Sadler's Joy shines in rare turf work

ELMONT, N.Y. – Though he has done all of his racing on turf, Grade 1 winner Sadler’s Joy has done virtually all of his training on dirt.

That changed Monday when trainer Tom Albertrani opted to work Sadler’s Joy on turf for the first time in 14 months and just the second time in his career.

On a muggy morning, Sadler’s Joy worked five furlongs in 1:02.56 over the Belmont Park inner turf in preparation for a start in the Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green Stakes on July 28 at Saratoga.

Under Javier Castellano, Sadler’s Joy had a strong run-up to the pole as he appeared to start getting in gear at the six-furlong marker.

From the five-furlong pole to the three-eighths pole, Sadler’s Joy went in 25.10 seconds and then got his final three furlongs in 37.46. He had a lot of neck sweat, but he was reaching out nicely and galloped out solidly.

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Rain early Sunday morning prompted track officials to move turf works to Monday. Albertrani said he was concerned the main track, which was sloppy for racing Sunday, would be heavy Monday, so he opted for the turf.

“You hate to take him out of his zone because he could be a little bit of a handful,” Albertrani said. “To keep things safe, I tend to just work him on the dirt, he works good enough for me. But today’s work was really good, he finished up really well and galloped out well. Javier was delighted with him. He said he was just a little distracted, which I can understand, he doesn’t normally tend to go out there, but he was very pleased with the work.”

Last summer at Saratoga, Sadler’s Joy finished third in the Bowling Green before winning the Grade 1 Sword Dancer. He will enter the Bowling Green coming off a neck loss to Spring Quality in the Grade 1 Manhattan.

“The horse ran so well cutting back to a mile and a quarter, which isn’t his preferred distance,” Albertrani said. “That was probably one of his best efforts I’ve seen.”