Corfu just held Wired Bryan by a nose when wiring the Saratoga Special on
August 11 and, on Labor Day Monday, the two juveniles will face-off for a second
straight time in the Grade 1, $300,000
Hopeful
going seven furlongs over Saratoga’s main track.
Corfu entered the Saratoga Special off a maiden debut win in late July for
trainer Todd Pletcher. He followed the same tactics in both races, taking
command from the onset and holding gamely on the wire with jockey John Velazquez
aboard. The bay son of Malibu Moon will likely continue in the same vein on
Monday as he seeks a perfect three-for-three career mark at the Spa.
“He’s pretty fast, and speed is his weapon, so we’ll look to continue to take
advantage of that,” Pletcher said. “In both of his races he’s shown he’s got
some fight to him, so we hope that he’ll be able to carry his speed a little
further.”
Trainer Michael Dilger saddled Wired Bryan to a 7 1/4-length maiden debut
score at Belmont on June 19, and off that sent his charge to face graded rivals
in the Sanford one month later at the Spa. The Stormy Atlantic chestnut was 5
1/4 lengths the best on that day despite an erratic stretch run after jockey
Shaun Bridgmohan went to the whip.
Wired Bryan tracked Corfu throughout the Saratoga Special but just was not
able to catch his rival despite a game run in the 6 1/2-furlong contest. The
extra half-furlong could come in handy on Monday as Bridgmohan takes up the
reins once more.
“He’s got a lot of try,” Dilger said. “I think his biggest asset is his
attitude. He’s a very laid-back horse, borderline lazy. That helps when you’re
trying to put together three races in quick succession. We’re running him in
these races because that’s the way he’s presented himself. He shows that he’s
able to handle it. Hopefully, he’ll be able to handle the next one.
“He has presented himself as a very straightforward horse,” Dilger added.
“He’s had no hiccups along the way and, touch wood, he’s been a very, very sound
horse. The fact that he’s talented, we can’t train that.”
The top two are part of a 10-juvenile field entered in the Hopeful, which
also includes the unbeaten Long On Value.
Purchased privately by Wachtel Stable earlier this month,
the Virginia-bred son of Value Plus will make his graded bow in the Hopeful. He
brought $3,000 as a yearling at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Eastern Fall Yearling sale last
September, and has won each of his three starts.
Long On Value broke his maiden on a
wet-fast track in June at Delaware Park, won a 5 1/2-furlong state-bred stakes on
July 6 at Colonial Downs and most recently took an overnight stake on July 29
at Delaware going 5 1/2 furlongs on dirt. Trainer Bill Mott said Long On Value
was purchased with the seven-furlong Hopeful in mind.
“He had a good record going for him, and (my owners) liked
him and decided to buy him,” Mott explained. “He’s been doing very
well. He might be a bit of a sleeper in there.
“He’s a nice, smooth-going horse,” the Hall of Fame trainer added. “He works
along very nicely. We like him.”
Long On Value will be ridden by another Hall of Famer in Edgar Prado.
Also looking to make some noise in the Hopeful are Sanford runner-up Southern
Blessing and Lunarwarfare, who was just 1 3/4 lengths back in fourth in the
Saratoga Special. Casiguapo and King Cyrus each broke their maidens by 11
lengths last out, while Big Sugar Soda and Strong Mandate also recorded easy
maiden scores in their most recent outings and could move up in a big way on
Monday.
All in Blue, fourth in the Sanford for Pletcher, completes the Hopeful field.
“Running back on short rest and stumbling at the start I think compromised
his chances in the Sanford,” the trainer stated of All in Blue. “He’s trained
well since then, and we feel like he deserves another chance.
“His one start was impressive,” Pletcher added about his third horse in the
race, King Cyrus. “He’s a horse that is going to appreciate more distance down
the road, but in a race that looks like it’s going to have a lot of pace, it
could set up well for him.
“You’re always concerned going from one start to a Grade 1, but that’s sort
of where today’s racing is. You’re forced to jump into the deep end of the pool
right off the bat.”
One race before the juveniles hit the track, a field of 15 distaffers,
including six main-track only runners, has been entered to go 1 3/8 miles on
Saratoga’s inner turf in the Grade 3, $150,000
Glens Falls.
Tannery is the top draw in the group, having taken on the boys most recently
in the Sword Dancer Invitational. The Irish-bred daughter of Dylan Thomas
reputed herself well, rallying for a nice fourth-place finish for trainer Alan
Goldberg. Two races before that, the bay four-year-old scored her first U.S. win
when taking the Sheepshead Bay over the Glens Falls distance at Belmont Park.
Jockey Javier Castellano has the call on Monday for the first time.
Luis Saez did pilot Tannery in her previous four starts, but will be aboard
Minakshi in the Glens Falls. That Michael Matz-trained mare led in the early
going of the Sheepshead Bay before being overtaken in the stretch to finish
third. The Footstepsinthesand five-year-old followed up with a close fourth in
the New York Stakes and a third most recently in the Matchmaker at Monmouth
Park.
Anjaz was second in the Sheepshead Bay but faded to seventh in the New York
two back while Mystical Star filled the fifth position in both of those races.
The duo next lined up in the Waya, with Anjaz running second, a length in front
of Mystical Star’s third-place effort. The latter will be looking to turn the
tables on her rival Monday.
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