Walk Close puts perfect record on line in Tenski Stakes
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Walk Close certainly has walked the fine line between winning and losing, but she hasn’t lost yet. On Monday, in the $100,000 Tenski Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at one mile on turf at Saratoga, Walk Close will put her 3-for-3 record on the line against nine opponents, many of whom she’s already defeated.
After winning her debut last fall by two lengths, Walk Close was off for eight months before returning May 18 at Belmont Park with a nose victory over Hillhouse High in a first-level allowance race. Walk Close came back to win the Wild Applause Stakes by a nose June 21.
“She never wins by much,” said Christophe Lorieul, assistant to trainer Christophe Clement. “She’s not a push-button horse to ride, but she usually does her best running in the last eighth.”
Trainer Chad Brown sends out two horses who have lost to Walk Close – Sweet Acclaim and Hillhouse High. Sweet Acclaim was beaten a half-length in the Wild Applause and then came back to finish fourth in the Grade 2 Lake George here July 23.
Hillhouse High was beaten a nose by Walk Close in a key allowance race that produced three next-out winners, including Hillhouse High, who won at Belmont on June 16 by two lengths. She then went to Woodbine and finished third in the Duchess Stakes on July 20.
A total of 14 horses were entered for the Tenski – two for the main track only – and 10 will be permitted to run. Je Suis Enchantee was expected to scratch and run in a race at Presque Isle Downs on Sunday. Should that happen, Final Redemption, a debut winner for Graham Motion, should draw in from the also-eligible list.
Key contenders
Walk Close (Last 3 Beyers: 82-80-74)
* Undefeated in three starts, but all of them have come around one turn. The Tenski is a two-turn mile.
* Walk Close was held out of the Lake George here July 23 to await what her connections hoped was an easier spot in here.
* Fired a bullet five-furlong work in 59.80 seconds over the Oklahoma turf course July 31.
Sweet Acclaim (Last 3 Beyers: 82-81-89)
* Coming back in 19 days after getting beat two lengths when fourth to Daring Dancer in the Lake George.
“It’s a little quick back, but she seemed to bounce out of the race okay, and this seemed like a logical spot,” Brown said.
Hillhouse High (75-80-80)
* Ran two decent races here last summer, including her debut, where she raced for purse money only because she threw a shoe near the gate before the start – the only time she finished worse than third.
“She’s probably a little better around one turn,” Brown said. “But there’s nothing we can do about it. I thought the conditions of the race fit her real well. She didn’t run bad up here last year in both of her races.”
Zinzay (62-79-68)
* Has not raced since April after coming out of the Grade 3 Appalachian Stakes with a minor problem, according to trainer Rusty Arnold.
* Won her debut by a neck over Hillhouse High at 19-1 here last Aug. 25.
“We gave her a little time, and she’s doing very well,” Arnold said. “We could have waited for the [allowance race], but this was there. She ran well on this turf course here last year.”