Serengeti Empress must overcome rail post in Acorn

ELMONT, N.Y. – Serengeti Empress ran the race of her life after being able to control the pace in the Kentucky Oaks. But trainer Tom Amoss will be the first to admit things probably won’t be as easy for Serengeti Empress when she attempts to duplicate the performance in the $700,000 Acorn Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park.

Not only will Serengeti Empress be turning back from a mile and one-eighth to a one-turn mile in the Grade 1 Acorn, she’ll also face a field loaded with early speed. Worst of all, she’ll have to break from the rail, the absolute last thing Amoss wanted to hear at Tuesday’s post position draw.

“Going into the race, we recognized the fact that by shortening up in distance it would put more speed into play and we were prepared to deal with it accordingly,” said Amoss. “But once she drew the rail, we’re now of the mindset that we have to go or she faces the prospect of getting stuck in behind horses, which is something we really do not want. She needs to maintain our position from the gate.”

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Serengeti Empress’s 1 3/4-length triumph in the Oaks was even more noteworthy coming on the heels of a disastrous Fair Grounds Oaks in which she was eased to the wire after having bled as the prohibitive 1-5 favorite.

“My most immediate reaction after winning the Oaks was one of pure joy,” Amoss recalled. “A hundred different thoughts flashed through my mind, one after another. But the icing on the cake, what made it so very special, was that my mom and dad, who are 93 and 94 years old, could be able to witness me accomplishing something like that in their lifetimes.”

Amoss said he couldn’t be happier the way Serengeti Empress came out of the Oaks and has trained up to the Acorn.

“There are a lot of things I wish we didn’t have to deal with coming into this race,” said Amoss. “But with nearly six lengths separating the second horse from the third, it’s obvious her performance that day was outstanding. And I think that’s something you really have to respect here.”

There are four other stakes winners aside from Serengeti Empress in the Acorn lineup, including Jeltrin, who upset the Grade 2 Davona Dale at Gulfstream Park in March, and the undefeated Fancy Dress Party, winner of the Grade 3 Beaumont at Keeneland in her last start. But Serengeti Empress’s sternest challenge may come from the least experienced member of the field, Guarana, who registered a resounding 14 3/4-length victory in her only start seven weeks earlier at Keeneland for which she earned a 93 Beyer Speed Figure.

“The filly ran super fast first time out and we gave her time to recover,” said trainer Chad Brown. “I wanted to run her in some sort of mile race against her own age group and this race is there, the timing is good. I didn’t expect to run her in a Grade 1 off just one start, but I didn’t see an alternative that made a lot of sense.”

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Brown said he believes Guarana is tactical enough to sit off what figures to be a lively pace in the Acorn.

“There’s a lot of speed in there, but it doesn’t bother me at all,” said Brown. “I know she won wire to wire her first race, but she’s never acted like a speed-crazy or need-the-lead horse. I respect the fact she lacks experience by a wide margin, so it’s hard to go into the race overconfident just because she ran really fast the first time. But she is an extremely talented horse and sometimes when you have a rare horse like that, they do rare things.”

Jeltrin seeks to rebound from a poor effort in the Kentucky Oaks. She finished far behind Serengeti Empress in her first start since wearing down Cookie Dough at odds of 51-1 to win the Gulfstream Park Oaks two months earlier.

Fancy Dress Party has won all four career starts, three of those victories coming over sloppy tracks. The Acorn will be her first try beyond seven furlongs.

Cookie Dough was transferred to trainer Kiaran McLaughlin’s barn after setting the pace and fading to finish third in the Black-Eyed Susan, her third straight Grade 2 placing in as many starts this season.