Mott, Brown, Pletcher rich with juvenile talent at Saratoga

The record will show that trainer Bill Mott’s 2-year-old class of 2018 produced the first- and third-place finishers of the 2019 Kentucky Derby. While neither Country House nor Tacitus made to the races until the fall, Mott’s three wins with 2-year-olds at the 2018 Saratoga meet equaled his most productive showing in that category since 2007, when he won 11 juvenile races at the Spa.

Mott appears to have a solid group of 2-year-olds this summer, especially if first impressions count for anything. On June 21 at Churchill Downs, Mott debuted Frank’s Rockette, an Into Mischief filly who won a five-furlong maiden race by 8 3/4 lengths. She shipped to Saratoga shortly thereafter and could very well show up in a race like the Adirondack or Spinaway at the meet.

“Overall, it looks better,” Mott said of his 2019 2-year-old crop. “Some years you have some useful horses with no big horse. Last year, we had a couple of big horses with no middle of the market.”

This year, Mott has some babies for the powerful Godolphin Stable, including Lake Avenue, a daughter of Tapit out of Grade 1 winner Game Face. She recently worked with Lucky Dime (by Creative Cause), a half-sister to Mitole, recent winner of the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap.

“She doesn’t act like a sprinter,” Mott said of Lucky Dime.

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Antoinette (Hard Spun), out of the Group 2 winner Shuruq, is another horse Mott has for Godolphin who is likely to be seen later in the meet.

Other Mott 2-year-olds to look for this meet include Forza Di Oro (Speightstown), Plea (Lea), Sprawl (City Zip), Tactical Move (First Defence), No Salt (Tonalist), and an unnamed Tiznow colt out of the dam Marquee Delivery. He is a half-brother to Promises Fulfilled, winner of last year’s Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens at Saratoga.

“He’s a lot of horse,” Mott said.

In 2018, Chad Brown had his best Saratoga meet ever with 2-year-olds, winning 10 races from 40 starters. Naturally, he appears loaded again. Kittansett (American Pharoah) is a colt out of a multiple Grade 2-winning dam and has shown promise in the morning. Basquiat is another son of American Pharoah out of a dam who has thrown two winners. Other Brown 2-year-old colts include Democratic Values (Honor Code) and Vintage Print (Curlin), a $1.8 million purchase.

Turf fillies have always been Brown’s specialty, and Sketches of Spain (Lope de Vega), Cost Benefit (Dansili), and Counterparty Risk (Australia) were all purchased in Europe last fall as yearlings. Americano Girl (Medaglia d’Oro) is likely to be seen late in the meet.

From 2009 through 2017, Todd Pletcher averaged 15 wins a meet with his 2-year-olds at Saratoga. Last year, his juvenile crop won just six races at the Spa.

Pletcher has plenty of high-powered pedigrees, topped by a half-brother to 2014 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner California Chrome. The colt is out of the mare Love the Chase, but unlike her first four foals, who were by Lucky Pulpit, this one is by Tapit and brought $1.1 million at auction.

“We’ll look at Book 2 at Saratoga and try to stretch him out,” Pletcher said. “He seems like a quality colt that’s been training steadily along.”

Pletcher has an unnamed son of American Pharoah who is a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Ice Box and who brought $1.6 million at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream 2-year-olds in training sale. Another American Pharoah to look for is an unnamed colt out of the dam Excited, who threw Thrilled, a debut winner on turf at Saratoga.

Other colts to tab include Soviet (by Super Saver), Verrazano First (Verrazano), and an unnamed Candy Ride colt owned by St. Elias Stable and Mike Repole who was working with Dr. Post, a highly regarded colt who disappointed on debut July 4 at Belmont. Irish Front (Summer Front) is a half-brother to debut winner McErin.

Noudha (American Pharoah), Abilene Trail (Curlin), and Indawin (Aikenite) are a few Pletcher fillies to tab. Pletcher plans to run Integral (Algorithms), a debut winner at Gulfstream, and Kiss the Girl, a debut winner at Belmont, in Thursday’s opening-day Schuylerville Stakes..

Steve Asmussen won six baby races at the Churchill meet, two with the filly Magic Dance. She will be in Saratoga, but Asmussen isn’t sure if she’ll run at the meet. Among his maidens he expects to run are Basin (Liam’s Map), Shoplifted (Into Mischief), Wayne O (Into Mischief), and the filly Irrepressible (Into Mischief).

Jeremiah Englehart won three races with 2-year-olds at the Belmont meet, though Astoria Stakes winner Maryanorginger will miss the Saratoga meet with an injury. Among the maidens Englehart figures to run at Saratoga are Two Point Oh (Uncle Mo), Brilliant Brooks (Candy Ride), and fillies Risky Mischief (Into Mischief), Paterson (Uncle Mo), and an unnamed filly by Bayern. Good Shabbos, who was beaten a nose in her debut at Monmouth Park, is entered for Friday.

Jorge Abreu, a former assistant to Brown, has 25 2-year-olds in his care this year. Some who are likely to run at Saratoga include Nettleton (Kantharos), who is related to three winners, and Ghosting Kim (Ghostzapper), who is out of a six-time stakes-winning mare and is a half-sister to three winners. On turf, look for Memphis Showboat and My First Exwife, both by The Factor.

Christophe Clement has already won this year with the 2-year-old Listentoyourheart. Others to tab include City Man (Mucho Macho Man), Fly Fly Away (First Samurai), Jewel of Arabia (Daredevil), Maxwell Esquire (Discreet Cat), and Percentage (The Factor).

Shug McGaughey has a handful of 2-year-olds he’s looking to run at Saratoga, including Mrs. Danvers (Tapit), who on June 21 worked a half-mile in 46.20 seconds at Keeneland. Others include Amends (Uncle Mo), American Oak (Curlin), and Cloudbased (Orb), whom McGaughey is targeting for the turf after a well-beaten fifth in a maiden race. McGaughey has Lexitoga, a New York-bred son of Honor Code, for Calumet Farm.

Among the notable 2-year-olds for Linda Rice are Montauk Daddy (Daddy Long Legs), Light in the Sky (Tale of the Cat), Cold Hard Cash (Maclean’s Music), Blackjack Davey (Posse), Princess Fawzia (Cairo Prince), and Spitball (City Zip).

In his heyday, trainer Stanley Hough was known for his work with 2-year-olds. He’ll be at Saratoga this summer with several, including an unnamed Hard Spun filly who is a half-sister to Ginger N Rye, a stakes winner on turf at the Spa. Hough also has Polished Copper (Algorithms), a filly who has been training sharply. Necker Island (Hard Spun) is a colt to tab.

Dermot Magner sent out the New York-bred Fierce Lady (Competitive Edge) to an impressive debut win. She was a late addition to Monday’s Fasig-Tipton horses of racing age sale in Kentucky. Magner has a pair of expensive purchases in Inveterate (Palace Malice) and Aziza (Cairo Prince) that he hopes to debut at the Saratoga meet.