Sandy'z Slew vanned off after Troy win

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Sandy’z Slew led throughout to register a three-quarter-length victory over Blind Ambition in Sunday’s $200,000 Troy Handicap, although the celebration was short-lived as he pulled up lame and was vanned off after the race.

“He walked onto the ambulance okay, we didn’t even have to put a brace on him,” trainer Jeremiah Englehart. “We’ll take a scan later on, see how he is, and go from there. I just want to see him come back okay, that’s all. He’s a champ, he really is. He’s a great horse.”

The Grade 3 Troy was the third win in a row for the 8-year-old Sandy’z Slew, who was claimed by Englehart for owner James Riccio for $40,000 here one year ago.

With jockey Jose Ortiz aboard, Sandy’z Slew broke alertly and showed his abundant speed from the outset, controlled the pace over a soft turf course, settled into the stretch with a comfortable advantage then withstood a final rally from Blind Ambition. Disco Partner, the odds-on favorite, raced within easy striking distance of the leader while saving ground but could not muster a closing response, finishing third, two lengths behind Disco Partner.

Sandy’z Slew, a son of Limehouse, completed 5 1/2 furlongs over the soft going in a slow 1:05.07 and returned $10.00.

“I think he might have taken a bad step when he changed leads late, yet he still ran on through it,” Englehart said.

Ortiz believed Sandy’z Slew may have actually sustained the injury a little earlier in the race.

“I think he may have taken a bad step near the quarter pole, but he kept on going through the stretch,” Ortiz said. “I didn’t know it. He felt good enough to keep going and he won the race, showed a lot of heart. But when I started jogging him while pulling up, I could feel it. But I don’t think it’s anything too bad. He should be fine.”