Barn Tour: Handal is on his way to his best Saratoga meet

Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

With six wins through 22 starts, Ray Handal is well on his way to his best Saratoga meet since he opened his stable almost 10 years ago. He could not think of a grander stage to showcase his ability and that of his staff.

“Everybody wants to win races here and to have the horses firing on all cylinders,” he said. “Getting lucky, getting the races to go that you want to run in, it seems like everything is falling into place as perfect as can be.”

Handal said one key to success at the demanding 40-day stand that runs through Labor Day is doing everything possible to see that horses are properly placed. “We run horses where they can be competitive,” he said. “We try not to waste efforts, especially up here.”

Handal was allotted 27 stalls at Saratoga, and all are filled. He has another 15 horses stabled at Belmont Park. He is hopeful his success this summer will encourage current clients to add horses and prompt new owners to come aboard.

“Winning here sets you up for the whole year,” he said. “You catch everybody’s attentionm and it leads to bigger and better things the rest of the year.”

Handal discussed some of the horses that have either contributed to his success or have the potential to add to it during a Barn Tour for Horse Racing Nation.

Gem Mint Ten. He is a 4-year-old Laoban gelding who comes off a July 27 allowance victory at Saratoga. He prevailed by 2 1/2 lengths going 1 1/16 miles on turf with Luis Saez aboard. That improved his record to 11: 2-3-0 and his rose to $150,750.

Hard Par. He continues to chase his first victory. Through seven starts, the 3-year-old Hard Spun colt has placed second once to go with a couple of third-place results. He had such a difficult trip when he finished third in a July 26 maiden special weight affair that jockey Katie Davis lodged an objection that was denied. “He’s run once in the meet already," Handal said. “He had a lot of trouble going into the first turn. He clipped off heels. He ran pretty game, so we’ll give him another shot (at Saratoga). We expect him to run another solid race for him.”

He Has It All. This 3-year-old Laoban gelding is still chasing his first win after seven starts, but he does have three runner-up performances. He has run twice in maiden special weight contests at the meet, finishing fourth on July 20 and fifth on Aug. 15. “He’s run a bunch," Handal said. “He’s been a little unfortunate. He’s run into some buzzsaws.”

La Salvadorena. The 3-year-old bay Oscar Performance filly has potential, finishing second twice in three starts. She turned in her worst performance to date in winding up fifth in maiden special weight company at 1 1/16 miles on turf July 14. She looks to be a good fit in her next start. She is set to run 5 1/2 furlongs on the grass in the 10th race Aug. 22. La Salvadorena and jockey Dylan Davis will break from post 6 in a field of 10. “She kind of told us she doesn’t want to go two turns, so we’ll cut her back to five and a half (furlongs). We may put some blinkers on. She’s been doing really well.”

More Than Grace. Adelphi Racing Club went to $180,000 to land this 2-year-old filly by More Than Ready. It’s been a patience game with her. She is expected to get going again at Belmont Park in September. “She got sick and I didn’t like the direction she was going, so I sent her to a farm to recoup. I think she’s going to be nice. I think she’ll be a good fall, winter horse.”

Prince James. This is a hard-trying 7-year-old Tiznow gelding owned by Pavilion Racing. He ran for a $10,000 tag in a seven-furlong event July 31 at Saratoga and delivered at 11-1. That improved his record to 41: 7-9-6 and hiked his earnings to $319,845. He owns two wins in six starts this season.

Union Dolly. The 5-year-old Constitution mare made her first start since Dec. 21 at Fair Grounds a winning one. A July 20 allowance score in a 5 1/2-furlongs turf contest upped her mark to 16: 4-3-1 with a bankroll of $191,029.

Valtellina. The debut of this 2-year-old filly, by white-hot sire Complexity, is eagerly awaited after a minor setback. “We’re really high on her. We thought she would run really well. She was in, she got sick, we scratched. But she’s set to run at the end of the month.”