Saratoga 2017: Horses of the Meet

Those two classy and popular graded stakes wins earn Lady Eli the number three spot on my list of horses of the meet at Saratoga. Just ahead of her, is a horse virtually unknown before the meet began.

Number two on the list is the Linda Rice-trained Voodoo Song. The New York-bred son of English Channel accomplished something special yesterday, when he became the first four-time winner in a single Saratoga meet since 1952, when the great Native Dancer turned the trick. 

Transferred to the Rice barn after the retirement of Mike Hushion just a few months ago, Voodoo Song won for his new trainer by more than five lengths in a $40,000 claiming race on July 22. Wheeled back four days later, he bested New York-breds in a 1 3/8-mile allowance, opening up by as much as 16 lengths on the backstretch, before holding on to win by three-quarters of a length. Given a little break, the three-year-old cold won for a third at the Spa wiring an optional claimer on August 23.

Three-for-three at the meet, Voodoo Song faced his toughest test yet on Saturday in the Grade 3, $300,000 Saranac. He responded by gamely holding off Yoshida and Bricks and Mortar down the lane.

Despite the historic accomplishment of Voodoo Song, I could not quite come to call him the horse of the meet -- not with Gun Runner stalking the premises. 

Now ranked the top horse in America, the four-year-old son of Candy Ride has taken his reputation to new and exciting places thanks to his performances this summer at the Spa. In the $1.2 million Whitney, not even a rabbit, nor a flying horseshoe lodging into his tail, could slow the four-year-old colt from romping home as he pleased in the Grade 1 race. It was a run to remember.

As good as the Whitney was, Gun Runner was even better in yesterday's $750,000 Woodward, turning the feature into his own private playground. His third consecutive Grade 1 victory, and second at the Saratoga meet, was his best race yet. Four weeks after his big Whitney win, the multi-millionaire drew off from his overmatched competition to win the historic race by 10 ¼ lengths, in a final time of 1:47.43. Gun Runner is my horse of the meet for Saratoga 2017.