SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. _ Based on pedigree and a couple of “phenomenal” workouts on the Oklahoma grass course, trainer Dale Romans was confident Silverette would be able to make the switch from dirt to turf in Friday’s $100,000 Caress Stakes at Saratoga.
Did she ever.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – When George Weaver decided at the last minute to run Lighthouse Bay in the Grade 1 Prioress Stakes here on July 27, he had many riders from which to choose.
He selected Joe Rocco Jr.
“I was looking at what I had available; I was like, this is going to be a great fit,” said Weaver, who had been impressed with Rocco this winter at Gulfstream. “I was really happy about it. Sometimes you ride jockeys and you don’t always get the jockey you want. I didn’t feel like I was taking a backseat at all. I was extremely confident that he could get it done.”
The Grade 3, $800,000 Sunland Derby will again serve as the centerpiece of the Sunland Park stakes schedule that features 32 races for Thoroughbreds worth more than $3.1 million. The New Mexico track, which also hosts a number of major stakes for Quarter Horses, begins a 76-date mixed meet Dec. 6. The season continues through April 15, 2014.
AUBURN, Wash. – Politicallycorrect, a stakes winner in Oklahoma and California and most recently a close second in a stakes at venerable Saratoga, arrived at Emerald Downs on Friday to begin preparations for the Grade 3, $200,000 Longacres Mile on Aug. 18. It’s a race his trainer, Northwest native Wesley Ward, would dearly like to win.
“As anyone who grew up in the Northwest knows, you’ve got the Kentucky Derby and you’ve got the Longacres Mile,” Ward said this week from his home base in Florida. “I’m real excited about it. I think I’ve got a really good chance to win the race.”
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Stephanie’s Kitten, one of the top older turf mares in the country, is likely to make her next start Aug. 17 in the Beverly D. Stakes despite having just raced July 27 in the Diana Stakes at Saratoga.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – There may not be a short-term plan for the win-machine otherwise known as Saginaw. But there is a long-term plan.
“Right now, we plan to win the Morrissey next year,” trainer and part-owner David Jacobson said. “Not only next year, but the year after that.”
DEL MAR, Calif. – Paynter, second in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap on July 27, is likely to make his next start in the $750,000 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 31, trainer Bob Baffert said on Friday.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Jockey Gary Stevens is unbeaten in two starts on the 2-year-old Alpine Luck this summer. The style the Hall of Famer has used to accomplish the mini-winning streak makes trainer Mike Harrington chuckle.
“The first time he rode him, I said, ‘Ride him like he’s a route horse,’ ” Harrington recalled telling Stevens. “He went to the front and drew off.”
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Trainer Milton Palma is hoping for a big effort from Ruby’s Victory in the $50,000 B.C. Cup Stellar’s Jay at Hastings on Monday. The 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds is one of six stakes that will make up most of the B.C. Day holiday card.
