Medallist back at best game - one turn
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Last Saturday at Saratoga, trainer Allen Jerkens pulled off a nifty move by winning the 1 1/4-mile Alabama with Society Selection, who three weeks earlier had won the seven-furlong Test.
On Saturday at Saratoga, Jerkens tries the reverse move with Medallist in the seven-furlong King's Bishop for 3-year-old males. Medallist is coming off a well-beaten fifth-place finish in the 1 1/8-mile Jim Dandy - his two-turn debut - on Aug. 8.
could be the favorite in the Grade 1, $250,000 King's Bishop, the field for which includes seven graded winners. Among the horses that Medallist will face are Bwana Charlie, Pomeroy, and Weigelia, the top three finishers in the Grade 2 Amsterdam on Aug. 7. The race also includes graded stakes winners Fire Slam, Hosco, and Saratoga County. Ice Wynnd Fire completes the field.
Returning to a sprint should be a plus for Medallist, who looked awesome winning one-turn races in the Grade 3 Withers at Aqueduct and Grade 2 Dwyer at Belmont Park.
The speedy Medallist drew the rail and will be ridden by jockey Jorge Chavez in the King's Bishop.
"I wished he was farther outside in the gate," Jerkens said. "The best thing is to let him run his race."
Jerkens said Medallist bled "a little bit" in the Jim Dandy and will run on Lasix.
both possess early speed and figure to be dogging Medallist down the backstretch.
has learned to relax in his races, and came from off the pace to win the Amsterdam by three-quarters of a length over Pomeroy, who had a comfortable lead in the stretch.
In his only other seven-furlong start in a stakes, Bwana Charlie won the Grade 3 Lafayette by 3 1/4 lengths at Keeneland in April.
"That was probably his best race," said Steve Asmussen, Bwana Charlie's trainer.
Shane Sellers rides Bwana Charlie from post 2.
Pomeroy gets an equipment change to blinkers off. Patrick Biancone, Pomeroy's trainer, had wished to remove the blinkers for the Amsterdam, but the colt was coming off an easy win with the blinkers in the Grade 3 Jersey Shore Breeders' Cup. Usually, track officials don't permit blinker changes when a horse is coming off a winning race.
Biancone said Pomeroy was "too keen" with the blinkers in the Amsterdam.
"Seven furlongs is more a job, and without the blinkers, it will be much better for him," Biancone said.
Edgar Prado rides Pomeroy from post 3.
enters the King's Bishop off consecutive wins in the Matt Winn at Churchill Downs, Grade 2 Riva Ridge Breeders' Cup at Belmont, and the Don Bernhardt Memorial at Ellis Park. He won the Matt Winn by five lengths, but the margins in his last two races were only a head.
David Carroll, Fire Slam's trainer, said timing the colt's run is crucial.
"You have to time it right, because when you ask him, he takes off and it's about a three-sixteenths-of-a-mile kick," Carroll said.
Pat Day rides Fire Slam from post 8.
A freshened Hosco, who won the Grade 2 San Miguel at Santa Anita in January, is back sprinting after finishing last in the WinStar Derby in March.
"He's extremely fast, with a lot of heart," said Doug O'Neill, Hosco's trainer.
The field
King's Bishop Stakes
Purse: $250,000; 7 furlongs; Grade 1
| PP | HORSE | JOCKEY | WT. | ODDS |
| 1 | Medallist | J. Chavez | 123 | 3-1 |
| 2 | Bwana Charlie | S. Sellers | 123 | 7-2 |
| 3 | Pomeroy | E. Prado | 121 | 4-1 |
| 4 | Hosco | C. Velasquez | 121 | 12-1 |
| 5 | Weigelia | J. Velazquez | 121 | 5-1 |
| 6 | Ice Wynnd Fire | J. Bailey | 117 | 8-1 |
| 7 | Saratoga County | J. Castellano | 121 | 10-1 |
| 8 | Fire Slam | P. Day | 123 | 5-1 |
* Blinkers off: Pomeroy, Ice Wynnd Fire
* Odds by Steve Grabowski
* Television: Saturday, 5-7 p.m. (Eastern), ESPN