Contessa has Sippican Harbor 'dead-ready' for Breeders' Cup

Owner Lee Pokoik and trainer Gary Contessa thought they had a turf filly, but a bunch of rain at Saratoga this summer changed their outlook at least for the short term. Now Sippican Harbor’s 2-for-2 on dirt and in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

The situation changed Aug. 12 when a 1 1/16-mile maiden turf race was moved to the dirt and run at seven furlongs. Sippican Harbor won by 17 lengths.

Twenty days later, the daughter of Kentucky Derby winner Orb took the Spinaway (G1), another race at seven furlongs that leads to the Breeders' Cup. She came from far off the early pace to win by two lengths, proving that the maiden victory was not a fluke.

The morning after the Spinaway, trainer Gary Contessa said he would train her up to the Juvenile Fillies.

“I ran her three times at Saratoga, and other than Dehere I’ve rarely heard of 2-year-olds running three times at Saratoga,” Contessa said.  “It all fell into place really well. It was a really easy thing for her and did not hurt her, but there was no way I wanted to run her, then run her again then run her in the Breeders’ Cup.

“She’s a willing work horse and a filly that is so easy on herself, that I didn’t see that there would be any problems training her into the race. What it comes down to is if she gets beat she’s going to get beat by a better horse. She’s not going to get beat by a lack of training or a lack of fitness, that’s for sure.”

Sippican Harbor is named for a harbor in Marion, Massachusetts, on Buzzards Bay. She was purchased as a yearling at Saratoga for $260,000.

Contessa laughed at the obvious question: Is she a turf horse or a dirt horse?

“I know she’s a dirt horse, but I’m telling you that she is a turf horse, too,” he said. “Because she has won a Grade 1 in the dirt, it might be quite a while before she gets on the turf. I can stand here today and tell you that I’m certain that she is a turf horse also because her works on the grass have been as good as her works on the dirt, if not better.

“If you watch the one time I ran her on the grass you will see what I mean. She was hopelessly trapped behind a wall of horses every step of the way and (jockey Joel) Rosario had nothing he could do but just sit on her. She was all dressed up with no place to go.

“I do believe that the day will come when I get her back in the grass and you guys will say, ‘That son of a gun told me she was grass horse.'"

On Friday afternoon in the Juvenile Fillies, Sippican Harbor will have an opportunity in another big race on dirt.

“She has trained really well at Belmont,” Contessa said. “I had a couple of little things with a foot with her. Really minor stuff and that’s why I didn’t ship to Churchill sooner, but she’s really coming up to this race in great shape. She’s had three or four really serious works in a row and every work she galloped out a mile really, really strong.”

Contessa figures the daughter of a Derby winner out of a Deputy Minister mare ought to be able to handle 1 1/16 miles.

“There is no way that she is not dead-ready,” he said. “I have no excuses for her, but this is a good race. There are some really good fillies in it. Bellafina. Jaywalk. Some solid horses. If she gets beat, it’s only because she got beat by a better horse. She didn’t get beat by training or anything else. There’s no excuses.

Irad Ortiz Jr. picks up the mount on Sippican Harbor, who drew post eight and is 12-1 on the morning line.