Olympiad gains BC Classic berth with Jockey Club Gold Cup triumph

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Disappointment turned into delight in a span of 35 minutes for trainer Bill Mott on Saturday at Saratoga as Olympiad took over from Tax turning for home and rolled to a two-length victory in the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup.

The victory came one race after Mott watched War Like Goddess, the 1-5 favorite, fall a neck short to Virginia Joy in the Grade 2, $600,000 Flower Bowl Stakes.

“There’s a lot of ups and downs, and I mean that was a very big disappointment to me because I felt like I had the best horse in the race,” Mott said of War Like Goddess.

Olympiad, the 8-5 favorite, proved the best horse in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, sitting a perfect stalking trip under Junior Alvarado, taking the lead turning for home and holding Americanrevolution at bay in the final furlong. Those same two horses finished one-two in the Grade 2 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs on July 2.

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The victory was the first in a Grade 1 for Olympiad, who had a five-race winning streak snapped last month when he finished fourth in the Grade 1 Whitney.

“It’s gratifying to see him come back,” Mott said. “The other one the other day was almost too bad to be true considering the form he had been in the previous five races. It’s just good to see him bounce back. He’s a Grade 1 winner, he’s won six out of seven races this year and he’s got a pretty good record going for himself.”

Olympiad, a son of Speightstown, added the Gold Cup to graded stakes victories in the Mineshaft, New Orleans Classic at Fair Grounds, and the Alysheba and Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs. He began the year with an allowance win at Gulfstream Park.

Mott deduced the heat may have affected Olympiad in the Whitney, in which he finished fourth of five, 9 1/4 lengths behind Life Is Good.

Mott said Olympiad was quiet in the paddock for the Whitney, but was more alert on Saturday.

“Today, he looked like he had a little extra energy and had a little extra bounce in his step just before we put the jocks on,” Mott said.

In the Gold Cup, Junior Alvarado gave Olympiad the same stalk-from-second trip he had given him in his previous five victories this year. This time the target was Tax, who, under Kendrick Carmouche, set factions of 24.54 seconds for the quarter, 49.70 for the half, 1:13.47 for six furlongs and 1:37.36 for the mile. Olympiad, never more than a length off the leader, had Americanrevolution right to his outside, but he made the first run at Tax and Americanrevolution couldn’t close the gap.

Olympiad, owned by Grandview Equine, Cheyenne Stable and LNJ Foxwoods, covered the 1 1/4 miles in 2:02.11 and returned $5.40 as the favorite. Olympiad was given a 105 Beyer Speed Figure.

Alvarado said he was confused by Olympiad’s Whitney performance and was happy to see Olympiad bounce back in the Jockey Club.

“I’m so happy today he redeemed himself, he showed up and showed that he’s the horse we always thought and we are going to the Breeders’ Cup with a win,” Alvarado said.

The Gold Cup victory earned Olympiad an automatic, fees-paid berth into the Breeders’ Cup Classic to be held Nov. 5 at Keeneland.

The Todd Pletcher-trained quartet of Americanrevolution, Untreated, Keepmeinmind and Dynamic One finished second, fourth, sixth and seventh, respectively.

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Pletcher said Americanrevolution “ran well. He got stuck three-wide all the way around there. Olympiad got the jump on him just at the quarter pole and he was playing catch-up from there,” Pletcher said. “He kept grinding away, he saw out the mile and a quarter no problem, he just couldn’t quite close the gap that was created there at the top of the stretch.”

Pletcher felt the lack of pace hurt Keepmeinmind and Dynamic One, who finished fifth and sixth, respectively. Finishing behind Dynamic One, in order, were Chess Chief and Tax.

“That was my biggest concern," Pletcher said. "There wasn’t really much pace on paper and it kind of unfolded that way and created an advantage for the horses up close,” which included Untreated, who was beaten only a head for third by First Captain.