Midnight Still up for the test against tougher foes in Hopeful
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Midnight Still got a pretty good education as well as a victory from his first two career starts racing at distances shorter than which he should excel. Sunday, Midnight Still will try to put his lessons to good use when he gets a little more ground, albeit against a higher caliber of competition, in the Grade 1, $300,000 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga.
Midnight Still made his first two starts at five and 5 1/2 furlongs, finishing third on debut at Churchill Downs in June and then winning a maiden race by 6 1/4 lengths here July 11. In both races, Midnight Still broke from the rail, took some dirt, and came with a stretch rally.
“First time, he broke sharp, was forced to sit in behind horses, split horses at the quarter pole, and was running on,” trainer Kinnon LaRose said. “He was running late and just ran out of ground. Second time out, down on the rail, we were forced to eat some dirt down in there. He handled it well, and when [Flavien] Prat tipped him outside, he finished well. Hopefully, he’ll handle more ground.”
Midnight Still is by Curlin out of a Malibu Moon mare, so pedigree suggests the added distance should suit him. The third generation of his family includes Favorite Trick, the 1997 Hopeful winner and Horse of the Year.
In the six weeks since his maiden win, Midnight Still has put in a series of solid workouts. Two back, he went five furlongs with Stress Relief, the Adirondack winner who was scheduled to run in Saturday’s Grade 1 Spinaway. In his last work, Midnight Still worked a half-mile in 47 seconds, the fastest of 127 works at the distance over Saratoga’s main track. Junior Alvarado was aboard for that work and will ride him in the Hopeful.
“We wanted something to sharpen him up,” said LaRose, who has won four races with juveniles at his first Saratoga meet. “We’re excited about running him.”
Midnight Still drew post 5 in an eight-horse field that is expected to stay intact. High Official, entered in Saturday’s Grade 3 With Anticipation on turf, is likely to run here, trainer Todd Pletcher said. Mystrix, entered in a Saturday maiden race, will instead run in the Hopeful, trainer Danny Gargan said Friday. Mystrix was beaten just a head in his 6 1/2-furlong debut on Aug. 8.
U. S. S. Valor, the third-place finisher in an Aug. 8 maiden, is entered in the same maiden race Mystrix is in Saturday. Gargan holds that Shug McGaughey runner in high regard and is opting not to face him. He believes that horse would be the favorite in the Hopeful.
“I think [U. S. S. Valor] is a seriously good horse,” Gargan said. “I watched his race, I watched his replay, if he runs an 88 Beyer [the figure he earned on debut] I bet the stakes won’t run that fast.”
Further, Gargan prefers the outside draw for Mystrix in the Hopeful compared to post 2 in the maiden.
“On the outside we can sit or if we want to go to the lead we can go,” said Gargan, still looking for his first win of the meet.
Pletcher, who has won the Hopeful five times including last year with Ted Noffey, has been impressed with how well High Official has worked on dirt, which is the reason he is likely to give the Hopeful a shot.
Booked, trained by Steve Asmussen, is 2 for 3 at Saratoga with a maiden win in June, a six-length victory in the Grade 3 Sanford in July, and a runner-up finish behind Twinkle Town in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special on Aug. 1. In the Special, Booked broke slow and was rushed up into a very fast opening quarter of 21.82 seconds.
“If they went 21 and 4, it looked like he went 21 and 1, didn’t it?” Asmussen said. “Best case scenario, he breaks well and he’s handy. I believe the [The Good Life] was very fast away from there in his one run, I wouldn’t expect anything different from him. For Booked to beat that talented a group, he’s not going to be able to make any mistakes.”
The Good Life, trained by Brad Cox, was indeed quick away from the blocks in his July 18 debut, which he won by 3 1/2 lengths. A son of Life Is Good, The Good Life shipped back to Churchill Downs after his win here because his regular exercise rider is based there, Cox said.
Of The Good Life, Cox said, he “physically has developed since he won up here first time.”
Lifesong, another son of Life Is Good, was a stalking winner of a six-furlong maiden race on July 26 at Ellis Park for Will Walden.
Flight Command was an impressive 10-length debut winner at Aqueduct in June. He stumbled at the break of the Grade 2 Saratoga Special and his race was basically over at that point as he finished last. Trainer Rudy Rodriguez is adding blinkers to his equipment Saturday.
Constant Force, a winner of a maiden auction race here Aug. 7, completes the field.
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