By J.N. Campbell
In the GIII Saranac Stakes for 3-year-olds over the grass at Saratoga on Friday afternoon, West Hollywood (Uncle Mo) was the winner, but the race was marred by the first racing fatality of the summer season as The Big Torpedo (Big Brown) had to be euthanized on the track, according to details provided by a release from NYRA.
Owned by Thomas Albrecht, Vincent Fusaro and James Klein, The Big Torpedo (#5)–who was in the process of making every pole a winning one–sustained a catastrophic injury to his left front leg in the stretch run of Race 6. Despite the immediate response of on-site veterinarians, the Thomas Morley trainee was humanely euthanized due to the severity of the injury. The chestnut colt is the only horse to sustain a catastrophic injury during racing at the 2024 summer meet at Saratoga Race Course, which opened July 11 and has featured 2,879 horses starting in 369 races to date.
The Big Torpedo's jockey Eric Cancel was unseated, but was not injured.
In the statement, NYRA also said that the incident caused #3 Take Me To Church (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) to alter course unseating Javier Castellano, who was awake and alert as he was transported to Albany Medical Center where he was treated for an injury to his right wrist. Track officials went on to state that the Brad Cox trainee, who sustained minor cuts and scrapes, was apprehended by the outrider and returned to the barn area via equine ambulance.
Flurry Racing's Staton Flurry added in a post on X about his colt, “Take Me To Church is back at the barn with a few scrapes but seems okay. My thoughts and prayers are with Javier Castellano and the Morley barn.”
As for West Hollywood, the dark bay was making his first stakes start for Qatar Racing. The colt debuted for Roger Varian's yard in an English allowance race at Kempton Park in early January and finished fourth. Sent to Cox, West Hollywood broke his maiden in first U.S. start by four lengths at Churchill Downs May 10, then was the runner-up facing allowance types over the same turf course June 20.
The colt won against optional claimers upstate June 27 and based on that effort went off as the 6-5 choice here. On hold for much of the Saranac, the 3-year-old made a sweeping move around the far turn and ran down the center of the course, which allowed him to avoid the accident. West Hollywood won by 5 1/2 lengths over Yo Daddy (Yoshida {Jpn}).
Rider Flavien Prat set the Saratoga meet record with his 16th stakes victory. Since this was his 12th graded win, he ties Joel Rosario's mark from 2022.
“Well, I would definitely like to win under a different condition, and all my thoughts are for the connections, the riders, and obviously the horses as well,” said Prat. “I wish it would've been different. Our horse ran his race. He ran a good race. That's all.”
Pedigree Notes:
The all-conquering Uncle Mo claims 82 graded winners, which include the likes of Nyquist, Golden Pal, Adare Manor and now West Hollywood. The winner's unraced dam White Hot (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was purchased by Bobby Flay for $1,250,000gns at the 2014 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale and then he sold her to Yuesheng Zhang's Yulong Investments for $2.1 million at the 2023 Keeneland November Sale while a colt by Into Mischief was in utero. In between that time, White Hot produced GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) for Flay, and last fall she went to John Stewart's Resolute Racing during the Fasig-Tipton Fall Sale for $3 million. White Hot is also responsible for unraced 2-year-old Spanning Time (Not This Time) and she visited Gun Runner for next term. West Hollywood's dam is a half-sister to French multiple group stakes winner Gagnoa (Ire) (Sadler's Wells), who herself is responsible for GIII Mint Millions Stakes victor and GI Arlington Million third-place finisher Ancient Rome (War Front).
Friday, Saratoga
SARANAC S.-GIII, $162,750, Saratoga, 8-30, 3yo, 1 1/16mT, 1:40.89, fm.
1–WEST HOLLYWOOD, 118, c, 3, by Uncle Mo
1st Dam: White Hot (Ire), by Galileo (Ire)
2nd Dam: Gwynn (Ire), by Darshaan (GB)
3rd Dam: Victoress, by Conquistador Cielo
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($775,000 RNA Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Qatar Racing; B-B. Flay Thoroughbreds (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Flavien Prat. $96,250. Lifetime Record: 5-3-1-0, $251,794. *1/2 to Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), GISW-USA, GISP-Can, $792,947. Werk Nick Rating: D. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Yo Daddy, 118, c, 3, Yoshida (Jpn)–Elle Stormin', by Tale of the Cat. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($29,000 RNA 2yo '23 OBSOPN). O-Winning Move Stable; B-Big Chief Racing LLC & Rocker O Ranch LLC (KY); T-Linda Rice. $35,000.
3–The Process, 118, c, 3, More Than Ready–Eblouissante, by Bernardini. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($375,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Belladonna Racing, LLC, Twin Brook Stables, Nice Guys Stables, West Point Thoroughbreds, Iapetus Racing, Hornstock, Runnels Racing, Perrine Time Thoroughbreds, RTR Stables, Peppermint Stables, Manganaro Bloodstock, Ingordo and Lucky Hat Racing LLC; B-Summer Wind Equine LLC (KY); T-Cherie DeVaux. $21,000.
Margins: 5HF, 2 3/4, 2 1/4. Odds: 1.35, 5.30, 6.70.
Also Ran: Villain, Take Me To Church (Ire), The Big Torpedo. Scratched: Proprietary Trade.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
Take Me To Church is back at the barn with a few scrapes but seems ok. My thoughts and prayers are with Javier Castellano and the Morley barn. pic.twitter.com/jd2i2SSnmc
— Staton Flurry (@StatonFlurry) August 30, 2024
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