Monday, August 30, 2010
Contact: NYRA Press Office
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- Persistently doing well the morning after the Personal Ensign
- Rachel Alexandra OK following runner-up effort in Personal Ensign
- Life At Ten exits Personal Ensign in good shape; Awesome Maria makes 2010 debut Thursday;
- Miner's Reserve to miss several months with knee injury
- Apprentice Lenclud reflects on 2010
- Wednesday allowance comes up tough
- Stakes fields coming together for final Spa weekend
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Phipps Stable's Persistently appeared well the morning after her one-length upset victory over reigning Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra in Sunday's Grade 1, $300,000 Personal Ensign Invitational.
"She's doing well, I'm tired, but she seemed to come back fine," said Persistently's Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey. "A lot of times it doesn't hit them until a couple of days later, but she cooled out great. We've retooled [her schedule] to point for the Beldame [Grade 1, $350,000 1 1/8th miles on the
McGaughey also pondered the road that led him to try the Personal Ensign with the filly, who tried two turns for the first time earlier in the Saratoga meet, winning a 1 1/8th-mile second-level allowance optional claiming race on July 30.
"It's funny," McGaughey said. "I always thought she was a come-from-behind sprinter. When the book came out and there was a two-other-than going a mile and an eighth, I thought, 'well, might as well give it a try.' She ran a great race that day. [Yesterday] I think she would have run around there again. Her pedigree says that – I should have been a bit smarter. I remember Heavenly Prize struggled a little bit early in her 3-year-old year and we ran her in the
McGaughey – who has now trained four winners of the race, including Heavenly Prize in 1995 – said he did not point Persistently for the Personal Ensign, but when faced with two options for the filly's next start, conferred with owner Ogden Phipps and decided to run.
"Mr. Phipps said he thought if it came up a short field, he would like to give this a try, which was probably down deep what I wanted to do, too," McGaughey explained. "Going into it, believe me, it was all 'Let's see what happens.' We weren't going into it thinking we were going to win."
But, to their surprise, Persistently gave McGaughey and the Phipps Stable a victory in the race named for their undefeated champion mare, who died earlier this year at the age of 26.
"You couldn't write a script like this in
"It was fun," McGaughey said. "I really enjoyed the whole thing. I enjoyed seeing Rachel Alexandra in the paddock, and the fans. I told [my wife] Allison when we were walking out of the paddock, 'Let's go upstairs and watch Rachel Alexandra run.'
"As I was watching us, I also had an eye on what was going on up in front of us, when they turned down the backside, I thought Persistently was really in kind of a good flow. I didn't know what that meant at that time. When they started catching up, I was a little bit surprised that we were as close as we were at the quarter pole and then when [Rachel Alexandra] slipped away a little bit at the eighth pole I thought 'uh oh,' [but] we just kept coming."
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Trainer Steve Asmussen reported that Rachel Alexandra, second in yesterday's Grade 1 Personal Ensign as the odds-on favorite, exited the race in good shape.
The reigning Horse of the Year will return to the track on Wednesday, after which Asmussen and majority owner Jess Jackson of Stonestreet Stables will discuss future plans for the 4-year-old daughter of Medaglia d'Oro.
"How she comes back to the track is our focus now," said Asmussen.
While disappointed in the outcome of the race, in which Rachel Alexandra dueled for the lead with second choice Life At Ten and was tagged late by 21-1 long shot Persistently, Asmussen remained proud of his filly.
"You don't want to lose, you're not planning on losing, but you can remember what she's won and what she's done for us," said Asmussen. "My feelings for her today are the same as my feelings for her the day after the Woodward or Preakness."
Asmussen praised Rachel Alexandra for her fortitude, which he believes will help her overcome the loss and aid her in future performances.
"I think there's a great amount of pride in her and belief in herself," said Asmussen. "She has a tremendous amount of strength in her, and it's been called upon before and it will be called upon again."
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Trainer Todd Pletcher reported that Life At Ten, who pressed Rachel Alexandra for much of Sunday's Grade 1 Personal Ensign before finishing third, returned from the race in good order.
"She was tired, no doubt about it," said Pletcher. "In that situation, if you're going to try to win, and no one else has any speed … if our objective was to be Grade 1-placed or to secure second, we would have approached it maybe a little differently. We wanted to try to win, and ultimately got tired doing that."
Looking ahead, Pletcher said the Beldame was a possibility, with the ultimate goal the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic at Churchill Downs on November 5.
"I don't think we'll need to run her at 1 ¼ miles again," said the trainer.
On Thursday, Pletcher will send out last year's Grade 2 Matron winner Awesome Maria for her 2010 debut in the first division of the $70,000 Riskaverse at a mile on the inner turf. It will be the first start on grass for the 3-year-old Maria's Mon filly, who was runner-up in the Grade 1 Frizette to Devil May Care last year.
"We're looking forward to getting Awesome Maria started," he said. "She looks like a filly that wants to run a route of ground. I was pleased with the way she worked on the turf; it's a good starting point. A lot of Maria's
Awesome Maria has worked twice on the grass at
The trainer added that
Pletcher, who did not have any starters on Monday, heads into the final week of racing with a seemingly insurmountable lead over Linda Rice, 30-17, and appears to have locked up his seventh
A key factor in his success has been the performance of his 2-year-olds; through Sunday, Pletcher had sent out 36 juveniles, with 15 victories, for a win percentage of 42 percent. Additionally, Pletcher has won the Grade 1 Betfair TVG Coaching Club American Oaks with Devil May Care, the Grade 1 Ruffian with Malibu Prayer, the Grade 2 Amsterdam and the Grade 1 King's Bishop with Discreetly Mine, the Grade 2 Hall of Fame with Interactif and the Grade 2 Adirondack with Position Limit.
"I'd probably give [the meet] an A-minus," said Pletcher. "I would have liked to win the Whitney and the
"It would be very hard to complain about anything that's happened at this meet," he added. "For the most part, even the ones that didn't win performed well, and the 2-year-olds have been outstanding, so that bodes well for the future. You'd always like to do better and win the one that got away, but at the same time, you can't be greedy."
* * *
The injury to Miner's Reserve , who set the pace in Saturday's 1 Travers before tiring to finish seventh, is worse than originally thought, Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito said Monday, and the 3-year-old will miss several months of training as he recuperates from a hairline fracture in his right knee.
"Friday night, when we checked him out, his legs were cold," said Zito, who trains Miner's Reserve for Robert LaPenta. "After he ran, he got a little short walking, and we thought it was the foot, for sure. We put the foot-testers on him, and he jumped. And yesterday, he didn't get any better. So, his legs were ice cold, and we X-rayed him, and there was a line in the knee. So he'll be out for a few months."
The Mineshaft colt, runner-up in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy behind A Little Warm, was 2-2-0 from eight starts this year.
* * *
Frederic Lenclud, who after today will lose his status as an apprentice jockey, said he was pleased with his performance during the 2010
"I think I've had an awesome meet," said Lenclud, the leading apprentice jockey at the Spa in 2010. "I thought I'd win only a couple of races, but I've won six."
Among the victories was a triumph aboard Le Mi Geaux in the Grade 3 Schuylerville on opening day, the second graded stakes victory so far in his career.
"It was lucky, but I'm glad it happened here," said Lenclud, a native of France who later in the day picked up his seventh win of the meet when he guided Yan Yan to a score in the fifth race.
Lenclud, who competed at Churchill Downs this spring and will return to
"I'll keep working hard," said Lenclud, "and hopefully I'll keep winning races."
* * *
The 2-1 morning-line favorite is Regal Ransom, winner of the 2009 Group 2 U.A.E.
Cool Coal Man, the 5-2 second choice, returns to the Spa after winning the Albert the Great Stakes by 12 ¾ lengths and finishing seventh in the Grade 1 Woodward in 2009. Owned by Robert LaPenta, Cool Coal Man has won 10 of 27 career starts, including the Skip Away Stakes at
Timber Reserve, installed at 4-1, will compete for the first time since finishing third in the Grade 3 William Donald Schaefer at Pimlico on May 15, a race won by Blame, who earlier in
Giant Moon will aim for his second victory of the 2010
Completing the field from the rail out are Atoned and Bad Action, both graded stakes winners; and Discreet Treasure, a half-brother to Saturday's Grade 1 King's Bishop winner Discreetly Mine.
* * *
The final Saturday of the meet hosts a pair of Grade 1 races for 3-year-olds and up, with Whitney runner-up Quality Road heading the field for the 1 1/8th-mile, $750,000 Woodward, a race which is also expected to attract Arcodoro, Convocation, Indian Dance, Mine That Bird, Mythical Power and Tranquil Manner. Haynesfield is possible for the race.
Also run Saturday is the seven-furlong, $250,000 Forego which will likely draw Big Drama, Bribon, Charitable Man, Girolamo, Here Comes Ben, Starforaday, Vineyard Haven, Warrior's Reward and You and I Forever.
The Grade 1, $250,000 Spinaway, a seven-furlong race for juvenile fillies, is the centerpiece of Sunday's stakes action and eight fillies are expected according to NYRA Stakes Coordinator
Also on the Sunday card is the Grade 3, $100,000 Saranac, a 1 3/16th-mile turf heat for 3-year-olds. Citrus Kid, Devon Rock, Fantastico Roberto, Hudson Steele, Lethal Combination, Mystic, and Turf Melody are probable for the race and could be joined by Alcomatch and Stately Victor.
The Grade 1, $250,000 Three Chimneys Hopeful – set for Monday, September 6, closing day at the Spa – is expected to attract Boys At Tosconova, Stay Thirsty, and Wine Police, who will all step up in class after breaking their maidens by a combined 25 ¼ lengths. Settle for Medal is also probable for the race, while Nacho Saint, Sovereign Default, and Sweet Ducky are also under consideration for the seven-furlong dash.
The Grade 3, $100,000
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