A. P. Indian, Marking get rematch in Forego
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – When they last met, A. P. Indian and Marking were side by side at the finish of the Belmont Sprint Championship, a Grade 3, $400,000 race July 9 in which they finished first and second. A. P. Indian and Marking will start from posts 11 and 12 Saturday as the top two choices in the Grade 1, $700,000 Forego at Saratoga.
A. P. Indian bravely held off Marking to win the Belmont Sprint Championship by a head. A. P. Indian saved ground and cut the corner into the stretch of that seven-furlong race, while Marking was fanned wide as he challenged outside the pacesetting Private Zone nearing the stretch. Marking tried to get past A. P. Indian for much of the final sixteenth but came up short.
A. P. Indian has since returned to win the six-furlong, Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga by 1 1/4 lengths and, at age 6, is enjoying his best season on the track. He is a perfect 4 for 4 on the season for trainer Arnaud Delacour, even though he finished second and was placed first via a disqualification in his first start of 2016, the Decathlon Stakes at Monmouth Park.
:: Travers Stakes: Get PPs for Saturday’s card at Saratoga
Last year, his first with Delacour, he went 3 for 6 while winning the Decathlon and the Donald LeVine Memorial at Parx Racing.
“People ask me, ‘What’s the difference with him this year from last?’ and I think it isn’t very much,” Delacour said. “When he ran at Monmouth and Keeneland last year, he had very good numbers. I think he’s at a similar level.”
A. P. Indian and Marking both have sharp early speed. It would be no surprise to see them hook up from the get-go in the seven-furlong Forego.
Marking, 4, won his first two starts impressively for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin last fall, then was sent to Santa Anita, where he finished second to Runhappy in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes on Dec. 26. Marking made three starts over the winter in Dubai and then finished fourth to his stablemate Frosted in the Met Mile prior to the Belmont Sprint Championship.
If A. P. Indian and Marking compromise each other on the front end of the Forego, it could benefit Anchor Down, who is likely to come from off the pace.
Anchor Down, trained by Todd Pletcher, finished sixth in the Vanderbilt after bumping with Catalina Red after breaking from post 1. He has post 5 on Saturday.
“Historically, he’s not at his best from an inside post, and he got banged around a bit at the start,” Pletcher said. “The seven furlongs should be a little better for him than six. His real niche is a one-turn mile, but there isn’t a race like that here for him.”
The Forego is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge race. The winner will receive a fees-paid berth in the $1.5 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita on Nov. 5.
Forego, race 9
Key contenders
A. P. Indian, by Indian Charlie
Last 3 Beyers: 107-102-99
◗ Delacour said he has worked A. P. Indian twice at Fair Hill since the Vanderbilt even though his past performances show only one breeze.
“I gave him an easy half-mile and then a good five-eighths,” Delacour said. “He couldn’t be doing any better. He’s trained well ever since the Vanderbilt.”
◗ The Vanderbilt was Delacour’s first Grade 1 win.
Marking, by Bernardini
Last 3 Beyers: 102-95-NA
◗ With only eight starts, he still may not have delivered his best. This will be his third start since returning from an 11-week freshening following his Meydan starts.
Anchor Down, by Tapit
Last 3 Beyers: 93-98-105
◗ He earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 105 in winning the one-mile Westchester three starts back at Belmont. He was second in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap to Frosted prior to the Vanderbilt.
Catalina Red, by Munnings
Last 3 Beyers: 101-100-105
◗ Finished third in the Vanderbilt from post 2 after bumping with Anchor Down after the start. Trained by Jorge Navarro, he will have to overcome post 1 in this 12-horse field.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 1 Catalina Red. Trainer Jorge Navarro is 33-4-3-6 with a $0.94 ROI over the past five years in races on the NYRA circuit. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
:: Learn more about Formulator | Buy Formulator PPs
:: Follow the @DRFFormulator Twitter feed and get free Formulator facts