Ready to Purrform takes Hall of Fame Stakes by the scruff of the neck
SARATOGA SPRINGS N.Y. - Ready to Purrform was just that Friday at Saratoga, leading throughout before holding safe a belated bid from Wit to register a 1 1/4-length triumph in the $200,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes.
Even trainer Brad Cox admitted he was a bit surprised to see Ready to Purrform take command right from the outset of the Grade 2 Hall of Fame. He sprinted clear of 5-2 favorite Tiz the Bomb and expected pacesetter Chanceux approaching the clubhouse turn of the one-mile turf race for 3-year-olds. With Joel Rosario aboard, Ready to Purrform was able to set a modest early pace of 47.17 seconds for the opening half while attended by Tiz the Bomb in the run down the backstretch. Ready to Purrform shook free of his early pursuers when roused in early stretch, opened a comfortable advantage a sixteenth out and was never seriously threatened while kept to task by Rosario to the end.
Wit, making his turf debut in the Hall of Fame, settled near the rear of the eight horse field, about 10 lengths behind the leader after the opening half-mile. Wit began to advance approaching the quarter pole, swung out to the middle of the course to continue his rally at the head of the lane, and finished strongest to be a half-length in front of Celestial City.
Ready to Purrform, a son of Kitten’s Joy owned by Donegal Racing, won a graded stakes for the first time after completing the distance over firm ground in 1:33.99. He paid $9.80.
“I was a little bit surprised to see him on the lead,” said Cox. “I thought the 1 horse would go. My plan was to actually track him. There wasn’t much speed on paper. I told Joel to be aggressive away from there. He was obviously a little more aggressive than I expected, but it worked out really well. They were spread out down the backside. At the three-eighths pole, I saw the horse laying second who I thought was a player back out of it. Some others may have collapsed a little bit. I thought it was a solid effort. A really big race.”
Pletcher said he was happy with Wit’s performance in what was a promising turf debut.
“I thought he ran well,” Pletcher said. “Had a little too much to do turning for home, but finished pretty strongly. We thought our other horse, Chanceux, would be on the lead, but the winner beat us to the punch there. It just didn’t work out.”
Pletcher said he’s inclined to keep Wit on the grass in light of his effort in the Hall of Fame.