 Beyers: 109-97-103
◗ Comes off a runner-up performance to Midnight Storm in the Shoemaker Mile. Midnight Storm came back to win the Grade 2 Eddie Read at Del Mar.
◗ His lone stakes win came over this course going a mile in 2014.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 6 Tourist. Trainer Bill Mott is 37-3-4-8 with a $0.84 ROI over the past five years in turf graded stakes at Saratoga. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 1 Reporting Star. Trainer Elizabeth Voss is 73-13-9-4 with a $3.90 ROI over the past five years in turf routes shorter than two miles. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 3 A Lot. Trainer Chad Brown is 11-1-2-1 with a $1.03 ROI over the past five years going sprint to route in turf graded stakes. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 7 King Kreesa. Trainer David Donk is 5-0-0-0 over the past five years in graded stakes at Saratoga. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan