TurfPublicists: ALBANY (NYB) ADVANCE; for Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Contact: Jenny Kellner

IBBOYEE TOPS FIELD FOR ALBANY

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Although he has been successful in both open and restricted company, Ibboyee seems to have found an ideal spot Wednesday at Saratoga Race Course as he heads a field of six New York-breds in the $100,000 Albany.

Owned by Anstu Stables and trained by Todd Pletcher, the son of Medallist comes into the 1 1/8^th mile Albany off a sharp half-length victory in the 1 1/16^th mile New York Derby at Finger Lakes. The New York Derby, for state-breds, was his second win of the year and boosted his record as a 3-year-old to 2-2-2 from seven starts, including a second to the King’s Bishop-bound D’ Funnybone in the Grade 2 Swale and a third to D’ Funnybone and Travers hopeful A Little Warm in the Grade 2 Hutcheson.

“He’s a horse that has run well in open company, but you know, we’re also wanting to take advantage of him being a New York-bred horse,” said Pletcher of Ibboyee, whose lifetime earnings are $595,258 with a record of 5-2-2 from 12 starts. “The Albany looks like the right spot.”

Ibboyee is returning to the site of his very first victory, having come from off the pace to get up by a nose in his debut at the Spa last August. From there, he went on to win a pair of stakes at Finger Lakes, finished fourth in the Sleepy Hollow at Belmont Park over a sloppy track, and then closed out his juvenile campaign with a victory in the Damon Runyon at Aqueduct. This year, he scored his first win in the Spend a Buck at Monmouth against open company in May and then was upset by Friend Or Foe – also Travers-bound – in the restricted Mike Lee at Belmont Park.

John Velazquez is aboard Ibboyee, the even-money morning-line favorite who drew the rail as the 124-pound highweight in the field.

Trainer Dominic Galluscio has entered a pair in the Albany: Johannesburg Smile, third in the New York Derby behind Ibboyee, and Stormy’s Majesty, who won his first three starts against New York-breds and then finished eighth in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy behind A Little Warm.

With Javier Castellano up, Johannesburg Smile drew post position 5 and was listed at 5-1 on the morning line, while Stormy’s Majesty drew post position 2 under Hall of Famer Edgar Prado at 5-2 on the morning line.

Hittin the Note, trained by Rick Schosberg, comes into the Albany off a third-place finish in a state-bred allowance at the Spa on July 28 and a second-place finish against similar at Belmont. The son of Read the Footnotes, unraced at age 2, previously was fourth to General Maximus in the Times Square Division of the New York and fifth behind Franny Freud in the NYSS on May 26.

Hittin the Note, 12-1, will be ridden by Ramon Dominguez from post position 3.

Mineswept, who broke his maiden in his seventh start earlier this year at Belmont and who followed that with a victory in an off-the-turf allowance at Saratoga on July 24, is 6-1 on the morning line under Alan Garcia, while the Finger Lakes-based Small Town, fourth in the New York Derby, completes the field.

The field for the $100,000 Albany:

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	Odds
1	Ibboyee (NY)	J R Velazquez	124	T A Pletcher	Even
2	Stormy's Majesty (NY)	E S Prado	119	D G Galluscio	5-2
3	Hittin the Note (NY)	R A Dominguez	115	R E Schosberg	12-1
4	Mineswept (NY)	A Garcia	115	P M Serpe	6-1
5	Johannesburg Smile (NY)	J Castellano	119	D G Galluscio	5-1
6	Small Town (NY)	E Castillo	117	J Tebbutt	20-1

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