Startup Nation, Partisan Politics give connections chance at another sweep

Startup Nation, Partisan Politics give connections chance
at another sweep

Trainer Chad Brown has two shots at a third straight win in the Pilgrim, including likely favorite Startup Nation (NYRA/Adam Coglianese Photography) Startup Nation and Partisan Politics gave owners Klaravich Stables and William H. Lawrence a sweep of Saratoga’s stakes for two-year-olds on turf. On Sunday at Belmont Park, the Chad Brown-trained duo will try to dominate their respective events once again. Startup Nation looms large in the Grade 3, $200,000 Pilgrim, while Partisan Politics figures to attract plenty of support in the companion race for fillies, the Grade 3, $200,000 Miss Grillo. The 1 1/16-mile contests over the Widener course have Breeders’ Cup implications, although not part of the Challenge schedule. Unbeaten Startup Nation is from the first crop of the well-bred Dynaformer stallion Temple City, and the New York-bred youngster is already putting his freshman sire on the map. After rolling from 10 lengths back to defeat state-breds going away at the Spa, Startup Nation uncorked another big rally in the August 28 With Anticipation over the same Mellon course and 1 1/16-mile trip. The dark bay bounded 4 1/2 lengths clear in a sharp time of 1:41 3/5, notching a field-best 93 BRIS Speed rating. A repeat of that would make him tough to beat beneath a returning Joel Rosario. “I’m not seeing any (bounce) in any of his body language coming out of the race,” Brown said of Startup Nation. “I think he’s had enough time since that race, and I don’t think he was all out to win the race. He’s a pretty talented horse.” Brown, who has trained the past two Pilgrim winners in Bobby’s Kitten (2013) and Noble Tune (2012), will send out a second runner in hopes of completing the hat trick, Offering Plan. Racing for M. Dubb, Nantucket Thoroughbred Partners, Bethlehem Stables et al, Offering Plan has the same running style as Startup Nation. The Spring at Last colt rallied from last to dust fellow New York-breds at Saratoga in his August 28 debut, on the With Anticipation undercard, but must move forward to upstage his stablemate. Jose Lezcano retains the mount.

“He was stopped at one point in the race trying to make a move up the inside
and had to totally retreat out of that and restart halfway through,” Brown said
of Offering Plan. “To recover from that, having never run before, and make up a
lot of lengths in a hurry in the stretch, he showed a remarkable turn of foot. I
think he got a lot of fitness out of that race and he should move forward off of
it.

“Neither horse has done anything wrong,” the trainer added. “They’re both
undefeated and they’ve both done terrific since coming out of Saratoga and
moving down here. We’re looking forward to running both.”

The respective third and fourth from the With Anticipation, Nutty Futty and
Strong Coffee, are likewise looking to step up. Of the two, Strong Coffee has
more license to improve. The son of hot freshman sire Warrior’s Reward was a
good-looking winner in his Spa unveiling on August 2, propelling him into 2-1
favoritism for the With Anticipation. But Strong Coffee could do no better than
a lackluster fourth, and the Graham Motion pupil adds Lasix here.

Phipps Stable’s homebred Face the Music, best of the rest behind Strong
Coffee in their mutual debut, came right back to steal a Saratoga maiden next
time out on the front end. While he won’t get the same easy set-up on Sunday,
with Laurel maiden winner All I Karabout projected to show early foot, Face the
Music has shown tactical adaptability in his brief career. The Shug McGaughey
trainee loses Rosario to Startup Nation, but picks up Hall of Famer John
Velazquez.

Godolphin’s Imperia was a fast-finishing second to Face the Music, closing
impressively off tepid fractions. The son of Medaglia d’Oro and dual hemisphere
celebrity Cocoa Beach is entitled to benefit from the addition of Lasix, and
possibly a more honest pace scenario, in this spot.

“We tried it a couple of years ago with Soldat, going from a maiden to a
graded stakes, and it worked out,” trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said, referring to
Soldat’s win in the 2010 With Anticipation. “But, we think he’s a really nice
horse, and he ran really well in his first start. Tough race, but we think he’s
a nice horse. We have a good percentage second time out, so we thought we’d
try.”

Also worth a look is Vision
Perfect, who exits a maiden win over this course for fine turf trainer David Donk.

Partisan Politics is one of a Brown trio in the Miss Grillo, but stablemate Tammy the Torpedo could be a star (NYRA/Adam Coglianese Photography/Chelsea Durand) Two races earlier, Partisan Politics hopes to kick off the double for Klaravich and Lawrence in the Miss Grillo. Beaten all of a neck when third in a 5 1/2-furlong turf dash at the Spa, the More Than Ready filly thrived on the stretch-out to two turns in the August 27 P.G. Johnson. Partisan Politics swept from just off the pace to score by a convincing 2 3/4 lengths, and keeps Javier Castellano in the saddle. “She ran terrific (in the P.G. Johnson),” Brown said. “She was bumped so hard on the first turn; I was expecting that she would chuck it in on the backside. She was wide the whole way, and she had one race under her belt, a sprint race I had given her. She’s a lightly built horse. For her to overcome all that, a wide trip and getting hit pretty hard around the first turn, I was super impressed with that effort.” As with the Pilgrim, Brown is poised for a third straight victory in the Miss Grillo, following the exploits of Testa Rossi (2013) and Watsdachances (2012). He seeks his fourth overall, having saddled Maram at the dawn of his career in 2008, and Brown is triple-handed in the attempt. His other hopefuls are Long L Sheep Pond Partners’ Lady Eli and Long Lake Stable’s Tammy the Torpedo. Lady Eli overcame a rough trip to prevail on debut at Saratoga. Despite being short of room, bumped, and altering course twice in the stretch, Lady Eli got up in time as the 6-5 favorite. The Divine Park filly, from a strong Runnymede family, surely learned a lot from that eventful introduction. Irad Ortiz Jr. will try to navigate a smoother passage from post 10, one spot inside of Partisan Politics in post 11.

“She had been working brilliantly before her debut — the word was out,”
Brown said of Lady Eli. “In her works, she showed a tremendous turn of foot
while still on a hold, and she ran like she worked, particularly in the last
eighth of a mile. When she finally got some room to run, we saw that turn of
foot she showed in the morning. We were lucky to get up and win that day,
considering all the trouble she had.”

Tammy the Torpedo created a huge impression in her 3 1/4-length maiden
conquest at Saratoga August 17, and she might turn out to be the best of the
Brown trio. Yet another daughter of More Than Ready, Tammy the Torpedo blew her
rivals away while closing off a steady pace. Rosario sticks with the exciting
prospect, who promises to save ground much of the way from her rail post.

“Visually and numbers-wise, she was most impressive of the group; she showed
a great turn of foot,” Brown said. “We’ve given her plenty of time to recover
from that effort and she seems to be in top shape.”

Tammy
the Torpedo is coupled in the wagering with fellow Long Lake colorbearer
Greywalls, a twice-raced maiden from the John Terranova II barn.

Terranova has a more accomplished contender in Sovereign Stable’s Ancient
Goddess. The French-bred defeated the smart colt De Treville in a Chantilly
maiden in June. Subsequently imported and making her U.S. premiere in the P.G.
Johnson, she was rank early, veered out on the first turn, caused a chain
reaction of interference in the process, and ended up third. Ancient Goddess may
find Belmont a more congenial venue, but she is on the inside again in post 2.

Other contenders include Skinner Box, most recently third in the Natalma at
Woodbine; Nicky’s Brown Miss, who broke her maiden in the Kentucky Downs
Juvenile Fillies; and eye-catching debut winners My Cara Mia and Lady Bling.

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