Holiday Star gets more ground in John's Call
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Graham Motion has gotten his 2014 Saratoga session off to a hot start, and things could heat up even more for the Maryland-based trainer when he sends out the improving Holiday Star as one of the favorites in Wednesday’s $100,000 John’s Call.
A field of 10 was drawn for the 1 5/8-mile John’s Call, with the two most recognizable names in the lineup, Alpha and Micromanage, not expected to run unless the race comes off the turf.
Holiday Star showed promise at 3 but has been patiently handled this season, winning one of three starts while coming off a third-place finish when stretched out to 1 1/2 miles for the first time in an overnight stakes at Delaware Park.
“I thought [Holiday Star] ran well the last time but might have been left with a little too much to do,” Motion said. “As a 3-year-old, we really liked him. I ran him in an allowance race at a mile and one-quarter, which I thought was a good effort against older horses, and then we ended up having to stop on him. This is going to be a big jump for him, but it’s always been my goal to get back to running him in these kind of races, and I think the extra distance, going a mile and five-eighths, is really what he wants.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 10 Holiday Star. Trainer Graham Motion is 11 for 84 with a $3.65 ROI over the past five years in turf routes of 10 furlongs and longer with a purse of at least $100,000.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Alpha, the 2012 Travers winner, was entered for the main track only by trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, while his colleague, Todd Pletcher, said Micromanage, who finished second in the 12-furlong, Grade 2 Brooklyn this spring at Belmont Park, would run next in the Birdstone unless the John’s Call is taken off the grass.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 Micromanage and No. 8 Winning Cause. Trainer Todd Pletcher is 4 for 48 with a $1.37 ROI over the past five years in turf routes of 10 furlongs and longer with a purse of at least $100,000.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
TOP CONTENDERS
Tricky Hat (Last 3 Beyers: 62-88-93)
◗ Handled 13 furlongs nicely in his 2013 finale at Keeneland when finishing third, beaten only a length, in the Sycamore.
◗ Must prove he can bounce back from a dismal effort turning back to nine furlongs when facing tougher Grade 2 opposition last out at Monmouth Park.
Winning Cause (Last 3 Beyers 98-103-94)
◗ The class of the field, coming off a pair of graded stakes placings and a fourth-place finish in the Grade 1 United Nations.
◗ He should not have a problem handling the added distance, according to trainer Pletcher, who said, “I thought he ran really well in the United Nations first time at a mile and three-eighths, so I think a little longer distance suits him well.”
Holiday Star (Last 3 Beyers: 87-81-79)
◗ He enters the race off a career-best effort from a Beyer Speed Figure standpoint when stretched around three turns for the first time.
◗ He not only faces the toughest test of his career but must do so in his first start over the local turf course.
Grand Rapport (Last 3 Beyers: 88-89-86)
◗ He showed a real affinity for the added ground when finishing second going 1 1/2 miles and stepping up into allowance competition earlier in the meet.
◗ He has proven to be a horse for the course, having finished second or better in all three local starts, but will get a class check trying stakes company for the first time.