Get Stormy draws outside in bid for Bernard Baruch repeat

Get Stormy, shown winning the 2010 Bernard Baruch, seeks to join Win, Hap and Shakis as back-to-back winners of the race (Spencer Tulis/Horsephotos.com) With the exception of a fourth-place finish in his debut three years ago, GET STORMY (Stormy Atlantic) has otherwise proved unstoppable over the turf at Saratoga. The five-year-old star will seek to extend his Spa winning streak to five races Friday when he defends his title in the $200,000 Bernard Baruch H. (G2) over nine furlongs of the Mellon turf. A two-time Saratoga winner and dual Grade 3 winner in Kentucky at three, Get Stormy’s fondness for the Saratoga sod was well known by the time he reappeared at the venue last summer for the Fourstardave H. (G2). Favored at 3-2, Get Stormy overcame a stumbling start to win by 1 1/4 lengths. Get Stormy extended the margin to 2 3/4 lengths as the 4-5 choice next time in the Baruch, then contested over the inner turf, but went unplaced in his final two starts of the season as well as his 2011 debut in the Fort Lauderdale S. (G3). A third in the February 5 Gulfstream Park Turf H. (G1) was a return to better form for Get Stormy, who earned the biggest wins of his career to date in the Maker’s Mark Mile (G1) and Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (G1) in his next two outings. Given a short mid-summer rest after a third in the June 12 Monmouth S. (G3), Get Stormy will have to show his customary early foot Friday to overcome post 11 under Ramon Dominguez.

The July 31 Fourstardave winner Sidney’s Candy (Candy Ride [Arg]) is
bypassing the Bernard Baruch, not so most left in his wake in the1
1/16-mile event. The runner-up finish by MORYBA (Brz) (Hard Buck [Brz])
was his best since running a head third in the Mervin H. Muniz
Jr. Memorial H. (G2) in March. The Brazilian Group 1 winner won his U.S.
at Gulfstream in January but still seeks his first added-money score on
the continent.

Also exiting the Fourstardave are the respective third- through fifth-place
finishers BEAUX CHOIX (Elusive Quality), BLUES STREET (Street Cry [Ire]),
TURALLURE (Wando) and PARIS VEGAS (Maria’s Mon). Beaux Choix and Turallure are
both multiple listed winners in search of their first graded triumph, while the
veteran Blues Street , who could have been claimed for $75,000 on June 16,
counts as his last stakes win the 2010 Muniz at Fair Grounds. Paris Vegas is a
longshot hailing from the shedrow of Tom Voss.

HYMN BOOK (Arch) returns to the grass Friday after a two-race stint on dirt.
Victorious in the off-the-turf Three Coins Up S. at Belmont Park on May 19, the
Stuart Janney III homebred subsequently ran a distant second to Flat Out
(Flatter) in the Suburban H. (G2). BARYSHNIKOV (Empire Maker), meanwhile,
finished second to Paddy O’Prado in the Dixie S. (G2) in May, then settled for
minor awards as a beaten favorite in both the Firecracker H. (G2) and Oceanport
S. (G3).

INTERACTION (Arg) (Easing Along), winner in 2009 of South America’s biggest
race, the Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini (Arg-G1), was only eighth in his U.S.
debut in the July 9 Arlington H. (G3), though only beaten four lengths. Minor
stakes winner BOOTS AHEAD (Storm Boot) placed twice at the Grade 3 level last
season and enters off a 1 3/4-length allowance score at Saratoga on July 28.
Second that day was the multiple Grade/Group 2 veteran LOUP BRETON (Ire) (Anabaa),
a seven-year-old that has seen better days.

Separated by a neck in the August 3 John Morrissey S. for New York-breds,
IBBOYEE (Medallist) and BE BULLISH (Pure Prize) will renew rivalry Friday in the
$75,000
Easy N Dirty S. over seven furlongs. Other notable state-breds in the cast
of six are SMOKIN HERO (Smokin Mel) and DRIVEN BY SUCCESS (Precise End).

A $57,000
allowance/optional claimer preceding the Bernard Baruch has attracted former
classic prospect TO HONOR AND SERVE (Bernardini). Last year’s Remsen S. (G2) and
Nashua S. (G2) hero was knocked off the Triple Crown trail due to injury after
running third in both the Fountain of Youth S. (G2) and Florida Derby (G1), and
his return from a five-month absence in the August 1 Amsterdam S. (G2) resulted
in a sixth-place finish after he dueled for the opening half-mile.

The 1 1/8-mile race, which carries a third-level allowance condition, has
also attracted Grade 3 winner AFLEET AGAIN (Afleet Alex), the Grade 3-placed
EQUESTRIO (Elusive Quality) and recent Birdstone S. third-placer GAUTIER (Belong
to Me).