Volatile calms Asmussen with Grade 1 Vanderbilt triumph

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Whatever anxious moments trainer Steve Asmussen may have had in the minutes leading up to Saturday’s $250,000 Vanderbilt at Saratoga were erased 23.46 seconds after the gates opened. That was the time it took his odds-on favorite Volatile to complete a leisurely opening quarter en route to a popular 1 1/4-length victory over Whitmore and just two other rivals in the prestigious Grade 1 event for older horses.

“For a Grade 1 sprint race, to be allowed the first quarter he ran was very fortunate,” Asmussen said minutes after Volatile registered his fifth win in six career starts while further solidifying his place among the leaders of the sprint division.

Asmussen’s cause for concern came both in the post parade and as the field prepared for the start when Whitmore broke through the gate causing a brief delay that continued a little longer due to the late scratch of longshot Lexitonian. But once the gates opened Volatile immediately took control and never relinquished his advantage. He was aided by a slow pace that went from the 23.46 opening quarter to a 46.67 half.

The field bunched approaching the stretch, but Volatile still had plenty in the tank and spurted away when roused by regular rider Ricardo Santana Jr. before readily holding off a mild bid from Whitmore. Volatile completed six furlongs over a fast track in 1:09.61, with his final quarter coming in a lively 22.96.

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Whitmore was brushed briefly at the start, raced well placed along the inside, eased out a bit for the drive and finished willingly - but could never seriously menace the winner. He finished a half-length in front of two-time Grade 1 winner Mind Control, with Firenze Fire just a neck farther back at the rear of the compact field.

Volatile, who came within .02 seconds of equaling the Churchill Downs six-furlong course record in winning the Aristides Stakes in his previous start, is owned by Three Chimneys Farm and Phoenix Thoroughbred. A 4-year-old son of Violence, he paid $2.80.

“I think he was a little anxious today pre-race, maybe it’s the novelty of nobody being here,” Asmussen said with a laugh. “I was very concerned with the incident at the gate, but once he was away smoothly and they threw up the first quarter (split), I thought he’d be awfully hard to beat from there.”

Asmussen said getting a Grade 1 win on Volatile’s résumé was a major goal.

“This race was very important to us for who he is,” Asmussen said. “With Phoenix and Three Chimneys owning him, his pedigree, the look he has about him, this was a very significant win for his next career. His first two races this year were absolutely brilliant, I felt very good about getting those two races into him before he met accomplished horses like these. But from an ability and a speed level, I think he has it all.”

Asmussen said the Breeders’ Cup Sprint “is where we want to be with him at the end of the year. How to get there with him from here is the plan we have to come up with.”

Joel Rosario, who guided the 7-year-old, $3.1-million earner Whitmore to his second-place finish, talked about what transpired at the gate just prior to the race.

“One of the horses on the outside moved and he (Whitmore) broke through the gate, but he is easy to ride and he wasn’t going anywhere,” said Rosario. “He was enjoying his position in the race near the inside, and I thought for a second we were going to come and get the winner, but he was too good today.”