Sanford's top pair may meet again in Hopeful
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Big Trouble and Mr. Z, separated by a neck when finishing first and second in Saturday’s Grade 3 Sanford Stakes, could have a rematch in the Grade 1, $350,000 Hopeful Stakes here on Sept. 1, closing day of the Saratoga meet.
Tony Dutrow, trainer of Big Trouble, said his horse came out of the Sanford “excellent” and though his initial inclination was not to run back in the Hopeful, after considering the lack of options for 2-year-olds moving forward, he said “I’ve got to be considering the Hopeful. It’d be stupid not to think of the Hopeful.”
Dutrow was initially thinking of pointing Big Trouble to the stakes at the Belmont fall meet, but there isn’t a stakes for juvenile colts until the Grade 1 Champagne on Oct. 4. Further, Dutrow has I Spent It, a sharp maiden winner at Belmont on July 1, whom he could run in the Saratoga Special here on Aug. 10 and/or the Hopeful.
Big Trouble, a son of Tiznow owned by Team D Stable which is led by Dutrow and his wife Kim, is now 2 for 2. He won a maiden race at Belmont in June.
“I feel like he’s run twice already, he’s a big colt, maybe a couple of more starts as a 2-year-old,” Dutrow said. “If I get to running him too much he’ll end up running eight times as a 2-year-old.”
Dutrow said he would definitely not consider the Breeders’ Cup for Big Trouble, saying he doesn’t want to ship a 2-year-old cross-country. The Breeders’ Cup will be at Santa Anita this year.
“If the Breeders’ Cup was on the East Coast that would be fine with me,” Dutrow said. “I’m not shipping a 2-year-old to California.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Z is definitely being pointed to the Grade 1 Hopeful, trainer D. Wayne Lukas said. Mr. Z was a little farther back early than planned, and had a troubled trip before closing well to be second.
“I was really pleased with his effort in light of the trip he got,” Lukas said. “The ground gave way from him when he broke - he’s a really good gate horse - and it put him back further than he’s used to and then he had to check behind dying horses. I thought he ran huge and he pulled up great. He’s a hell of a nice horse.”
Big Trouble earned a 78 Beyer Speed Figure after running six furlongs in 1:10.64.