Zito eyes Mass Cap for Commentator

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer Nick Zito said the Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs could be the next stop for Commentator, the amazing 7-year-old gelding who dominated Saturday's Grade 1 Whitney Handicap at Saratoga.

The Massachusetts Handicap, once one of the most prestigious handicap races in the country, offers a purse of $500,000 and will be run on Sept. 20.

The timing is good and the distance of a mile and one-eighth is obviously good, Zito said early Sunday morning. I can't get a two-turn race for him at a mile and one-eighth at Belmont Park.

Zito also cited the recent announcement by Suffolk Downs owner Richard Fields of taking a zero tolerance stand against horse slaughter commerce at his racetrack as another reason he'd like to send Commentator to Boston for the Mass Cap.

I like what Richard Fields does for horses, said Zito. The owners of Suffolk Downs are humanitarians and are doing what they can to rescue horses, and I believe strongly in what they are trying to accomplish.

The Mass Cap, like the Whitney, is a Breeders' Cup Win and You're In race, giving the winner a berth in the BC Classic.