West Point draws a familiar cast
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The New York-bred turf division has been strong for years, but the boys of summer aren’t getting any younger, and sooner or later there will be a changing of the guard. Whether that happens Friday in the $150,000 West Point is debatable, but there are several up-and-coming, and relatively younger, contenders in the field.
King Kreesa, 7; Lubash, 9; Kharafa, 7; and Notacatbutallama, 6, will all be on hand, but they will be joined by Tapitation, who won the Kingston Stakes at Belmont Park, and Offering Plan, who has been facing open company and should fit nicely here.
Last year’s West Point, a 1 1/16-mile turf race, was won by Lubash, with King Kreesa second and Notacatbutallama third. In 2014, King Kreesa won, with – you guessed it – Lubash second and Notacatbutallama in the show hole. Lubash also won the 2012 edition.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 9 Notacatbutallama. Trainer Todd Pletcher is 8-4-0-0 with a $5.31 ROI over the past five years going dirt to turf and sprint to route in the second start following a layoff of 45 days or more. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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When the Grade 1 Fourstardave was canceled due to bad weather Aug. 13 and moved to last Saturday, it put trainer David Donk in a tight spot with King Kreesa. In 2015, he had 13 days between the Fourstardave and the West Point. After finishing fourth last Saturday, King Kreesa will be returning on six days’ rest.
“It’s not ideal, but he’s not a horse that needs a lot of recovery,” Donk said Wednesday. “He came out of it fine and jogged this morning. I’ve talked to the owners, and it’s my call. I have until 45 minutes before the race to change my mind, but we plan on running.”
Donk doesn’t run horses back on short rest often, but when he does, he has had success. According to DRF Formulator, Donk is 2 for 7 with a return on investment of $3.57 the last five years with horses returning in seven days or fewer.
“I’m not afraid to run one back quick when I need to,” he said.
Tapitation is 5 but is lightly raced and appears to be coming into his best form. He was gelded between his 4- and 5-year-old campaigns and turned over to trainer Ralph Nicks. He is 4 for 6 this season.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 3 Tapitation. Trainer Ralph Nicks is 17-1-2-1 with a $0.95 ROI over the past five years in turf routes at Saratoga. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
“Gelding him might have helped,” Nicks said. “He’s a neat horse, he tries every time. He’s very consistent.”
A deep closer, Tapitation should get a nice pace setup since King Kreesa, Harbor King, and Brother O’Connell all have speed.
Offering Plan, a 4-year-old trained by Chad Brown, finished third behind Obviously and Force the Pass in the Grade 3 Poker two starts back. Last year, he won the open English Channel Stakes at Belmont Park before being sent to Del Mar, where he finished a closing fifth in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby.