7/1/13
Last updated: 6/30/13 4:14 PM
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Wise Dan took the conditions — both weather and race — in stride Saturday night
(Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography) |
It wasn’t the easiest race for reigning Horse of the Year
Wise Dan, but the Mort Fink-homebred trimmed the hedge of the Matt Winn Turf
Course and found a way to win the Grade 2 Firecracker Handicap under the
lights at Churchill Downs late Saturday night. Trainer Charlie LoPresti reported the
six-year-old was
in good order Sunday morning at Keeneland.
“He looks really good today and he doesn’t have a scratch on him, believe it
or not,” LoPresti said.
Wise Dan also overcame a 128-pound impost, a
driving rainstorm and a yielding turf course to become the first two-time winner
of the Firecracker.
“I watched the race a bunch last night and this morning,” LoPresti added. “It was nerve-racking with the weight spread and the way the
weather played out, but we got through it. And he handled the weight spread and
showed he’s truly a great horse. I just hope they don’t put too much weight on
him down the road.
“I’m glad he got to run up there and the fans really cheered him on when he
came back. Hopefully it was good for Churchill to have a horse like that run up
there.”
LoPresti said Wise Dan will remain at Keeneland for a
couple weeks and then will head to Saratoga in mid-July.
“We’re thinking about the (Grade 2, $500,000) Fourstardave (on August 10) and
the (Grade 1, $750,000) Whitney (on August 3),” LoPresti remarked. “We’ll see how he
comes out of it and how he handles going up there. We’ll also look at the
(Grade 2, $250,000) Bernard Baruch (on August 31) and the (Grade 1, $750,000) Woodward (on August
31). There are four races up there that we’re looking at with this horse.
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“I’d really like to keep him undefeated and I’d like to win
a Grade 1 on dirt with him this year. If we get a Grade 1 on dirt with him and
then keep him going and get a few wins on the grass and then get to the
Breeders’ Cup, maybe he’ll get Horse of the Year again.”
Wise Dan’s win in the Firecracker was his seventh
consecutive victory and the 16th of 23 career starts. He has earned $4,164,070.
Wise Dan’s older half-brother Successful Dan, most recently
fourth in the Stephen Foster Handicap under the Twin Spires, will also make the trip to Saratoga
with LoPresti.
“Successful Dan is going with us too and we’ll train him accordingly,” the
horseman said. “We’ll look at the Whitney and the Woodward with him, as well.”
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Earlier on the card, before the storms moved in, Right to Vote gave Moquett something to celebrate when taking the Kelly’s Landing
(Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography) |
While Wise Dan was the big story on Saturday night at Churchill, trainer Ron Moquett
was doing some celebrating of his own. The conditioner had 11 stakes victories to his name
over the span of his 16-year career, but added three more to his total in less
than 24 hours over the past weekend.
After winning the Saylorville with Livi Makenzie and the
Iowa Sprint Handicap with Gentlemen’s Bet on Friday night at Prairie Meadows,
Moquett won the Kelly’s Landing on the Downs After Dark card Saturday night with Right
to Vote.
“That’s the kind of stuff that’s supposed to happen to
(Steve) Asmussen, (Todd) Pletcher and (D. Wayne) Lukas, not us,” Moquett said. “It all worked out this weekend. It’s
good to be lucky.”
Moquett, whose biggest victory game in the 2006 Stephen
Foster Handicap with Seek Gold, said his three recent stakes winners will
be a part of the string he plans to take to Saratoga.
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“Hopefully they’ll all go to Saratoga and we can get a plan
together,” Moquett said. “We’ll be selective in picking their next spots.”
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