By Tim Wilkin
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — If it was up to Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, Seize the Grey (Arrogate) would be running in the $1.25-million, GI Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on Aug. 24.
On Sunday morning, all Lukas could do was shrug his shoulders when asked if the GI Preakness Stakes winner would be taking a place in the Travers starting gate.
“I don't know,” he said at his barn on the Oklahoma Training Track. “I am going to vote to run him in it.”
Lukas, though, apparently doesn't have the only say. MyRacehorse, which owns the horse, lists 2,570 partners who got involved with a payment of $127 per share. Of course, 2,570 people don't get to give their opinion on where and when Seize the Grey runs.
That would fall on Michael Behrens, the founder and CEO of MyRacehorse. He did not return a message left on his cellphone on Sunday.
Last month, MyRacehorse sold the breeding rights to Gainesway Farm in Lexington. According to a release from MyRacehorse in July, the deal has a base value of $3.5 million with additional incentives.
The final value of the breeding rights would balloon by $3 million if Seize the Grey wins the Travers and $4 million more if he were to win the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. If Seize the Grey wins a Grade I other than the Travers of Classic, it's a $2-million bonus. That would include the GI Pennsylvania Derby at Parx on Sept. 21.
Lukas said he believes that Gainesway is involved with the decision on Seize the Grey's next start.
Brian Graves, the general manager at Gainesway, said that is not the case.
“The owners will decide where he runs next; it's their call not mine,” Graves said by phone Sunday. “I am not sure where they are running the horse next. The horse is limited to a certain amount of runs before the retirement.”
How many races that is was not made clear. Seize the Grey has raced seven times this year and has three wins and a third.
Since winning the Preakness, he was seventh in the GI Belmont Stakes on June 8 and fourth in the GII Jim Dandy Stakes on July 27. Both of those races were run at Saratoga.
“There is some thought that maybe he doesn't care for this racetrack,” Lukas said. “I don't quite buy into that.”
Lukas said there is talk that MyRacehorse would rather wait for the Pennsylvania Derby and give Seize the Grey more time between races. Lukas would like to run in both the Travers and Pennsylvania Derby.
“I never trained afraid to run them when they are good,” Lukas said. “I have made a living doing that. So many times, we overreact to the time off and whether he is ready and all of that. I have run a lot of horses in a lot of stakes–I mean a lot of stakes–and I run them back in short time.”
Lukas said he will continue to train Seize the Grey as if he were going to run in the Travers. He plans on working him on Monday.
“It's a no-win situation for me,” Lukas said. “If he runs well (in the Travers), I'm a hero. If he runs poor, it's like, 'I told you so; you should not have run him.' But I am bulletproof to that stuff. If he doesn't run (in the Travers), I'll just keep right on training him for the next one.”
Gaffalione Has Been Riding As Good As Anyone Lately At Saratoga
Over the past four days, no one has been hotter than jockey Tyler Gaffalione at Saratoga Race Course. He has won 10 races over that period to give him 26 winners. Sixteen days of racing remain in the 40-day meet.
Tyler Gaffalione after a win in the July 27 GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap | Sarah Andrew
Irad Ortiz, Jr. is the leader with 33 wins, and he is followed by Gaffalione with 26 and Flavien Prat with 25.
“Everything has been going really well,” Gaffalione said on the Saratoga backstretch this weekend. “My agent (Saratoga Springs native Matt Muzikar) has been doing a great job getting us on live horses, and the horsemen have done a great job bringing them over ready to run.”
The question is can Gaffalione–or anyone else–knock off Ortiz, Jr., who has won four of the last six titles, including the last two? Ortiz, Jr. will be sitting out three days next week as he serves a suspension Wednesday-Friday.
“You always come into these meets with the confidence that you can win,” he said. “Everything has to go your way and you have to get a little bit of luck. Who knows?”
Better Days Ahead For Romans And Keep It Easy
Trainer Dale Romans was hoping for big things from Keep It Easy (Hard Spun) in Saturday's Grade II Saratoga Special Stakes at Saratoga. It didn't happen.
Keep It Easy, the 5-2 second choice among the eight 2-year-olds, was never a factor. Ridden by Junior Alvarado, Keep It Easy stumbled badly coming out of the gate. For them, game over.
“(Alvarado) said he was standing good, and the ground broke out from under him behind and he went to his knees,” Romans said outside his barn on the Saratoga backstretch Sunday morning. “He lost all chance and cut himself up a little bit.”
Keep It Easy just before the Saratoga Special | Sarah Andrew
After the stumble, Keep It Easy bumped with Good Directions (Liam's Map), further making this a horrible Saratoga Special for the Romans barn.
“He fell into (Good Directions); that probably kept him up,” Romans said. “It kept him from going all the way down. Junior is lucky he stayed on. After that, he said he gave him a little chance down the backside, and he could tell he was rattled and then he just let him gallop around there.”
Romans said Keep It Easy was in good shape Sunday morning after the ordeal.
Keep It Easy broke his maiden in his second start, at Churchill Downs on June 27. Romans was encouraged with the effort even though the public dismissed him at odds of 23-1.
The Saratoga Special became the goal and Romans expected something, well, special. So, for sure, on Sunday there was disappointment.
“He was the focus of the meet, he was the big horse in the barn,” said the Kentucky-based Romans, who has 10 horses stabled at Saratoga. “I know he is a good horse. The good side of it is that he looks sound this morning, he is healthy and it looks like there is a lot of ground in front of us.”
There is no specific race that Romans will target Keep It Easy to. He will likely resurface at Keeneland in the fall.
“He'll live to fight another day,” Romans said. “This shows how tough it is to win a big race. Everything has to go right, and you can't stub your toe in a graded stakes race at Saratoga.”
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