Orseno taking a shot with Aye Eye in Hopeful
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Though Aye Eye is entered in Saturday’s $100,000 Sapling Stakes at Monmouth Park, he was cross-entered on Thursday for Monday’s Grade 1, $300,000 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga and that is where he is expected to run, according to trainer Joe Orseno.
Why not?
After overcoming a terrible start and an 18-length deficit, Aye Eye came with a furious rally from last under Javier Castellano to win a six-furlong maiden race by 1 1/2 lengths. Trainer Joe Orseno said he entered Aye Eye in the Sapling in the event the Hopeful came up a big field. Entries for the race were being taken Thursday and eight were expected.
“It’s a no-brainer for us,” Orseno said about running in the Hopeful. “He didn’t get a very big number” – a 62 Beyer Speed Figure – “so that’s what was kind holding us back. But we said, so what? The heck with the number. We know what we saw, we know how he did it, so we’re just going with that.”
In his debut Aye Eye, a son of Essential Quality, broke from the rail. He hit the side of the gate hard coming out of the gate and dropped way out of it. He wasn’t in the television screen until the field hit the quarter pole and Aye Eye was still double-digit lengths back at that point of the race.
“I didn’t expect him to hit the side of the gate, which attributed to him getting back that far,” Orseno said. “Javier just sat on him and let him get himself together. At that point, when I saw him getting in the race, I thought maybe he’s going to get fourth and I thought that would be a really good race for him if he got up to be fourth after what happened. But that last eighth of a mile? There are no words.”
Just above the furlong-marker, Aye Eye was really running, dove down to the inside and blew post Bod Beach and Escape Hall for the victory.
“The horse trained like he had some talent, not that kind of talent,” Orseno said. “He opened up all our eyes, really.”
There is some other talent entered in the Hopeful as well. Trainer Bob Baffert has shipped in Buetane, a debut winner at Del Mar on Aug. 3. Todd Pletcher has the pair of debut winners, Ted Noffey and Emphasis. Steve Asmussen entered Romeo, winner of the Bashford Manor and a recent sales purchase for $1.7 million, and debut winner Soldier n Diplomat. Mark Casse and Butch Reid entered second-out winners Curtain Call and Flyin Hawaiian, respectively.
Monday’s closing-day card also features the $135,000 Saranac Stakes, which drew a field of 12, led by multiple stakes winners Mi Bago and Tank.
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