By Tim Wilkin
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.–Last summer, we hardly knew Kentucky-based trainer Al Stall Jr.
During the 40 days of the 2023 Saratoga meet, Stall came up with one win in 12 starts.
It's a little different a year later.
Four days into the Spa season and Stall has started three horses. He has won with two of them and finished second with the third.
“This pays the bar tab and the food tab,” Stall said inside his office at his barn on the Saratoga backstretch Sunday morning. “We have to start working on the rent.”
Stall's success started on opening day when Strong State (Tom's d'Etat) broke her maiden by a neck. That was a special win because Stall trained Tom's d'Etat, who won 11 of 20 career starts and was a multiple graded stakes winner.
Strong State was the second winner for the freshman sire.
“Tom had a lot of things going for him,” Stall said. “He was a freak talent.”
On the second day of the meet, 4-year-old Over and Ollie (Cairo Prince) gave Stall his second win, in a maiden claiming event at 1 1/16 miles on the inner turf.
Over and Ollie was ridden by Frankie Dettori, someone Stall said he had never met until that day.
“I had to flag him down in the paddock,” Stall said. “But he did his homework and he got him running.”
In his other start so far, Stall was second with 3-year-old filly Lord I Wonder (Twirling Candy), who made her career debut in a maiden special weight on Friday.
“The key to this game is having maidens who can run,” Stall said. “You give yourself a pretty good chance if you have maidens that can run. We brought a few live maidens up here.”
Stall has 10 horses stabled at Saratoga and the number won't get bigger than that. He will likely move some horses up from Kentucky and send some back.
“That is why I come here,” Stall said when asked why Saratoga is special. “You win on opening day, and you can tell by your phone how special. I came out of the winner's circle and the text messages are just exploding on a Thursday afternoon. That doesn't happen at Fair Grounds or Churchill.”
Seize the Grey | Sarah Andrew
Lukas Would Prefer To Run Seize The Grey In Jim Dandy
Nothing is official yet, but it looks like GI Preakness Stakes winner Seize the Grey (Arrogate) will be staying put and running in the $500,000 GII Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga July 27. The other option is the $1 million GI Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park on Saturday.
“I think my vote is pretty strong,” Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said in his office on the Oklahoma Training Track Sunday morning. “I would prefer the Jim Dandy. I'll ask them [representatives from the ownership group MyRacehorse] one time for my opinion, but I will do what the check writers want to do.”
Seize the Grey is coming off a seventh-place finish in the GI Belmont Stakes at Saratoga June 8. After that, Lukas took the grey/roan colt back to his base in Kentucky and then shipped him back to the Spa at the end of June.
Lukas worked Seize the Grey five furlongs on the Oklahoma last Monday and he went :59.22 (1/1).
“His work the other day was as good as he has ever worked,” Lukas said. “He is really doing good. He has filled out. He had that little hiccup in the Belmont where he didn't run well over the race track.”
The Belmont was Seize the Grey's sixth start of the year and Lukas said the campaign may have caught up with his colt a little bit. Since the Belmont, Lukas said Seize the Grey has thrived.
“He has been sharp lately,” he said. “Very sharp.”
The advantage of running in the Jim Dandy is an obvious one, not having to ship to New Jersey. On the other hand, the Haskell has a higher grade and a bigger purse.
Staying home might outweigh the money and the prestige.
“You always have a little bit of a grey area that everything goes right with the ship,” Lukas said. “Some horses can go into a strange stall and get to looking around and not settling and they don't really dive into the feed tub. Coming out of your own stall is a plus.”
Jose Ortiz Happy With Decision To Relocate To Kentucky
Jockey Jose Ortiz, a three-time leading rider at Saratoga, is back in the Spa City for the summer. But the long-time New York-based rider doesn't call the Empire State home anymore.
Earlier this year, Ortiz decided to relocate and ride in Kentucky. He had a successful first full spring at Churchill Downs as he tied for the jockey title with Tyler Gaffalione. Both had 45 wins.
“I talked to my wife (Taylor) and we decided we wanted to go and raise our kids there,” he said referring to his young children Leilani, Derek and Nikolai. “I liked the vibe. It's more country and we like it. The kids are having fun there.”
Ortiz won the Saratoga riding title in 2016-17 and 2019. His brother, Irad, has won it five times, including the last two.
After the first four days of racing, Jose Ortiz has five wins, two behind leader Flavien Prat. He is tied with his brother for second.
“I was (in New York) 12 years,” Jose Ortiz said. “You are going to lose some horses. It is what it is. I'm just going to keep working. Some doors close and other doors open.”
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