Saratoga
Runaway Lute targets Hopeful Stakes
Barbara D. Livingston Runaway Lute breezed for the first time Friday since winning the Rockville Centre Stakes..
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Runaway Lute, the New York-bred 2-year-old who is 2 for 2, will point to the Grade 1 Hopeful on Sept. 5, trainer Gary Contessa said.
On Friday, Runaway Lute worked five furlongs in 1:01.20 over the Oklahoma training track, his first breeze since winning the Rockville Centre Stakes by 8 3/4 lengths on July 16 at Belmont Park.
Contessa said that Runaway Lute lost a shoe in that race, and his “foot was tender for a week.”
“We gave him plenty of time to come back,” Contessa said.
Runaway Lute, a son of Midnight Lute owned by Harold Lerner and Nehoc Stables, is nominated to next Sunday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Saratoga Special. Contessa said he would run only if that race came up light.