Silver Max, Seek Again appreciate absence of Wise Dan in Fourstardave
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Saturday’s Grade 2, $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap at Saratoga may lack two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan. But the one-mile turf race – won by Wise Dan the last two years – does not lack for talent or depth.
Silver Max, the last horse to beat Wise Dan, and Seek Again, who nearly beat Wise Dan three months ago, top a six-horse field that includes Poker Stakes winner Jack Milton and the intriguing Sayaad. Trainer Brian Lynch’s uncoupled entry of Grand Arch and Dorsett complete the line-up.
Silver Max beat Wise Dan in the off-the-turf Shadwell Mile last fall at Keeneland before finishing fourth to Wise Dan in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. After a freshening, Silver Max came off the bench to win the Grade 2 Firecracker at Churchill Downs on June 28.
Silver Max is simply a one-way runner, and trainer Dale Romans said even with the presence of the speedy Sayaad in the field, his horse will be on the lead early after breaking from the rail under Robby Albarado.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 1 Silver Max. Trainer Dale Romans is 3 for 12 with a $3.38 ROI over the past three years in turf routes, second after a layoff and coming off a winning effort.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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“We’re not changing anything, let him roll,” Romans said. “This is a fast horse. We don’t have a lot of choice; we’re not going to sit back and get buried by everybody, so we’ll go. If Sayaad comes with us, we’ll see who lasts the longest. This horse has stamina and speed.”
If Sayaad does go with Silver Max, that could set things up nicely for Seek Again, who came off a five-month layoff to come within a head of upsetting Wise Dan in the Grade 1 Turf Classic at Churchill at 1 1/8 miles on May 3. From there, Seek Again finished third in the Grade 1 Manhattan at 1 1/4 miles.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Seek Again. Trainer Bill Mott is winless in 21 starts in graded stakes turf routes over the past four years at Saratoga.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
The Manhattan was an oddly run race as a horse opened up more than nine lengths on the field early, perhaps forcing jockeys to make earlier-than-desired moves.
“He had run so good against Wise Dan, we thought he had a good chance in the next one,” trainer Bill Mott said. “It was a funny race, all of sudden we turn down the backside and we’re on the lead” of the second-flight of horses.
Jack Milton, who was beaten four lengths by Seek Again in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby at 1 1/4 miles last December, is 2 for 3 at a mile this year.
KEY CONTENDERS
Silver Max (Last 3 Beyers: 97-91-108)
◗ This will be his second start of the year after Silver Max was given time off following his fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
“The plan was freshen him and give him the time off; wanted to start back in the summer and give him three or four races,” Romans said.
◗ Silver Max won the Grade 2 Bernard Baruch here last August, but that made Romans just 1 for 13 (8 percent) in graded turf stakes at Saratoga the last five years, according DRF’s Formulator.
Seek Again (Last 3 Beyers: 98-96-93)
He has won from seven furlongs to 1 1/4 miles. He cuts back to a mile after running third in the Grade 1 Manhattan at 1 1/4 miles. This race is somewhat of an experiment to see if Seek Again could be top-caliber miler and compete in races like the Woodbine Mile and Breeders’ Cup Mile.
FORMULATOR FACT: Mott is 0 for 21 the last four years in graded turf stakes at Saratoga.
Jack Milton (Last 3 Beyers: 101-104-98)
◗ He has won 2 of 3 starts this year, both at a mile, and was visually impressive in the Grade 3 Poker at Belmont on Memorial Day.
◗ He was shipped to California for the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile on June 14, but was beaten 2 1/2 lengths by Obviously. Tom’s Tribute, who finished in a dead heat for third in the Shoemaker, came back to win the Grade 1 Eddie Read at Del Mar on July 20.
“I thought we were taking a gamble running him back kind of quick and shipping across the country,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “I was a little disappointed, yet from a figure standpoint it was a very good race.”