Ring Weekend tries to cap Motion's solid meet with Bernard Baruch win

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Graham Motion is hopeful that his good summer in upstate New York will end on a high note when he sends out Grade 1 winner Ring Weekend against nine rivals in Monday’s $250,000 Bernard Baruch, the final graded turf stakes of the Saratoga meeting.

Motion came into the final weekend of the meet with six victories while also having sent out Tiger Ride and Miss Ella to finish second in stakes races during the session. And he expects Ring Weekend to close out his meet with a much-improved performance following a disappointing sixth-place finish as the favorite in the Grade 1 Fourstardave here on Aug. 20.

“I was worried the moment he got pinched and cut off at the break in the Fourstardave,” said Motion. “He became a little rank, and it was kind of a disaster after that. The whole thing really took him out of his game. When you also take into consideration it was just his second start back this year and first since the Dixie, I’d be very disappointed if he doesn’t turn in a much more Ring Weekend kind of performance on Monday.”

Ring Weekend became a Grade 1 winner in his 2015 finale, rallying to a one-length victory in the Frank E. Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita, after which he went to the sidelines for more than 14 months due to a foot abscess that Motion said “flared up again” following his second-place finish to Takeover Target in his return at Pimlico this spring.

As for his success here this summer, Motion said, “We’ve won a lot of races for the number of horses we started. It might be our best summer yet in that regard. And best yet, we’ve been competitive across the board all meet long, for which I’m very satisfied.”

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott will counter Ring Weekend in the Grade 2 Bernard Baruch with a trio of contenders led by Take the Stand, who set the pace into the stretch before finishing 11th, 4 3/4 lengths behind winner Mondialiste, in the Grade 1 Arlington Million on Aug. 13. Mott also will send out Dubai Sky, who has started just once since capturing the Grade 3 Spiral in March 2015, and the Grade 1-placed War Dancer, coming off a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Oceanport at Monmouth Park.

Takeover Target, who ran down Ring Weekend to win the Dixie Stakes two starts back, and the much-improved Jay Gatsby also figure to receive plenty of support in a lineup that includes Farhaan, Solemn Tribute, Reporting Star, and Natchez.

Key Contenders

Ring Weekend, by Tapit
Last 3 Beyers: 98-100-108

◗ He turned in one of the best performances of his career on closing weekend here two years ago, capturing the Grade 3 Saranac by 2 3/4 widening lengths.

Take the Stand, by Not for Sale
Last 3 Beyers: 93-100-101

◗ The Grade 2 winner is one of several potential pacesetters in the lineup, along with stablemate Dubai Sky, Solemn Tribute, and War Dancer.

Jay Gatsby, by Giant’s Causeway
Last 3 Beyers: 103-100-93

◗ He comes off the two best performances of his career, with the 103 Beyer Speed Figure he received for his close second-place finish in the Lure Stakes being easily the top last-race figure in this field.