Vyjack finally gets his chance

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Vyjack, entered and scratched on two occasions at the meet, will try to make it to the starting gate in Monday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Bernard Baruch Handicap on closing day.

Vyjack was entered in the Lure Stakes on Aug. 8 and scratched because owner David Wilkenfeld wanted to run him in the Grade 2 Fourstardave a week later. Vyjack was scratched out of that race because he developed a temperature the night before.

Vyjack has twice run on turf, finishing third behind King Kreesa in the Poker and in the Forbidden Apple at Belmont Park.

“He ran behind that horse King Kreesa a couple of times who seemed to run some huge races on those particular days,” said Bill Mott, the trainer of Vyjack. “We were closing in on him on both occasions. I was looking forward to running him in one of the earlier races here. We’ve been forced to wait until the end.”

Vyjack faces a group that includes the multiple Grade 1 stakes winner Constitution, All Included, Charming Kitten, Ironicus,Under Control and Grand Tito.

Harmonize may be Cup-bound

The Mott-trained Harmonize may have put herself on the road to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf by virtue of her four-length victory in Thursday’s P.G. Johnson Stakes.

Supplemented to the race on entry day, Harmonize defeated Thrilled, who had beaten her a nose in an Aug. 9 maiden race.

“I hadn’t originally nominated, but it looked like the horses that were in there were all horses she had already run with,” Mott said. “The purse was not much bigger than an allowance would have been, but she’s now a stakes winner, and that’s valuable for her.”

Mott said he most likely will look to run Harmonize again before the Breeders’ Cup in either the Miss Grillo at Belmont on Sept. 27 or the Jessamine at Keeneland on Oct. 7.