Voodoo Doll will need a little magic vs. sharp group in Rick Violette
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Voodoo Doll, perfect in three starts and continuing to improve with experience, will try stakes opposition and 1 1/16 miles for the first time Friday at Saratoga in the $200,000 Rick Violette Stakes.
Named in honor of the late trainer and longtime president of the New York Horseman’s Association, the Violette drew a field of seven New York-breds for turf, plus three others entered main track only.
Trained by Mark Casse, Voodoo Doll rallied to win his career debut by a nose last fall over the synthetic track at Woodbine before going to the sidelines for the winter. This spring at Aqueduct, he switched to the grass and registered two hard-fought victories, the latest in extremely game fashion going a mile against open first-level allowance competition.
Voodoo Doll earned a career-best 81 Beyer Speed Figure in his last start while avoiding a potentially dangerous situation when forced in by the pace-pressing Woods and narrowly avoiding contact with the inner rail near midstretch.
“I had him here [at Saratoga] as a 2-year-old. He didn’t get over the track very well, so I sent him to Woodbine, where he won,” Casse recalled. “But I wasn’t really happy with him afterwards so I gave him some time off and he’s been gangbusters ever since coming back.”
Casse said he put Voodoo Doll on the turf for his 3-year-old debut because he feels it’s easier on horses returning from a layoff.
“He switched to the turf and has just kept getting better and better with every start,” Casse enthused. “He was very game winning last time even though it got a little scary after he got bumped and appeared to be heading for the rail when they came across the gap down the stretch.”
Edgard Zayas, who has guided Voodoo Doll to his two victories in New York, will retain the mount in the Violette.
Although Voodoo Doll posted a career-best Beyer in his last start, he does not own the highest number in this field. That distinction belongs to Chummers, who was awarded an 85 Beyer for his impressive 3 3/4-length conditioned claiming victory over the Aqueduct turf on June 19. He seems to have exited that effort in good fashion after more than holding his own working in company with recent stakes winner Heeere’s Johnny over the Oklahoma turf course last Friday.
“He’d been out of form, so we tried to be aggressive with his placement last time and he ran really well,” trainer Ray Handal said of dropping Chummers into claiming company. “Flavien [Prat] said he was there for him the whole way and the number came back real strong, so it made a lot of sense to try him in this spot, a restricted race for 3-year-old New York-breds, instead of against open starter-allowance company.”
Handal loves the way Chummers has trained for his return to stakes competition.
“I thought his work with Heeere’s Johnny was really impressive. He was ripping around there the whole way,” said Handal. “And I think if he can repeat that last effort and the number he ran, he could be the horse to beat.”
Spirit of New York was transferred to trainer Brad Cox following his third-place finish as the 6-5 favorite in the six-furlong Spectacular Bid division of the New York Stallion Series when making his 3-year-old debut five weeks earlier. A stakes winner at 2, Spirit of New York, like Voodoo Doll, will be trying 1 1/16 miles for the first time in the Violette.
A Little At First makes his stakes debut off a relatively well-graded victory against New York-bred entry-level allowance company in his most recent start. He has the advantage of already having won twice around two turns and once over the local course.
Caroline St. Beat has been idle since finishing second in the Notebook Stakes for New York-breds going a mile at Aqueduct on Nov. 14. He rounds out the field along with Newlyn and Manor Park.
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