The holiday weekend of stakes action–and the Saratoga meet–conclude in style when morning-line favorite Ferocious (Flatter) faces eight rivals in contentious renewal of the GI Hopeful Stakes. Campaigned by JR Ranch, Ramiro Restrepo, High Step Racing and OGMA Investments, the $1.3-million OBS March graduate romped to a 7 3/4-length debut win and earned a 'TDN Rising Star' label Aug. 3. Off a step slow in that unveiling, Ferocious settled in a good stalking position behind an opening quarter-mile in :22.06 over a muddy and sealed main track. Tipped out to the three path at the quarter-pole through a half-mile in :45.61, he was in command with a furlong to run, scoring in a final time of 1:09.65 for six furlongs. The winning effort earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure–the highest number recorded by any 2-year-old this year.
Ferocious has worked twice since that debut win, going four furlongs in :50.88 (48/64) Aug. 18 and five furlongs in 1:02.63 (3/6) Aug. 24.
“Since his first race, everything has been pretty straightforward with him,” said Gustavo Delgado, Jr., son and assistant to trainer Gustavo Delgado, Sr. “He's had a couple of breezes–both of them very easy and all the signs you want to see with a horse after his first race are there. It's hard to say after a 96 Beyer Speed Figure first time out that he's going to improve, but it's more about getting the foundation that young horses at this time of the year need. Everybody is excited to see him run again.”
Ferocious will have another furlong to work with in the Hopeful and Delgado said the added distance will be a benefit to the colt, who will break from post two Monday.
“I think the extra furlong will help him. He will have more time to relax,” Delgado said. “He seems to be a very nice horse. We don't know how good he is yet, but it's just a matter of putting him out there. We're aware of the horses he's going to face this time and there's a few horses everybody is high on, and they can improve a lot from one race to another.”
Ferocious was the second-highest priced offering following a :9 4/5 work at the OBS March sale.
“Everybody–not just us–liked this horse and that's why we had to pay that price for our clients,” Delgado said. “Apart from that, he did have one of the best, if not the best, breeze for that sale. His physique, his conformation and family all suggested he was a really nice horse. He's got a classy way about him and when he walks, he's very elegant.”
Flanagan Racing's Chancer McPatrick (McKinzie), who earned his own 'TDN Rising Star' label with his late-running debut victory going 6 1/2 furlongs July 27 for trainer Chad Brown, will break from post eight and is 5-2 on the morning line.
“Based on his morning works, I expected him to be a mid-pack type of horse if he broke well,” Brown said of the colt's debut effort. “But then he got shuffled back and found himself in a very challenging position early. I was quite impressed with the way he overcame it. Flavien [Prat] went to 'Plan B' and was very patient and the horse really came through. It's his talent that really prevailed.”
Chancer McPatrick most recently worked four furlongs in :49.00 (19/94) over the main track at Saratoga Aug. 25.
“He looks super. He's been training very well,” Brown said.
Brown will also saddle Klaravich Stables' Incentive Pay (Volatile) in the Hopeful. The chestnut breaks from the outside in the nine-horse field and is 8-1 on the morning line. He was a debut winner with a rail-skimming rally going six furlongs at Saratoga July 20.
“I was quite impressed with him that he was able to come up the rail and run like a horse that has done it before,” Brown said. “I know he's really got to come forward on his figures–there are some fast horses in this race–but he ran early in the meet, and I feel I only had the horse 80% fit. I'd never breezed him past a half-mile and I think there's a lot of room for improvement there. He's really done well [since].”
The Hopeful is the 10th of 12 races on Saratoga's closing-day card with a post time of 5:43 p.m.
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