SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – When Sadler’s Joy won the Grade 1 Sword Dancer in 2017, trainer Tom Albertrani had jockey Julien Leparoux aboard for the horse’s final work. Coincidence or not, Albertrani, who rarely uses jockeys to work his horses, had Jose Lezcano aboard Sadler’s Joy when he had his final work for Saturday’s Grade 1, $850,000 Sword Dancer.
Lezcano will ride Sadler’s Joy in the Sword Dancer, replacing Javier Castellano, who will be riding Annals of Time for Chad Brown.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Midnight Bisou, leader of the older female dirt division, and the multiple graded stakes winner Elate have put in their final workouts in preparation for a showdown in Saturday’s Grade 1, $700,000 Personal Ensign at Saratoga.
On Monday, Midnight Bisou worked a half-mile in 49.79 seconds over the Oklahoma training track, which was rated good. Midnight Bisou went her first quarter in 25.70 and her second quarter in 24.09. She galloped out five furlongs in 1:03.67.
“She moved so pretty this morning,” trainer Steve Asmussen said.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – William Farish and his family will be in Saratoga this week to watch two colts he owns participate in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers Stakes. It was not supposed to be that way.
Farish put both Code of Honor and Highest Honors through the auction ring as yearlings at Keeneland in September 2017, but neither horse brought the reserve placed on them. The bidding on Code of Honor, a son of first-year stallion Noble Mission, topped out at $70,000. Meanwhile, Highest Honors, a son of the hot stallion Tapit, brought a last bid of $750,000.
DEL MAR, Calif. – One of the best plays at Del Mar for years has been a horse turning back from a two-turn race to seven furlongs, and that’s among the numerous reasons Mo See Cal stands a strong chance to take down Thursday’s feature race, a seven-furlong optional claimer for older females.
Mo See Cal came off a six-month layoff Aug. 9 and turned in a terrific effort in the one-mile Solana Beach Stakes on the turf. She set a sharp pace in that stakes for California-breds and only got caught in the waning strides, finishing fourth while beaten just a half-length for it all.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – While the Travers is obviously the highlight on Saturday’s card, the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens figures to draw plenty of attention as well with the return of Shancelot off his memorable performance here four weeks ago in the Grade 2 Amsterdam.
DEL MAR, Calif. – King Jack had been under consideration for the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens on Saturday at Saratoga, but he will stay at Del Mar for the $100,000 Shared Belief Stakes on Sunday.
King Jack is 2 for 2, with a maiden win and a first-level allowance to his credit. Dan Ward, the assistant to trainer Jerry Hollendorfer who was the trainer of record for King Jack’s allowance victory at Del Mar on July 17, said respect for Amsterdam winner Shancealot was among the reasons to stay home for now.
Gulfstream Park officials have made no plans for a mandatory disbursement of another growing Rainbow 6 jackpot, saying they probably will wait until the last day of the current summer meet, Sept. 29, for a so-called “force-out.”
The Rainbow 6 has not been emptied by a solo winning ticket since July 6, a span of 26 racing days. Heading into a 10-race card Thursday, the pool stands at $763,478.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Catalina Cruiser will remain at Del Mar to defend his title in the Grade 2, $200,000 Pat O’Brien Stakes on Saturday, with trainer John Sadler electing that spot instead of the Grade 1 Forego the same day at Saratoga. Both races are at seven furlongs.
DEL MAR, Calif. – The 2-year-old colt Ginobili left trainer Richard Baltas stunned when he finished a well-beaten fourth at 2-1 in a maiden special weight race at Los Alamitos on July 14.
“I didn’t think I could be that wrong about a horse,” Baltas said.
For Ginobili’s second start at Del Mar on Saturday, Baltas changed the colt’s bit. Instead of stalking the pace as he did in his debut, Ginobili took the lead at the start under jockey Florent Geroux and won the six-furlong race by 2 1/2 lengths in a 19-1 upset.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Less than a year after he won a $20,000 claimer for maidens at Los Alamitos, Acclimate is bound for the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 2 as a multiple graded stakes winner on turf.
Saturday at Del Mar, Acclimate won the richest race of his career in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap, leading throughout the $250,702 race at 1 3/8 miles on turf. As the winner of the Del Mar Handicap, Acclimate received a fees-paid berth to the BC Turf at 1 1/2 miles.
