Harper’s Corner flashes speed in Schuylerville
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Maryland-based trainer Cal Lynch hadn’t run a horse in Saratoga in five years. Perhaps that’s why he had trouble getting in the place Friday morning.
“They wouldn’t let me in the stablegate, my license expired,” Lynch said.
The rest of the trainers who had horses in Friday’s Schuylerville Stakes wish they hadn’t let Lynch’s 2-year-old filly Harper’s Corner in the place either.
Alas, they did and Harper’s Corner flaunted her lethal early speed, carrying it all the way en route to a 5 1/4-length victory in the $200,000 Schuylerville, one of three stakes on the opening-day card at Saratoga.
Voyager, a maiden, finished second, 6 1/4 lengths clear of Prime Aurora. Pot’s Right, who stumbled at the start, finished fourth followed by even-money favorite Luminous Beauty and Madelein Swann. Costa Linda and Washton scratched.
Harper’s Corner was ridden to victory by Paco Lopez, who just one race earlier was involved in a spill when his mount I Love Giraffes clipped heels with Pillar of Beauty and went down in the Wild Applause Stakes.
Lopez was one of our horses involved in the spill in which, remarkably, none of the horses appeared seriously injured. Fellow jockey Javier Castellano was taken to Saratoga Hospital complaining of hip pain and Dylan Davis did take off his remaining mounts. Jockey Tyler was cleared to ride and finished out the card.
“Paco’s an iron man, an absolute iron man,” Lynch said. “These guys don’t get enough credit; pound for pound better than any athletes in the country.”
Lopez had ridden Harper’s Corner to a debut victory at Laurel by 7 3/4 lengths. Even though, “she beat nothing at Laurel,” Lopez said, the jockey told Lynch he should run the filly in this race.
“He listened to me,” Lopez said. “She came here and took the world on today… He knows that filly is a special filly.”
Lynch worked Harper’s Corner on the turf on June 25, putting her behind horses including Cairos Surprise, who was coming off a stakes win at Monmouth Park. Lynch felt that a turf work would be easier on the filly and he was trying to teach her to rate.
But when the gates opened Friday, Harper’s Corner jetted to the lead. She was a length in front through a quarter in 22.02 seconds and a half-mile in 45.18. She widened the lead from there as pace-pursuer Luminous Beauty faded.
Harper’s Corner, a daughter of Speaker’s Corner owned by Charles Biggs, covered the six furlongs in 1:09.96 and returned $26 as the second-longest price on the board.
“First race, she was probably 75 percent, we were that confident she was better,” Lynch said. “We were trying to get to here.”
Lynch, with an assist from the racing office, finally got through the stablegate and Harper’s Corner brought him to the winner’s circle.
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