Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Contact: Jenny Kellner
EIGHT EVENLY MATCHED SOPHOMORES VIE IN G2 JIM DANDY
“With I’ll Have Another, Bodemeister and Union Rags not being around, that leaves the door open for one of them,” said Michael Matz, who will saddle Teeth of the Dog in the 1 1/8-mile race, the traditional prep for the Grade 1, $1 million Travers on August 25. “There’s not one horse that’s a standout going into the race.”
The Jim Dandy, along with the Grade 1 Diana, will air on MSG+ as part of “The New York Racing Series presented by Foxwoods Resort Casino.
Teeth of the Dog comes into the Jim Dandy riding a two-race win streak at Belmont Park, having taken the Easy Goer on the same day that recently retired stablemate Union Rags won the Belmont Stakes and next triumphing in the Grade 2 Dwyer. Owned by J. W. Singer, the Bluegrass Cat colt broke his maiden February 4 at
“His last two races were good, more so being that in one of then he was on the pace and in the other he came from behind,” said Matz of Teeth of the Dog, the 5-1 fourth choice on the morning line. “We’ve asked a lot of him this year, and he’s handled himself pretty well. One of the great things about this horse is that he’s got a big heart and will give us his all. We’ll wait and see if he can propel himself into the Travers.”
Joel Rosario will ride Teeth of the Dog from post position 6.
Returning to the site of his very first victory is 5-2 morning-line favorite Alpha, who is 3-2-0 from five starts in the
He returned to the work tab on June 30, and on July 14 zipped five furlongs in a bullet 58.88 seconds, and most recently went a half-mile in 49.58 on July 21
“Alpha’s doing great,” said trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. “We’re all set.”
The Godolphin Racing color-bearer will leave from the rail with Ramon Dominguez in the irons.
At 3-1 on the morning line is Neck ‘n Neck, who took four tries to break his maiden in 2011 and who appears to have turned it around midway through his 3-year-old campaign. After finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth and the Grade 1 Florida Derby, the Flower Alley colt next beat older horses in an allowance race at Churchill Downs on May 10 and gained his first stakes win in the Grade 3 Matt Winn on June 16.
“Just the way he did it and how he executed, and you know, to win by seven and beat those horses with authority, you have to go to the next level.,” said trainer Ian Wilkes. “You’ve got to give them a shot to get against the big boys.”
Leandro Goncalves, aboard for all three of Neck ‘n Neck’s victories, will ride A. Stevens Miles, Jr’s. colt from post position 4.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, whose Bodemeister finished second to I’ll Have Another in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, will be represented by Liaison, the lone Grade 1 winner in the field. The Indian Charlie colt, who capped a three-race winning streak in the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity to close out his 2011 campaign, is 0-for-6 this year, most recently finishing third as the favorite to stablemate Blueskiesnrainbows and Nonios in the Grade 2 Swaps at Betfair Hollywood Park.
Owned by Arnold Zechter, Liaison will be regain the services of jockey Martin Garcia, who was aboard for his most recent work in 1:12.40 at Del Mar on Monday
Liaison, third choice at 7-2 on the morning line, will leave from post position 7.
Another Hall of Fame trainer, Nick Zito, is hopeful Fast Falcon will continue his forward progression. Off the board in his first two races, the Awesome Again colt broke his maiden going 1 1/16 miles at Pimlico on May 11, and next was a late-running second to Teeth of the Dog in both the Easy Goer and the Dwyer.
“I ran him Belmont Stakes day to see what I had,” said Zito. “Boy, did he come with a great run that day. In his next start, he got closer to Teeth of the Dog again, and here we are again. Hopefully, he can do the same thing: hang around these horses and keep moving up. It’s an extra sixteenth of a mile and he certainly has everything going for him distance-wise.”
Rosie Napravnik will ride Fast Falcon, 10-1 on the morning line, from post position 2.
Completing the field are multiple graded stakes winner Prospective, most recently victorious in the Grade 3 Ohio Derby; Atigun, third in the Belmont Stakes, and My Adonis, who rebounded from an eighth-place finish in the Belmont to take the Long Branch at Monmouth Park on July 8.
The field for the Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy:
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Wgt | Trainer | Odds |
| 1 | Alpha (KY) | R A Dominguez | 119 | K P McLaughlin | 5-2 |
| 2 | Fast Falcon (KY) | R Napravnik | 117 | N P Zito | 10-1 |
| 3 | Atigun (KY) | J R Leparoux | 117 | K G McPeek | 8-1 |
| 4 | Neck 'n Neck (KY) | L R Goncalves | 119 | I R Wilkes | 3-1 |
| 5 | My Adonis (KY) | J Castellano | 117 | K J Breen | 20-1 |
| 6 | Teeth of the Dog (KY) | J | 121 | M R Matz | 5-1 |
| 7 | Liaison (KY) | M Garcia | 119 | B Baffert | 7-2 |
| 8 | Prospective (KY) | J R Velazquez | 121 | M | 12-1 |
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