Sculcos Folly tackles older statebred foes in Hudson

ELMONT, N.Y – Sculcos Folly had his way with 3-year-old New York-breds in one turn races run during the winter, winning three stakes by a combined 19 3/4 lengths. Saturday, Sculcos Folly gets his first test against older New York-bred sprinters when he runs in the $200,000 Hudson Stakes at Belmont Park.

Sculcos Folly, a son of Redesdale, reeled off four consecutive wins from Jan. 22 to June 3, capped by a 5 1/2-length victory in the Mike Lee Stakes at Saratoga.

Finding suitable sprint spots for Sculcos Folly during the summer wasn’t easy, so trainer Rick Dutrow ran him 1 1/16 miles in the New York Derby at Finger Lakes, where he finished second to Talk to Me Jimmy. On Aug. 29, Sculcos Folly ran third as the favorite in an open-company allowance sprint, beaten three-quarters of a length by Dr. Kapur. That loss may be easier to swallow since Dr. Kapur upset last Saturday’s Grade 3 Perryville at Keeneland.

Sculcos Folly drew the outside post in this nine-horse field and gets Flavien Prat to ride for the first time.

“He’s been doing good, we’re happy with him, we like his post,” Dutrow said. “He is a rateable horse. I think he’d rather sit right off a horse as long as he’s on the outside – like most horses. We’re happy to try this race. It’s definitely enough time. He ran big last time. Let’s just hope he can beat these horses and we can keep going forward, keep winning with him.”

Linda Rice has a strong pair in Sacrosanct and Acoustic Ave. Sacrosanct went unbeaten against New York-breds as a 2-year-old when in the barn of Brad Cox. At 3, with Rice, he has won two open-company allowance races and comes out of a second-place finish behind Waralo in the Ashley T. Cole on turf. Most recently, Sacrosanct finished third behind Senior Officer and Tip Top Thomas in a July 26 allowance on dirt.

“I thought it was a good effort,” Rice said of that race. “He might have broke a little awkward.”

Acoustic Ave would be running back in 10 days after chasing Disco Time around the track and finishing second to him in a conditioned allowance race. Rice said Thursday she is inclined to run him back.

Buttah beat New York-breds in the John Morrissey at Saratoga in August before finishing fourth, just 2 1/4 lengths behind T Kraft in the Grade 3 Vosburgh on Oct 1. El Grande O, previously trained by Rice, ran sixth in the Vosburgh first off the $110,000 claim by Ilkay Kantarmaci.

Caldo Candy, fourth behind Dr. Kapur in that Aug. 29 allowance, came back to win his next start in a 6 1/2-furlong allowance on Sept. 30, earning a career-best 90 Beyer Speed Figure.

The Wine Steward won last year’s Hudson but is winless in three starts since.

Iroquois

Munnings Express, a perfect-trip winner of the Johnstone Stakes going seven furlongs at Saratoga, looms a short-priced favorite against five rivals in the $200,000 Iroquois Stakes for female sprinters going 6 1/2 furlongs.

Munnings Express, trained by Rice, has finished first or second in seven of eight starts versus New York-breds. She is coming out of a fourth-place finish behind Breeders’ Cup-bound R Disaster in the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom on Oct. 1.

Kay Cup, trained by Jorge Abreu, comes off a second-level allowance win just two weeks ago with blinkers removed. She drew a nice outside post for this spot.

The 3-year-old filly Venetta is cutting back in distance after running a distant third behind Iron Orchard in the Fleet Indian Stakes at 1 1/8 miles. Venetta, a daughter of Yaupon, won the Bouwerie Stakes on June 3 at Saratoga. That happens to be trainer Danny Gargan’s last win on the New York Racing Association circuit this year.

Celtic Dawn returns to dirt, a surface on which she won twice to begin her career before winning a Stallion Stakes race on turf. Trainer Carlos Martin is removing blinkers from her equipment Saturday.

Sleepy Hollow

Scramjet, winner of two sprint races at Saratoga, will attempt to stretch out to a mile when facing some familiar foes in the $200,000 Sleepy Hollow Stakes for 2-year-olds.

Scramjet, a son of Uncle Mo, won his debut in August and came back three weeks later to win the Funny Cide Stakes. Both races were at six furlongs. Scramjet drew the rail, which is a bigger issue to Rice than stretching out in distance.

“General conformation, the way he trains, the mile should be no problem for him,” Rice said. “If anything, it might be better. I don’t love the post position.”

Among the horses Scramjet beat that day was Big Handsome, who finished third, beaten five lengths as the favorite in that race. Big Handsome, trained by Jorge Abreu, came back to win a seven-furlong maiden race by 5 1/2 lengths so perhaps farther is better for this son of City of Light.

Flavien Prat rides Big Handsome from post 7 in this eight-horse field.

Inalienable, a son of Constitution trained by Chad Brown, won his debut by six lengths going 5 1/2 furlongs and now makes his second start in this spot. Horses he beat in his win are 0 for 4.

Fullcup, a son of Authentic trained by Riley Mott, is back to dirt after a third-place finish in the Laurel Futurity on turf. Fullcup won his maiden impressively at Saratoga before finishing third behind Scramjet in the Funny Cide Stakes.

Maid of the Mist

Three weeks ago, 2-year-olds trained by Shug McGaughey and Chad Brown squared off in the Grade 1 Champagne, where the McGaughey-trained U. S. S. Valor beat Brown’s Gaudreau.

Saturday, 2-year-old New York-bred fillies trained by McGaughey and Brown square off when McGaughey’s Davidson meets Brown’s Cash Burn in the $200,000 Maid of the Mist.

Davidson, a daughter of American Pharoah, was a second-out winner, capturing the first dirt race run at the new Belmont Park by a diminishing three-quarters of a length. Three of the five horses to have run back out of that race have won their next start.

Cash Burn, a daughter of Nyquist, rolled to a 13 1/2-length debut win going 6 1/2 furlongs at Saratoga on Aug. 20. This will be Cash Burn’s first start since, and horses exiting that race are 0 for 4.

Sun Kissed Bliss, trained by Joe Sharp, is 2 for 2 with a maiden victory at Saratoga and the Lady Finger Stakes at Finger Lakes.