Wit, High Oak top field of 11 in Hopeful Stakes
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Wit, dominant winner of the Grade 3 Sanford, and High Oak, dominant winner of the Grade 2 Saratoga Special, head a field of 11 juveniles entered Friday for Monday’s Grade 1, $300,000 Hopeful Stakes, which brings down the curtain on the Saratoga meet.
Both Wit and High Oak have won both of their starts. Wit, trained by Todd Pletcher for Mike Repole, has been targeting this race since he won the Sanford here by eight lengths on July 17. He drew post 6 and will be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr.
High Oak, the 4 1/2-length winner of the Saratoga Special on Aug. 14, has brought his connections to the Hopeful with his sharp training since that race. On Friday, he blew out three furlongs in 35.47 seconds over the Oklahoma training track. High Oak drew post 8 and will be ridden by Junior Alvarado.
Despite the presence of those two unbeaten stakes winners, the Hopeful also drew Big Scully, Defend, Gunite, Kitodan, Street Fight, Headline Report, Kevin’s Folly, Power Agenda, and Volcanic.