Mission Accomplished For Ramsey's Reach For The Rose

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.–With his romp through mud in the opener at Saratoga Race Course Saturday, Reach for the Rose (Audible) hit the target that owner-breeder Ken Ramsey and trainer Saffie Joseph were aiming at.

The 5 1/2-length victory in a $100,000 maiden special for 2-year-olds that had been taken off the turf gave colt his first career win and earnings of $55,000. Far more important for Ramsey and Joseph, the win in the one-mile race against three foes is a stepping stone to the $1 million Kentucky Downs Juvenile Sept. 8 at Kentucky Downs.

Heavy rain overnight in upstate New York decimated the Whitney Day program. Turf racing was moved to the main track, leading to an avalanche of scratches, and two graded turf stakes (the GI Saratoga Derby Invitational and the GII Troy) were cancelled and re-scheduled for next Saturday, Aug. 10. Race 1, carded for 1 1/16 miles on the inner turf course was moved to the dirt, forcing Ramsey and Joseph to make what they said was an easy decision.

“When Saffie and I talked this morning, it was a no-brainer,” Ramsey said. “We both agreed that if we could win the race, great, then we'll put him in the stakes race at Kentucky Downs. If we don't win, we'll put him in the maiden race at Kentucky Downs. The next goal for him is to win the big stakes race at Kentucky Downs. The purses are insane down there.”

Reach for the Rose stalked the early pace set by Dew (Frosted) of :23.92 and :47.20 before taking over the stretch and winning as he pleased under Jose Ortiz. They hit the wire well ahead of Insubordination in 1:39.80 and paid $3.70. Assertiveness (Into Mischief) brushed the gate, was never really a factor in the going over the sloppy sealed track and was eased by jockey Flavien Prat.

“I thought that the horse showed enough on the dirt to stay on the dirt,” Joseph said. “In these scenarios, you never know. They have to do it. You can show it in a morning, then come off the bridle and it's different. We're thankful to get the win.”

Ramsey and his late wife Sarah bred the colt and he said Reach for the Rose is even more special to him now. He was prepared for his debut May 11 in the five-furlong Royal Palm Juvenile–an automatic qualifier for the Windsor Castle at Royal Ascot–but ended up second by 1 1/4 lengths at Gulfstream Park. He was closing well but could not reel in Gabaldon.

Then there was a plot twist when Royal Ascot officials reached out to Ramsey.

“Since the race at Royal Ascot was farther than the one down there,” Ramsey said, “they told me if I bring the horse over, they would pay half of everything for ours and pay everything for the other horse because the other horse won it and we ran second.”

Ramsey said he did not spend much time considering the offer.

“I thought that was a hell of a deal to get a half-paid expense trip to Royal Ascot since that's on my bucket list to try to win a stakes race over there,” he said. “I told them, 'absolutely, mark it down, make the arrangements' and we would be there. We started training on the horse to get him all honed up for Royal Ascot and honed him a little too much, I guess, because he bucked his shins. That was the end of the trip to Royal Ascot, so I called them to tell them, 'sorry, but the horse has bucked his shins and we're going to have to back off of him for a few weeks.”

Gabaldon finished second in the Windsor Castle, further flattering Reach for the Rose.

Joseph said that even though the Royal Palm's conditions didn't suit Reach for the Roses, he performed well.

“We knew we were asking him for a tall task, running five eighths, but he's doing it on talent” Joseph said. “He broke on top, dropped back, then ran on really well that day. It took them a while to post the Beyers, but for a 2-year-old on the turf, a 78 that's up there among the best turf Beyers for 2-year-olds.”

Ramsey, 88, underwent a kidney transplant on June 20 and is spending the summer recuperating at his home in Saratoga Springs that overlooks the Oklahoma training track. He watched Reach for the Rose prevail and said he is looking forward to the start next month.

“This should set this horse up nicely for that. It will be the third time in his form cycle, which I believe is a horse's best race,” Ramsey said. “The timing is perfect for the race. We're all set.”

Reach for the Rose (4-5) wins Saratoga Saturday opener (originally scheduled for turf) for ⁦@SaffieJosephJr⁩ and ⁦@jose93_ortiz⁩. 4-3-2-8 pic.twitter.com/HrWAXqDR3a

— Tim Wilkin (@tjwilkin) August 3, 2024

1st-Saratoga, $93,000, Msw, 8-3, 2yo, 1m (off turf), 1:39.80, sy, 5 1/2 lengths.
REACH FOR THE ROSE (c, 2, Audible–Divine Mission, by Twirling Candy), runner up to next-out Windsor Castle Stakes second Gabaldon (Gone Astray) in the five-furlong Royal Palm Juvenile Stakes at Gulfstream on debut May 11, came back favored Saturday at 4-5 odds in this rained-off one-mile contest. A comfortable second while keeping pressure on Dew (Frosted) in this scratched-down field, he came outside that rival off the far turn and took full command late, building up a safe margin despite racing greenly to the line to win by 5 1/2 lengths. Assertiveness (Into Mischief), the only insighted runner to remain in the race, came home eased to be fourth as the 7-5 second choice. Reach for the Rose is her dam's first and only reported foal though Divine Mission was bred to Mandaloun for 2025. Lifetime Record: SP, 2-1-1-0, $75,900. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-Kenneth L. Ramsey; B-Kenneth L. & Sarah K. Ramsey (KY); T-Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.