Saratoga Special gives early peek at East vs. West
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – It’s a little early in the year for an East Coast-West Coast showdown in the juvenile division, but Sunday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Saratoga Special matches California invader Exaggerator against local debut winner Saratoga Mischief.
Exaggerator, a son of Curlin, won a nose decision at Del Mar in his second start after finishing fifth in his debut at Santa Anita. That first race proved quite productive as the winner, Nyquist, came back to win the Grade 2 Best Pal, while the runner-up, Annie’s Candy, won a maiden race and ran third in the Best Pal.
“That first race, he got a lot of dirt kicked in his face, and he was getting out a little bit,” said Julie Clark, assistant to trainer Keith Desormeaux. “He seemed to benefit from the experience, and he came with a powerful kick in the stretch. He was always one of Keith’s favorites, so now it’s time to show us what he has.”
Exaggerator will break from the rail in the 6 1/2-furlong Saratoga Special under Junior Alvarado.
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Exaggerator flew from Southern California to Lexington, Ky., on Wednesday and then vanned to Saratoga on Thursday.
Saratoga Mischief, a son of Into Mischief, won his debut here July 25. He pressed the pace three wide and held off the late-running Greenpointcrusader.
Completing the field are Holding Gold, Hammers Vision, and Mid Life Crisis, who each won their debut, as well as John Q. Public, who was last in the Grade 3 Sanford here earlier in the meet.
Key contenders
Exaggerator (Beyers: 77-55)
◗ Son of Curlin showed a strong late kick to win a six-furlong maiden race.
◗ He is the only member of the field to have won going six furlongs on dirt.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 1 Exaggerator. Trainer Keith Desormeaux is 17-0-4-1 over the past five years with juveniles in the start after a maiden win. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Saratoga Mischief (Beyer: 81)
◗ Held on to win his debut, earning an 81 Beyer Speed Figure. He ran 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:04.23.
“Any time you can win first time out at Saratoga and beat some quality horses and run a respectable time, it’s all you can hope for, really,” trainer Todd Pletcher said.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 Saratoga Mischief. Trainer Todd Pletcher is 10-2-2-1 with a $0.56 ROI over the past two years at Saratoga in dirt sprints with juveniles in their second career start following a maiden win. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Holding Gold (Beyer: 82)
◗ Looked very professional in his debut, which came over Woodbine’s synthetic surface. He sat an inside trip down the backside before tipping out three wide and going by two pacesetters while finishing in hand.
◗ Trainer Mark Casse shipped him to Saratoga to see how he trained on dirt before deciding whether to run him. He worked a bullet four furlongs in 47.20 seconds over the main track Aug. 7.
“He‘s breezed twice, and he’s breezed as good as a horse can breeze,” Casse said. “I’m impressed with the way he ran and won.”
◗ Casse has been in a funk at Saratoga, having gone 1 for 22 through Thursday.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Holding Gold. Trainer Mark Casse is 22-0-2-3 over the past five years in dirt races at Saratoga.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 4 John Q. Public. Won his debut for trainer D. Wayne Lukas; Lukas has had only four other juveniles win their debut in the past five years. Three of them later became stakes winners. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan