Nearly a year after unveiling champion Uncle Mo (Indian Charlie) at Saratoga,
owner Mike Repole and trainer Todd Pletcher are back at the Spa with another
highly-regarded juvenile in OVERDRIVEN (Tale of the Cat). The smashing debut
maiden winner will take a class test in Sunday’s $150,000
Sanford
S. (G2), where he will meet Futurity S. (G2) upsetter JACK’S IN THE DECK
(Love of Money) and Bashford Manor S. (G3) runner-up POWER WORLD (Distorted
Humor).
Overdriven, a half-brother to multiple Grade 2-winning millionaire Smooth
Air, was purchased for $350,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. The bay colt
trained forwardly for his July 1 debut at Belmont Park, and the word was out on
the promising youngster as he was bet down to 3-5 favoritism.
Despite a bobble at the start and having to be steadied off heels, Overdriven
smoothly recovered to chase a hot pace. The odds-on choice wrested control down
the stretch and drew off by 3 1/2 lengths. Even more impressive was his final
time of :56 2/5 for five furlongs, good enough for a gaudy 111 BRIS Speed
rating.
Overdriven has worked back once in the interim, a sharp five-furlong drill in
:59 1/5 at Saratoga on Monday.
“He had a good breeze over the track, and we’re excited about running in the
Sanford,” Pletcher said. “He’s a big, strong colt who carries plenty of
conditioning, and we justly believe he can move forward off that race.”
The 3-5 morning-line favorite in the Sanford, Overdriven will break from post
6 with John Velazquez.
Jack’s in the Deck entered the July 3 Futurity as a once-raced maiden, but
thrived on the step up to this six-furlong trip and rallied to win going away by
four lengths. Based at Laurel with trainer Robin Graham, the Maryland-bred colt
has drawn widest of all in post 8.
“He’s been doing great since the race, and I think he learned some stuff from
that,” Graham said of Jack’s in the Deck, who stalked in third early before
splitting rivals in midstretch. “This group seems pretty evenly matched as far
as maturity goes. But as they get older and the races get longer, I think he’s
going to like that even more.”
Jack’s in the Deck, the 14-1 longest shot on the board in the Futurity, has
been pegged at 10-1 on the Sanford morning line. With Ramon Dominguez picking up
the mount, his odds don’t figure to go any higher.
TARPY’S GOAL (High Cotton), the beaten favorite in the Futurity, aims to
rebound here. The Dale Romans pupil had made a good-looking move and threatened
to pull away, only to drift out and end up third.
“He ran a little green in the Futurity, but he’s been training well and we
thought we’d give him another shot in a graded stakes,” Romans said.
Tarpy’s Goal, who had rolled to a 2 3/4-length score at Churchill Downs in
his premiere, will break from the rail Sunday.
Four other Sanford entrants bring Churchill form with them, led by Power
World from the Neil Howard barn. The debut winner closed well for runner-up
honors in the July 2 Bashford Manor, beaten 2 3/4 lengths by Exfactor (Exchange
Rate), and ranks as the 5-1 second choice here.
“I think at this stage they’re all pretty much in the same boat, making their
second or third starts, and all pretty good races,” Howard said.
“My horse ran a pretty good maiden race off a troubled start (rallying from
11 lengths back to win a 4 1/2-furlong maiden by a length) and he closed nicely
in the Bashford Manor to finish second to a very nice horse. He’s definitely a
horse who seems like he’ll be much better suited when he stretches out later
on.”
Power World, a half-brother to Grade 2 queen Santa Catarina, picks up the
services of Edgar Prado.
The Eddie Kenneally-trained MAAN (Malibu Moon) scored at first asking at
Churchill going six furlongs, wearing down MOONRUSH (Malibu Moon) by 1 1/2
lengths. The maiden Moonrush, who is out of a full sister to Grade 1 hero and
noted sire Hennessy, adds first-time Lasix for Wayne Lukas.
Trainer Wesley Ward will send out the uncoupled pair of BLACK RHINO (El
Corredor) and BLESS THE SOLDIER (Belong to Me). Black Rhino finished third in
his career bow to Sum of the Parts (Speightstown) and subsequent Bashford Manor
winner Exfactor, then crushed a five-furlong turf maiden by eight lengths
beneath the Twin Spires. Bless the Soldier wired a maiden over Woodbine’s
Polytrack on May 29 in his only appearance.
Ward, always to be respected with his juveniles, commented on the role that
the Sanford plays on the two-year-old scene.
“Primarily, it’s the first major stepping-stone in the division in the United
States,” Ward said. “It’s a race that gives you a good feel for quality, and
it’s where you start separating the men from the boys.”
The Sanford leads up to the Saratoga Special (G2) on August 15 and the
Hopeful S. (G1) on September 5.
Two races earlier on the Sunday card, New York-bred distaffers will contest
the $75,000
Irish
Linnet S. over one mile on the inner turf. The filly to beat is Grade
1-placed GITCHEE GOOMIE (City Zip), who has played second fiddle to the talented
Daveron (Ger) (Black Sam Bellamy) in both the May 7 Beaugay S. (G3) and the July
4 Dr. James Penny Memorial H. In between, Gitchee Goomie nabbed PARAIBA (Freud)
and CHORUS MUSIC (Strategic Mission) in the May 29 Mount Vernon S., and looks
well spotted by trainer Rick Violette.