2012 Saratoga Summer thread!

[Glimmerglass]

(pdf version) Saratoga Special 8-11-12: “Turf Thunder” - with my fav Get Stormy! And yes he does look like his nickname

With a wide, long blaze that stretches from his forelock to the tip of his nose and four tall white socks on his legs, Get Stormy oddly resembles a Clydesdale. In fact, that’s just how the 6-year-old got his nickname.

"His nickname is Clyde because when he came off the van as a 2-year-old he had these white feet and white legs and the reddish brown color, and I said, ‘Hell, he looks like a Clydesdale yearling,’ " said trainer Tom Bush. “If we grew fetlock hairs on him, he’d look exactly like one.”

By now, the 6-year-old is a familiar face – and body – to Saratoga fans. He makes his seventh career start on the inner turf today – looking for win number five as the 4-1 third choice in the Fourstardave, a race he won in 2010 and missed last year.

Since his maiden win in December 2008 on a cold day at Aqueduct, Bush’s superstar horse has won seven graded stakes including the three Grade 1 races …

I took this pic of Clyde in the paddock of Keeneland last fall

[Drvmb1ggl3]

This isn’t something you see very often.
Saratoga has carded a 2mile race… on the DIRT, next Monday.

RACE 8
(Post Time: 4:55) Surface: Dirt
2 Miles | Open | 3 Year Olds And Up | ALLOWANCE OPTIONAL CLAIMING ( $35,000 ) | Purse: $87,000

Race has 9 horses entered at the moment.

[Glimmerglass]

Note - in the Fourstardave today Data Link has been scratched.

Data Link had been looking for his third graded stakes victory in his last four starts. The four-year-old War Front colt, trained by Shug McGaughey, bounced in his last effort but was otherwise rocking it this spring.

[Glimmerglass]

Video replay - Saturday’s feature: 8-11-12 Fourstardave Hdcp $500k, Grade 2-turf

Sunday on NBC Sports Network @ 6pm - 7pm EST
Sunday, August 12
Grade 2, $200,000 96th running of the Adirondack Stakes for 2-yr old fillies
Grade 2, $200,000 107th Saratoga Special for 2-yr olds

The Special will be without Shanghai Bobby as he spiked a temp to 103 degrees. Per the connections (Pletcher, et al) if he reacts [well] to the antibiotics he would be able to make the Hopeful.

In the Adirondack look for the favorite to try and either wow everyone again or do something else - Stonestreet Stables’ Kauai Kate was a 12-length winner on opening day.

[Glimmerglass]

Video replay: 96th edition of the (G2) Adirondack Stakes with a potential filly star in the making.

Nice to see Rosie in control with an exceedingly fast filly. It wasn’t as impressive as her maiden but it was a fairly quick return to the races

Video replay: 107th edition of the (G2) Saratoga Special also with a wicked fast colt.

Spurious Precision won impressively despite running an opening quarter in a wicked 21.35 seconds and a half-mile in a crazy 44.02 while being pressed by Derrick Smith/Mrs John Magnier/Michael Tabor owned Drum Roll.

I’m I the only one who thinks that NBC needs to work on their audio during the race call? They seem to be piping in Tom Durkin’s call from his mic as if their own microphone was sitting in the room yards away. Far less than rich compared to TVG’s audio. At least its better than HRTV’s always substandard less-than-crisp video broadcast at Saratoga.

[HSAuntie]

2 miler

I saw one of these called a ‘marathon’ 2 yrs ago at Saratoga. It was really fun. Durkin said after the first lap ‘Don’t get too excited folks. they have a long way to go.’

[Glimmerglass]

Sunday 2YO Beyer Speed Figs for the two respective JV winners: Spurious Precision 88 and Kauai Katie (f) 84.

Entries for the 8th race today - the cited ‘Marathon’ @ 2-mile on dirt effort - field of 8 chasing $87,000 purse. One of the runners, Ea, just ran at Spa on the 6th so this is a quick wheeling back and stretching out Although his 2012 record is a healthy 8 starts 3-0-2

I’m surprised that Sheppard or Voss didn’t point one of their crossover steeplechase and flat runners into this race.

[Glimmerglass]

A tip to those wagering … while Rosie is in the top 10 standing at Saratoga she is completely ice cold on turf from the perspective of winning. (Evidently no tiger blood - yes an outdated already reference)

As noted by DRF’s David Grening 8-13-12

It looked like Rosie was set up to end an 0 for 53 on turf at this meet on Next Question. Then the gates opened and she got sandwiched.

Now 0-54 with victories on the grass at Spa. Ouch

[Glimmerglass]

Zero shock: Paynter will not make the Travers Stakes and Zayat officially declared him out of the race. Lord only knows where Bode went too. Liaison will run for Bob however in the race.

[NCRider]

Rosie seems to have gone a bit cold in general at the NYRA tracks. She seemed to struggle a bit at Belmont too, took a day at Monmouth, won everything in sight, back to Belmont, back to struggling. Is she pressing, is it the horses? What’s up?

[Glimmerglass]

[QUOTE=NCRider;6496477]
Rosie seems to have gone a bit cold in general at the NYRA tracks. She seemed to struggle a bit at Belmont too, took a day at Monmouth, won everything in sight, back to Belmont, back to struggling. Is she pressing, is it the horses? What’s up?[/QUOTE]

A very tough jockey colony up at Spa this meet and Ramon seems to be scoring with ease in any type of race. Rosie has gotten some solid mounts like Kauai Katie, who will carry her into the Breeders Cup and maybe the Kentucky Oaks. I’ve noticed that Junior Alvarado in from Arlington has been hustling - and producing - for mounts with and producing solid yields. He’s 5th in the standings. Success gets more mounts but I think he’s got a high quality agents opening doors.

In the Saratoga Special last week Rosie reflected on the way things used to be - which puts it in perspective: (pdf) Special page 38, published 8-6-12

[Top 10 List, by Rosie Napravnik]

“Forever Together in the Breeders Cup - it’s funny a lot of them come down to Jonathan Sheppard and he was my first galloping job when I was 13. He was literally the first guy I galloped for. I was the lowest on the totem pole. I was only 13 and I was getting paid 100 bucks a week for like 7 days a week, mucking grooming, everything.”

She’s doing better than $100/week now

[Glimmerglass]

Side bonus with a flashback … Video: Saratoga maiden race 1988 - note the winner

[Glimmerglass]

Hmmm … maybe the New York State wagering officials should be watching the Saratoga track feed exclusively and not other courses

http://www.drf.com/news/saratoga-steward-halts-betting-early-mistake

[Glimmerglass]

Drought broken - per the tweet of David Grening at the end of Monday’s card (8/13):

Rosie breaks 0 for 53 on turf since winning first race on opening day as she rallies Volcano Run to win Spa 10th.

By the way - as is the Stonestreet Stables tradition - Kauai Kate is named for a Jackson friend/relative: In this case the last Jess Jackson’s daughter

Katie Jackson is 26 years old, recently married, and has one of the best 2-year-old fillies in the land named for her. How cool is all of that?

Jackson, the daughter of the late Jess Jackson, the founder of Stonestreet Stable, and Barbara Banke, who runs it now, got eyeball-to-eyeball with her namesake Sunday afternoon at Saratoga Race Course. Kauai Katie, the super-swift filly, made Katie Jackson and the whole Stonestreet family awfully proud.

“She is beautiful,” Katie Jackson said as the family gathered in the Saratoga winner’s circle, always a good thing.

[CVPeg]

And Rosie will be trying to keep up her wins in filly stakes on Saturday in the Alabama…

http://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/Believe-You-Can-erasing-doubts-3785626.php

[CVPeg]

[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;6497043]
Side bonus with a flashback … Video: Saratoga maiden race 1988 - note the winner[/QUOTE]

Nice hearing Marshall Cassidy after all these years.

[Glimmerglass]

[QUOTE=CVPeg;6497683]
Nice hearing Marshall Cassidy after all these years. ;)[/QUOTE]

Indeed! Something about his tone, observation, and cadence that just was synonymous with NYRA tracks. Always enjoyable.

I’ll be at Saratoga this weekend for the Alabama with Rosie aboard Believe You Can and to which she said:

“Oh, my God, she is the grittiest filly I have ever ridden,” Napravnik said Monday morning. “She has tons of heart. She is as special as they get.”

[Glimmerglass]

In keeping with the flashbacks and Easy Goer, the Phipps family’s standout colt, let’s relive 1989’s Travers Stakes … Video replay: ABC Sports broadcast of the midsummer’s derby, The Travers Stakes (1989)

Dave Johnson with his signature “… and down the stretch they come” call which is gold, Jerry, gold!

[Glimmerglass]

Believe You Can is OUT of the Saturday’s running of the 132nd edition of Alabama Stakes! – Tweet this morning (WED)

Believe You Can to skip Alabama, get 30 days on farm. Jones said filly seems tired. In perfect world, she could make Gazelle in Nov. at AQU

So there goes Rosie’s chance for a big score this weekend.

[Glimmerglass]

More on ‘Believe You Can’ and the Alabama Stakes:

Larry Jones said that Believe You Can will not make the Breeders’ Cup this fall at Santa Anita. He said that “in a perfect world,” she could make the Grade 1 Gazelle at Aqueduct on Nov. 24.

However, Jones said if Believe You Can needs more than 30 days off, she wouldn’t run again until next year as a 4-year-old.

In addition to winning the Kentucky Oaks, Believe You Can this year won the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks and the SIlverbulletday Stakes. In her most recent start, Believe You Can finished third in the Mother Goose.

Entries were to be taken on post positions drawn later Wednesday for Saturday’s Alabama. Expected to enter are Grace Hall, In Lingerie, Questing, Sea Island, Uptown Bertie, Via Villaggio, and Zo Impressive.