By Steve Sherack
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – Good Samaritan (Harlan's Holiday), an impressive winner of last year's GII Summer S. at Woodbine and third-place finisher as the 5-2 favorite in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita, will make his dirt debut in Saturday's GII Jim Dandy S.
He is expected to take on GI Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming (Bodemeister) and GI Preakness S. hero Cloud Computing (Maclean's Music) in Saratoga's traditional prep for the GI Travers S. Good Samaritan worked four furlongs over the Saratoga main track for Hall of Famer Bill Mott in :49.84 (16/24) July 21. Bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm, the bay is campaigned in partnership by WinStar, China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners, SF Racing, et al.
“It's something that we've always wanted to try and were going to do it in the spring until we got sidelined,” WinStar's Elliott Walden said. “We feel like now is the right time to try it. The Jim Dandy is coming up as a small field and has a great horse in there in Always Dreaming, but we like the idea of him not getting a lot of dirt in his face and think that this will be a good spot to try.”
A rallying second in both the GII American Turf S. at Churchill May 6 and GIII Pennine Ridge S. at Belmont June 3, Good Samaritan was most recently fourth in the GI Belmont Derby July 8.
Kenny Troutt's operation bought Good Samaritan's dam Pull Dancer (Pulpit), a multiple stakes-placed runner on grass for owner Cam Allard and trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, for $150,000 as a broodmare prospect out of the 2010 KEENOV sale. She is also represented by the unraced 2-year-old colt Brave Nation (Pioneerof the Nile), currently in training with Mott at Saratoga; and a yearling filly by Tiznow headed to the Keeneland September Sale. She also had a colt by Bodemeister earlier this spring.
Good Samaritan's unraced second dam Mayhavebeentheone (Arch) is a half-sister to 2002 GIII West Virginia Derby/GIII Lone Star Derby winner Wiseman's Ferry (Hennessy). This is also the extended female family of Bernstein, Caress, Sky Mesa, etc.
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