Venti Valentine rebounds with solid form in Critical Eye Stakes

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Venti Valentine made a triumphant and very impressive return to statebred company when drawing off to a one-sided, 6 3/4-length victory over Bustin Bay in the $200,000 Critical Eye Stakes decided over a muddy track Sunday at Saratoga.

Venti Valentine had finished third against open competition, beaten 1 1/2 lengths by Kathleen O following an eventful trip, four weeks ago at Monmouth Park in the Serena’s Song Stakes. It was the sixth time she had hit the board without a victory since defeating New York-breds in the Jack Betta Be Rite Stakes at Finger Lakes eight months earlier.

With Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard for the first time, Venti Valentine broke alertly from her inside post before settling just off the early leaders in the run down the backside. Venti Valentine angled outside, commencing her bid midway on the second turn, came wide to readily overtake the tiring Bon Adieu inside the three-sixteenths pole, then steadily increased her advantage while kept under vigorous urging to the end.

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Bustin Bay raced forwardly placed and easily outlasted the others while never menacing the winner. Bon Adieu finished a tiring third. The two-time graded stakes-placed Fingal’s Cave dropped out of contention before six furlongs and was eased to the wire by jockey John Velazquez.

Jorge Abreu trains Venti Valentine for the partnership of NY Final Furlong Racing Stable and Parkland Thoroughbreds. She completed nine furlongs in 1:52.51 seconds and paid $7.90.

“She’s always been knocking on the door and running in Saratoga is a big plus for her,” Abreu said. “I told Irad I wanted to see her on the lead and he said others are going to want to go, so he was going to sit right off and he gave her a perfect rider.”

Abreu said it was a big step for her to bounce back like she did on Sunday after suffering through such a rough trip in her previous start.

“Ninty-nine percent of the horses, when they have that kind of trip, chicken out a little bit, but she came out of that race in great shape and was training very well here,” Abreu said. “And I wasn’t worried about the wet track because she won the Maid of the Mist on a sloppy track as a 2-year-old. She acted like a horse who wanted to go a one-turn mile when she was younger. As she’s gotten older, she doesn’t have that kind of speed anymore and she wants to go two turns now.”

*** The switch from turf to a muddy main track proved no problem for the versatile Silver Skillet, who led throughout to register a convincing four-length decision over Stonewall Star in the $125,000 Mount Vernon for older, New York-bred fillies and mares.

Breaking from the rail with her regular rider Joel Rosario aboard, Silver Skillet was urged to the front leaving the chute and quickly opened a clear advantage in the run down the backstretch. She shook off a brief bid from 8-5 favorite Tough Street, the lone main-track-only entrant in the field, on the far turn and was never seriously menaced thereafter.

Stonewall Star rallied wide into the attending position at the top of the stretch and, while no match for the winner, was easily second-best. Tough Street faded down the lane to finish a tiring third.

The victory was the fourth in 13 starts and second against stakes company for Silver Skillet, a 4-year-old daughter of Liam’s Map trained by Christophe Clement for Reeves Thoroughbreds, Tango Uniform Racing and Steve Rocco. She paid $8.40.

“She likes a wet track, she’s run well before on wet tracks,” Clement acknowledged. “She’s trained well, I told Joel to just break well and make it simple, she broke well and made it very simple. You could see after a quarter-mile she was moving very well. I still think she may be better on grass, but it’s a great luxury when they can run on dirt as well if they can’t do the grass.”

*** Landed became a stakes winner for the first time after her popular 1 1/4-length decision over a late-running Caldwell Luvs Gold in the $125,000 Bouwerie for 3-year-old New York-bred fillies.

Landed, a daughter of Omaha Beach trained by Wesley Ward, shipped back to New York and returned with statebred competition on Sunday after registering a wire-to-wire, 1 3/4-length triumph against high-priced optional claiming and allowance foes going 1 1/16 miles earlier this spring at Keeneland.

Landed survived an early pace duel with the previously undefeated Sunday Girl, shook off Sunday Girl under confident handling from jockey John Velazquez leaving the turn, repulsed a bid from Tricky Temper through midstretch, then withstood a final surge from Caldwell Luvs Gold. The latter finished strongest of all down the center of the track to best the others. Tricky Temper held on for third.

Landed ran seven panels over a muddy track in 1:23.61 seconds and paid $5.50.

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