Nations Pride rebounds with Saratoga Derby victory
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Nations Pride got an unbothered trip this time, and parlayed it into a tables-turning 1 3/4-length victory in the Grade 1, $1 million Saratoga Derby on Saturday evening at the epynomous track.
Annapolis was second by a head while Classic Causeway, upset winner of the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Derby to start New York's Turf Triple series, was third after setting the pace.
Nations Pride ($6.20), an Irish-born homebred for the international Godolphin operation trained by Charlie Appleby, won two of three starts last year as a juvenile. This year, the son of Teofilo won the Jumeirah Derby in Dubai by 3 1/4 lengths, and the Newmarket Stakes in England by seven lengths before finishing eighth in the Group 1 Epsom Derby in early June.
Sent away favored in the Belmont Derby on July 9, Nations Pride became upset in the starting gate and broke last under Frankie Dettori. After getting held up in traffic, he was as much as eight wide in the stretch, finishing three-quarters of a length short of catching the front-running Classic Causeway.
Reunited with jockey William Buick, who rode him in two outings last year and in both his English starts this year, Nations Pride was again made the post-time favorite for the Saratoga Derby, and rewarded his backers for the continued faith. The colt broke well this time after being mildly coaxed from the gate by Buick, and settled into a good spot stalking in third. About two lengths ahead of the Godolphin colorbearer was Classic Causeway, leading the field through a moderate opening half-mile that was hand-timed in 50.66.
"When he ran at Belmont last time, he really improved with experience," Buick said. "Obviously, it was the first time he ran in America, and he took that experience into the race today, and he's always been super straightforward. I managed to go to the inside, and the pace inside was going forward, too, so I managed to put him in there and get him into a good spot, and he did the rest from then on, really."
Nations Pride began to improve his position around the far turn, as Buick began urging him around the five-sixteenths pole. He collared a game Classic Causeway when straightened away into the stretch and began to edge clear before really hitting his stride in the final yards to extend to his final margin.
The hand-timed final time announced on-track for the 1 3/16 miles on the Mellon turf, still rated firm after rain in mid-afternoon, was 1:54.72.
"He was a bit slow from the gate [at Belmont] and had that wider trip around," Appleby said. "It was a little bit messy, but that was by the by. We came in today confident that if we could just get him to break a bit quicker, and William could get him up in behind the pace, that we felt he was the right horse in the race and could go on and get the job done. It was a great ride by William."
Annapolis, still 1 1/2 lengths behind Classic Causeway in upper stretch, finished with good energy to edge him for second. Classic Causeway held third by a length over Sy Dog. They were followed, in order, by Stone Age, Royal Patronage, Main Event, Grand Sonata, Ethereal Road, and Emmanuel.
"He was happy on the lead, and he ran his race," jockey Julien Leparoux said of Classic Causeway. "We just got beat today, that's it. No excuse."
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The Turf Triple series, which NYRA created in 2019, will conclude with the Grade 3, $1 million Jockey Club Derby at 1 1/2 miles on Sept. 17. The race, which has been held at Belmont in its prior editions, will be contested at Aqueduct as Belmont holds its fall meet there. The Jockey Club Derby is designated as a "Win and You're In" qualifier for the Grade 1, $4 million Breeders' Cup Turf on Nov. 5 at Keeneland
"That's the most realistic aim now," Appleby said.
It was a disappointing weekend for trainer Ken McPeek's turf 3-year-olds. One day prior to Classic Causeway's loss in the Saratoga Derby - after winning the Belmont Derby in his turf debut and second start for McPeek - multiple graded stakes winner Tiz the Bomb, who had been ninth in the Belmont Derby, finished a troubled fourth as the favorite in the Grade 2 National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Stakes. He emerged from the race with an injury, the severity of which has yet to be determined.
"Stumbled into first turn and suffered an injury below his right knee at top of the tendon," McPeek wrote on his Twitter account. "My team and vet have treated him and we are hoping that a scan this week shows nothing long term."