By Tim Wilkin
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — It was quiet trackside at Saratoga Race Course Friday morning. Everyone had a day off after the New York Racing Association canceled Friday's card after Thursday's was run. The reason was the havoc expected to blow through the area thanks to the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby. The heavy stuff was predicted to come later in the afternoon.
Horses, however, did not get the memo. They still went to work. As did the trainers and exercise riders and grooms and hotwalkers.
“No days off,” Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said at his barn on the Oklahoma Training Track Friday morning. “Wrong industry to be in if you are in the days off business.”
Although the activity was not as brisk as it would be on a sunny summer afternoon, horses still could be seen on the main track and Oklahoma going through daily exercise,
Pletcher said the horses in his care that were scheduled to gallop on Friday did just that. Because of the conditions, there were no works and any horses scheduled to school in the gate had that canceled.
Pletcher's hopeful for the GI Travers Stakes –Fierceness (City of Light)–had his work moved to Thursday.
“We generally go ahead and gallop as long as it's safe,” Pletcher said. “This morning, the track held its consistency, so we did some routine gallops. Get 'em out, get 'em back in.”
Pletcher had seven horses (one main track only) entered in five races on the Friday card, including Donegal Surges (Candy Ride), the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the featured $125,000 Evan Shipman Handicap.
Pletcher, like everyone else, will have to wait and see what is done with these races.
“Sure, it's frustrating,” he said. “We were sitting on a handful of favorites. It's a tough situation for everyone when you try to predict what the weather will do in advance like this.”
Rain fell overnight, but from early morning to 2 p.m., there was little that fell in Saratoga Springs. The forecast did call for heavy rain to hit by 3 p.m.
Wicked Trip Behind Him, Smoken Wicked Could Be A Player In Saratoga Special
In the second start of his career, Smoken Wicked (Bobby's Wildcat) had a trip that was, well wicked.
The 2-year-old colt, owned by Valene Farms LLC, finished second at odds of 32-1 in the listed Bashford Manor Stakes at Churchill Downs on June 30. His trip was not an easy one.
After being reluctant to load into the gate, Smoken Wicked leaned out at the start and then raced four wide. Around the three-eighths pole, he was clipped by a trailing horse and then was seven wide into the stretch. He was a distant second to Politicallycorrect (Violence), but the runner-up finish was impressive enough.
“Hernandez (Jr., jockey Brian) said he lost his focus when the horse jumped him on the back leg at the three eighths,” trainer Dallas Stewart said at his barn on the Oklahoma Training Track Friday morning. “He got back down on him, and he still finished second.”
Dallas Stewart on Thursday at Saratoga | Sarah Andrew
Stewart liked that effort so much that he is putting the Louisiana-bred in the $200,000, GII Saratoga Special at Saratoga Saturday. He is 9-2 on the morning line and will be ridden by Tyler Gaffalione.
Murray Valene purchased Smoken Wicked for $38,000 at the 2023 Louisiana Yearling & Mixed Sale and then debuted him at Evangeline Downs in Louisiana on June 1. He won by 7 1/2 lengths on a sloppy track and Valene then sent him to Stewart at Churchill.
Now, here they are.
“He is just a real smart horse,” Stewart said. “When we got him to Churchill, he participated great. His workouts were good, and he worked with our other 2-year-olds, and he worked right with them.”
Included in that group was Eighty West (Speightstown), who broke his maiden in Saratoga's fourth race on Thursday by 4 1/2 lengths as the 4-5 favorite.
Stewart knows his colt will be facing tougher competition in the Special. Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher has Showcase (Uncle Mo), who broke his maiden by 7 ½ lengths last month at Aqueduct Race Track and Dale Romans will saddle Keep It Easy, a four-length winner at Chuirchill in his second start.
Both of those juveniles were bought at last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale; Keep It Easy went for $435,000 and Showcase brought $300,000.
A field of nine will run in the Saratoga Special.
“That was the best they had at Churchill,” Stewart said about the Bashford Manor field. “He has already won in the mud, he has the one hole, and we have a great rider. He will have to fight a little bit because there are some good colts in there, but he will come running.”
Thursday Was A Special Spa Day For Donk After Getting To Winner's Circle Twice
Back in 2020, the year of COVID, trainer David Donk had his best day at Saratoga when he won three races. But, because of the pandemic, no fans were around to see it.
He had another good one on Thursday, winning a pair of races and, this time, he had plenty of witnesses.
Donk was in the winner's circle after 2-year-old filly Trail of Gold (Solomoni) broke her maiden in the first race at 7-2 with Hall of Famer John Velazquez on board. Donk got there again in the ninth when Irad Ortiz Jr. got 4-year-old filly Fancypants Juliana (Mo Town, 7-1) home in a race taken off the grass.
In 26 starts at Saratoga, Donk has three wins, two seconds and four thirds.
“It's hard to win one at Saratoga, let alone two,” Donk said Friday at Saratoga. “I've just been fortunate to have been able to do this for this long.”
Donk has been training on his own since 1991; he was an assistant to the late Hall of Famer Woody Stephens before that. Donk's barn at Saratoga is the same one Stephens had.
Trail of Gold's win was special because the filly is owned by friends and family, many who Donk has been associated with for years. Donk owns a piece of the horse as does his dad, Gerald.
Others involved with the filly are John T. Behrendt, Charles K. Marquis, William J. Punk Jr., Philip DiLeo, Peter Hayes and Suzanne K. Haslup. Joseph Bucci is the owner of Fancypants Juliana.
“I just really enjoy being at Saratoga,” Donk said. “I like to enjoy this with other people. Joer (Bucci) could not be here but he typical of most owners. Loves Saratoga, loves to be able to run here. It's a lot of fun for all of them.”
Donk, as usual, was sporting a New York Jets baseball cap when he had his pictures taken. He said he has been a diehard Jets fans since the day of quarterback Joe Namath. He is not sure what to expect from his team in this NFL season.
“I struggle with the fact that we have an old quarterback,” Donk said of 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers, who is coming back after missing all but four plans last year because of an Achilles injury. “He has had a great career, but it's just like bringing an old horse back from a serious injury. How good is he really going to be?
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