Gold Square Hits Paydirt with Filoso

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – After Filoso (City of Light) won the sixth race Thursday, the celebration was a heady concoction of relief, joy and optimism.

The relief followed what at times had been a harrowing trip in the one-mile $100,000 maiden special weight race for 2-year-olds at Saratoga Race Course. Twice, jockey Dylan Davis had to check the colt in traffic yet he managed to stay on course with their rail-hugging journey for a 3 ½-length victory.

“It wasn't a pretty trip today,” trainer Chad Summers said. “Dylan did a great job. He's riding phenomenal right now this year at this meet. Out of that chute, he broke well, but, man, he almost took him over the fence, had to settle and make a couple runs.

“For a 2-year-old, you want to get experience. He got that experience today, which is the most important thing.”

Owner Al Gold, who operates as Gold Square LLC, and his buddies had big fun saluting their pal Louis Filoso, for whom the colt was named. They had him set up for the post-race television interview before his namesake was led from the track into the winner's enclosure. Filoso, 73, a resident Ocean Township, N.J., 10 minutes from Monmouth Park, said he was a partner in Gold's first horse 30 or so years ago.

Summers look care of providing the details of how he selected and purchased the colt for $210,000 at the 2023 Keeneland September Sale and the plan to try to get him to the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Nov. 1 at Del Mar. Summers said either the GI Champagne at Aqueduct or the GI Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland would be next. Gold quipped that he was voting for the two-turn Keeneland race.

Davis had to take a hold of Filoso to avoid trouble as the field bunched exiting the chute into the first turn. While T Kraft (Connect) led the way through pressured opening fractions of :24.71 and :48.28, he kept Filoso in a ground-saving position about a half-dozen lengths back. They got closer approaching the half-mile pole but briefly had to retreat again. In the turn, they gobbled up ground with a dynamic burst of speed and had a four-length lead at the top of the stretch.

Filoso and Davis completed the mile in 1:39.00 with a comfortable advantage over Stephen Baker's Spurgeon (Honor A.P.) BC Stables's American Promise (Justify) was another three lengths back in third. Filoso went off a 7-1 and paid $16.80.

“He's what we thought was always our best 2-year-old kind of from the time we bought him,” Summers said. “He was bred by Oisin Murphy and the boys over there at Hunter Valley. They're excited because the sister sells in Book Two next Wednesday. They're rooting along with us today.”

Filoso debuted on July 20 with a fourth-place finish, 3 ½-lengths behind Incentive Pay (Volatile)  that Summers said set him up well for the maiden victory.

“He was always looking like a two-turn horse, and we didn't really know what to do,” Summers said. “So we figured run him first time short, going six furlongs, give him the experience. A little slow switching leads, he was learning. Kind of a big baby, figuring things out.

“If you watch the race, he really finished up well. Chad Brown was always going to win the race that day, but he was closing with a flourish. He galloped out past the field and gave us a lot to be excited about.”

Summers said they found Filoso at Keeneland by following their policy of due diligence.

“It's a 4,000- to 5,000-horse sale, and we look at every single horse of the sale,” he said. “You make your short list and you go back, and you go back a second time, and you have to like them more the second time than the first time. This horse we liked more the second time, and then we liked him even more the third time. It was just kind of love at first, second, third sight. And he kind of proved us right with how he matured and kept going.”

6th-Saratoga, $100,000, Msw, 8-29, 2yo, 1m, 1:39.00, ft, 3 1/2 lengths.
FILOSO (c, 2, City of Light–Kenda {SW, $115,915}, by Bodemeister), fourth in his debut sprinting six panels here July 20, was given a 7-1 chance to regroup while stretching to a mile here. Sixth in the early going, the dark bay inched into contention along the inside turning for home. Taking over straightening for home, he proved much-the-best to score by 3 1/2 lengths over longshot Spurgeon (Honor A.P.). From the family of recent GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial winner Domestic Product, Kendra dropped a Maxfield filly last season and followed up with a Mandaloun colt this term. She was bred back to Forte. Sales history: $210,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-0, $61,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-Gold Square LLC; B-Hunter Valley Farm & Oisin Murphy (KY); T-Chad Summers.