Streaking Sounds Like a Plan aims at first stakes win in West Point
:quality(75))
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – For more than a year now, Sounds Like a Plan has been as consistent as one could ask. Seven starts. Five wins. A head loss. A half-length loss.
The only thing Sounds Like a Plan has yet to do is win a stakes race. The streaking 4-year-old gelding could check that box Friday when he starts in the $200,000 West Point Stakes for New York-breds at Saratoga. The West Point, run at 1 1/16 miles over the outer turf, is the co-feature on a 10-race card that includes the Grade 3, $225,000 Waya Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 3/8 miles on the inner turf.
In August 2025 at Saratoga, Sounds Like a Plan was beaten a head by The Paddock Pastor in a first-level allowance for New York-breds. That fall, he successfully went through his statebred allowance conditions before finishing third in the Mohawk, a race in which he was running back on two weeks’ rest.
Gelded during the winter, Sounds Like a Plan won a conditioned statebred allowance and then this spring and summer won two open allowance races at Saratoga.
“He was a colt last year and he was kind of sitting and waiting on horses as well; he wasn’t necessarily finishing his races as well as he is now,” trainer Horacio De Paz said. “He’s definitely a more mature horse. He’s had a great campaign, good spacing between races, and he’s run against some nice horses.”
Though Sounds Like a Plan has been successful on the lead, he has run well from a stalking position as well, tactics that jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. may have to employ Friday with a plethora of speed signed up in the field.
“With the race having so much speed I’m happy to draw outside, he can probably do a tactical run,” said De Paz, whose horse will break from post 7 in the nine-horse field. “Santana said he’s not a need-the-lead type of horse, it just kind of falls into our hands the way the races have developed with him being the speed in those races and we took advantage of it.”
Mi Bago will be a deserving favorite, given his recent work which includes a dominant victory in the Kingston Stakes versus New York-breds, a dead-heat win with Zulu Kingdom in the Grade 3 Kelso in July, and a runner-up performance behind Deterministic in the Grade 1 Fourstardave three weeks ago.
Mi Bago, trained by Mark Casse, does his best running on the front end and prefers firm turf. There is other speed in the field and there were thunderstorms forecast for Thursday evening.
“If somebody chooses to run with us it won’t be good for either party, probably worse for the other” horse, Casse said. “It’s hard to take him out of his deal, but I’m going to leave that up to Jose” Ortiz.
Itsallcomintogetha has speed to be a nuisance to Mi Bago. Leon Blue also has speed if his connections want to use it. Two’s a Crowd, a winner of four straight, will likely be close to the pace breaking from the rail.
Spirit of St Louis, trained by Chad Brown, won two Grade 1 stakes in 2025 but has lost his last seven starts, including runner-up finishes behind Sounds Like a Plan in an allowance and Mi Bago in the Kingston.
Tonka Warrior has won 3 of 4 at Canterbury for trainer McLean Robertson. Most of his recent success has come in mile races.
George Briggs, trained by Miguel Clement, finished third behind Mi Bago and Spirit of St Louis in the Kingston. Russian Realm, trained by Danny Gargan, returns to turf for the first time since last August when he was fourth in a statebred allowance.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.