Rivalries continue in King’s Bishop; Contested cuts back for Test

Currency Swap is a perfect three-for-three at Saratoga heading in to the King’s Bishop (NYRA/Adam Coglianese Photography)

All but one of the Grade 2 Amsterdam runners, as well as Trinniberg and Fort
Loudon, will renew their individual rivalries on Saturday in the Grade 1,
$500,000

King’s Bishop Stakes at Saratoga.

The main-track affair drew 10 sophomores sprinting seven furlongs, and will
be joined on the Grade 1 Travers undercard by 10 three-year-old fillies going
the same distance in the Grade 1, $500,000
Test
and nine distaffers in the Grade 2, $250,000

Ballston Spa at 1 1/16 miles on the inner grass.

As for the King’s Bishop, the race will feature six of the seven runners from
the 6 1/2-furlong Amsterdam on July 29. Currency Swap recorded the 1 3/4-length
win that day over Doctor Chit, who in turn had a neck to spare on Unbridled’s
Note. It was just another neck back to Laurie’s Rocket, who was followed by
fellow King’s Bishop contenders Fort Loudon and Gun Boat. Politicallycorrect ran
last in the race and his connections have decided to bypass Saturday’s event.

The Amsterdam was supposed to be Fort Loudon’s affirmation of his neck
victory over Trinniberg in the Grade 3 Carry Back at Calder on July 7, but
instead the Awesome of Course colt found himself finishing fifth, 3 3/4 lengths
behind the winner. Trained by Stanley Gold through the Carry Back, Fort Loudon
was transferred to Nick Zito following that race to prepare for a Saratoga
campaign. He’ll get a jockey switch to Junior Alvarado on Saturday.

It was nip/tuck between Fort Loudon and Trinniberg (yellow bridle) on the Carry Back wire (Coady Photography)

Trinniberg hasn’t competed since the Carry Back, and will be looking to
return to the form that saw him score in the Grade 3 Swale, Grade 3 Bay Shore
and Grade 2 Woody Stephens, all going the King’s Bishop distance of seven
furlongs. In fact, the Teuflesberg dark bay has suffered just one loss at the
distance, with that coming when he ran second to Currency Swap in last year’s
Grade 2 Hopeful at the Spa. Regular rider Willie Martinez has the call on the
Bisnath Parboo trainee.

Ever So Lucky didn’t compete in either the Amsterdam or Carry Back, as
trainer Jonathan Sheppard gave the Indian Charlie three-year-old a near
three-month break following a series of setbacks while on the Triple Crown
trail. He was scratched from the Grade 2 Hutcheson following a less-than-stellar
breeze and missing a workout due to a bruised left hind foot in mid-February.
Third in the Grade 3 Swale in his three-year-old debut, he was never a factor in
Grade 1 Blue Grass, finishing 17 1/4 lengths behind Dullahan over the Polytrack
at Keeneland.

Contested romped in the Acorn prior to her subpar effort in the Mother Goose (NYRA/Adam Coglianese Photography)

One race earlier on Saratoga’s Saturday program, Contested will try to get
back to her winning ways in the Test. The Ghostzapper filly broke her maiden at
Santa Anita last October then went on a three-race win streak that included the
Grade 3 Eight Belles and Grade 1 Acorn. Trainer Bob Baffert then stretched his
charge out past a mile for the first time in the Grade 1 Mother Goose last out,
and Contested faded to last of five, beaten 14 3/4 lengths, after setting the
early pace.

“I think the track had a lot to with (Contested’s
poor performance in the Mother Goose),” assistant trainer Jim Barnes said. “It had rained heavily the night before. It was a different track
the day we ran in the Acorn. It was very fast that day. The day we ran in
the Mother Goose it was deep, and I don’t think you wanted to be on the
inside.”

Contested returned to California following the
Mother Goose, turning in five workouts at Del Mar, and arrived at Saratoga
on Monday.

“She’s training well and the weather should be good throughout the
weekend, so I expect her to (rebound in the Test),” Barnes added.

Amie’s Dini is looking for her first win since taking the Martha Washington in February (Oaklawn Park/Coady Photography)

Amie’s Dini has proven quite versatile when it comes to distance. The Bandini
sophomore has finished off-the-board only once in her nine-race career, with
that coming as an eighth-place run in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks. She closed out
her juvenile campaign with a 6 3/4-length triumph at Churchill Downs while going
six furlongs, then ran second in the six-furlong Dixie Belle and captured the
one-mile Martha Washington to open her sophomore season.

The Ron Moquett pupil stretched out to be runner-up in both the Grade 3
Honeybee and Grade 2 Fantasy prior to her Kentucky Oaks effort and was given a
brief vacation before returning in the Delaware Oaks.

Other contenders in the Test include stakes debuter Book Review, who earned a
103 BRIS Speed rating for her 2 1/2-length triumph against Saratoga allowance
rivals on July 20 following a runner-up effort behind eventual Grade 1 Alabama
winner Questing in a June 24 optional claimer; Beautiful But Blue, easy winner of the Fleet Indian and Bouwerie Stakes going the Test distance against state-bred rivals; and Jazzy
Idea, fourth in the Grade 1 Prioress three weeks ago sprinting six furlongs.

Zagora scored in the Diana last year at Saratoga (NYRA/Adam Coglianese Photography)

Saturday’s stakes action will get underway in the Ballston Spa, which
features a stellar line-up of turf fillies and mares and one main-track only
entrant in Acting Happy. The top draws in the race are Zagora, Tapitsfly, Hungry
Island and Summer Soiree, three of whom are returning off runs in the Grade 1
Diana on July 28.

Zagora was the defending champion of the Diana, but could only manage a
third-placing this time around. The daughter of Green Tune
entered that race off nice wins in the Gallorette Handicap, Hillsborough and
Endeavour, all Grade 3s, with a fifth-placing in the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley thrown
in for good measure. The chestnut mare will keep Ramon Dominguez in the irons.

“In hindsight, she probably did need the race,” admitted the mare’s trainer,
Chad Brown. “Especially on softer turf, it was a little more demanding of a race
off the (two-month) layoff. She got a lot out of it, and she’s put a couple of
really nice works in since.”

Tapitsfly is looking to go one better in this year’s Ballston Spa (NYRA/David Alcosser)

“Firmer ground is
definitely what she wants,” Romans asserted. “She came out of the Diana
really well. I wasn’t thinking about running her back that quick, but she’s
just doing so well up here. There’s plenty of speed in there with her and
Summer Soiree, so we’ll see what happens.”

Hungry Island ran in last for much of the Diana before putting in a mild
rally to take fifth in the six-distaffer race. The More Than Ready four-year-old
did much better when rallying for third in the Just a Game, and got to the wire
first in the Grade 2 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile on Kentucky Oaks Day.

“I was little disappointed
in her race in the Diana,” Hall of Fame trainer Shug
McGaughey said. “(Jockey John Velazquez) said when he asked her, she was just
even. Who knows? That’s really the first time she’s ever done something like
that, but she has trained good since and hopefully we can get her back on
the right track.”

Velazquez will stay aboard Hungry Island.