By Tim Wilkin
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Soon after the running of the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on July 19, Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey had seen enough.
Corporate Power (Curlin), who finished second that day, earned his trip to the big leagues. He will be in the starting gate when the $1.25 million, Grade I Travers Stakes is run for the 155th time.
McGaughey knows a thing or two about getting a horse ready for the Midsummer Derby. He has won the race four times, the most recent being with Code of Honor in 2019. One other trainer–Elliott Burch–has also won the Travers four times.
The all-time record for Travers wins is owned by Bert Mulholland, who had five spanning from 1939-1963.
McGaughey, sitting in his office at his barn at the Oklahoma Training Track on an overcast Sunday morning, wasn't going to say the past success necessarily helps as he gets Corporate Power ready for his Travers date.
“I've been lucky in it,” McGaughey said. “I don't have confidence going into knowing he is either going to run good or he can't run good.”
Corporate Power has two wins and two seconds in five career starts, all of them coming during his 3-year-old season. He was bought by Donald Adam's Courtlandt Farms at the 2022 Keeneland September Sale for $925,000.
Unraced as a 2-year-old, Corporate Power was favored in three of his first four starts, including his maiden breaker at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 24.
He won the Sir Barton Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 24. Then came the Curlin where he chased the Chad Brown-trained Unmatched Wisdom (Cairo Prince) the entire 1 1/8 miles before losing by a length.
“I was very pleased with his race in the Curlin even though he didn't win,” McGaughey said. “Chad's horse was on the lead pretty easy all the way and we had to do the work. I think the light went on a lot after the Curlin.”
Corporate Power had his final tune-up for the Travers on Friday, working a bullet four furlongs in 47.45 (1/45). In the Midsummer Derby, Corporate Power will be facing the toughest competition of his young career.
McGaughey says he is up for it but knows the horse will really have to bring it.
“If we get a pace and he is good enough, I think he'll have a chance,” he said, “It's a pretty darned good bunch. Do they all want to run that far? I'm not sure. Going 1 ¼ miles, especially off that work, he should be in pretty good shape.”
Whitney Winner Arthur's Ride Gets Back To Work
Break time is over for Arthur's Ride (Tapit). The striking grey/roan 4-year-old, was back on the Saratoga work tab Friday. He went four furlongs in 49.66 (35/70) on the Oklahoma Training Track for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.
Arthur's Ride (outside) | Sarah Andrew
Arthur's Ride claimed the GI Whitney Stakes on Aug. 3 by 2 1/4 lengths in gate-to-wire fashion. The breakout win came in his seventh career start. It was the first stakes race of any kind for the colt, who is owned by Glassman Racing.
It wasn't like this came off as a surprise. Even though National Treasure (Quality Road) was in the field and the 4-5 favorite (he finished sixth), Arthur's Pride was the third choice in the wagering and paid $15.80.
“We knew he could run,” jockey Junior Alvarado said at the Oklahoma Training Track. “I would not think Mr. Mott would put a horse in like that to get embarrassed. He knew he could compete in there. He is in the Hall of Fame for something!”
Mott said the original plan was to have Arthur's Ride ready for the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes on the final weekend of the Saratoga meet. But, he did not want to wait until the end of the season to run him; before the Whitney, Arthur's Ride had been impressive in winning an allowance at Saratoga on June 7 during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga.
By winning the Whitney, Arthur's Ride earned a trip to the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 2. The Witney was part of the Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” program.
“If he is doing well, we would probably run him back (in the Jockey Club Gold Cup),” Mott said. “We'll probably want to run one more before the Breeders' Cup.”
Pletcher Sorry to See Kingsbarns Go, But Happy For His New Career As A Stallion
Just when it looked like Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo) had become a major player in the older horse division, he was gone.
The 4-year-old colt had his racing career terminated last week when it was announced he had been retired after sustaining an injury during training at Saratoga. He is now at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky where he will start his stud career next year.
“We are excited for the horse because he has the opportunity to go to Spendthrift,” Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said at his barn on the Oklahoma Training Track. “But it is a little frustrating because I think he was just getting to his best now.”
Kingsbarns had won three of four starts this season, the last being the GI Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs on June 29. That had earned him a spot in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic as the race was part of the “Win and You're In” program.
Kingsbarns will now end his racing career with six wins in nine career starts. He was three for four this year.
“It was just one of those things,” Pletcher said. “It was not a significant injury, but timing wise, we would be giving him 60 days off and then the season is over. It seemed like he was getting better and better. The Stephen Foster was his best race yet.”
Pletcher said Kingsbarns “probably” was not going to run next year.
Kingsbarns was part of the roster of older male horses in the Pletcher barn that also includes Tapit Trice (Tapit), Bright Future (Curlin) and Crupi (Curlin). Pletcher was not about to respond to a question that asked him to rank his older horses.
“I don't rank them,” he said, then smiled, “at least not publicly. That could get me in trouble.”
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