Rock Fall, The Big Beast head different directions after Vanderbilt

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – As fun a race as Saturday’s Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt was to watch, it does not appear likely there will be a rematch Aug. 29 in the Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga.

Rock Fall beat The Big Beast by a nose in the Vanderbilt, a race in which John Velazquez, the rider of The Big Beast, lost his whip in midstretch and had to resort to using his goggles to try to get more out of his horse.

While Rock Fall came out of the race in good order, trainer Todd Pletcher said Sunday it’s his first inclination to wait for a race like the Grade 1 Vosburgh at Belmont Park on Sept. 26, then go to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland on Oct. 31.

Rock Fall, who won his sixth straight race, has raced only at six furlongs in all seven of his starts. The Forego is at seven furlongs. More than that, however, by waiting for the Vosburgh – with the Phoenix at Keeneland on Oct. 2 as a back-up – it gives Rock Fall ample spacing between his races and keeps him fresher for the fall.

Plecher trained Speightstown, the sire of Rock Fall. In 2004, Speightstown won the Alfred G. Vanderbilt with a gaudy 117 Beyer Speed Figure. Pletcher waited for the Vosburgh, in which Speightstown finished third before he won the BC Sprint at Lone Star.

“Speightstown, we tried to space his races out similarly,” Pletcher said. “So you want to come and take your best shot at the Breeders’ Cup. We know he likes Belmont, we know he likes Keeneland. We’ll play it by ear, but my first reaction would be to wait on the Vosburgh.”

The Big Beast, meanwhile, will run in the Forego. Last year, The Big Beast won the Grade 1 King’s Bishop here for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs.

Tony Dutrow, trainer of The Big Beast, had mixed emotions about the close loss but chose to focus on the positive Sunday morning.

“Our horse ran fantastic,” Dutrow said. “Too bad Johnny lost the stick. Had Johnny kept the stick, would it have been different? That’s everybody’s opinion, but I have to feel real good about the Beast’s effort and performance. I think the Beast proved yesterday that he’s among the good sprinters. That performance yesterday deserves a lot of respect.”

Rock Fall and The Big Beast each earned a 106 Beyer Speed Figure for the Vanderbilt.