Fast Anna Targeting King's Bishop
Talented but lightly raced colt Fast Anna is in Saratoga and being pointed to the Grade 1, $500,000 Ketel One King's Bishop on August 23, trainer Kathy Ritvo said.
A sophomore son of Medaglia d'Oro out of the mare Dreaming of Anna, both Grade 1 winners, Fast Anna is 2-for-2 in his brief career, each start coming at Gulfstream Park. He led all the way in both breaking his maiden by 2 ¼ lengths in 1:09.92 on April 12 and when he romped by 13 in a 6 ½-furlong allowance on July 6, hitting the wire in 1:16.75.
"He just does everything right," said Ritvo. "He doesn't really understand wrong. He's relaxed, he's cool, he gallops really well. He was a late-starting 3-year-old, just a really nice colt, really talented. We decided to take our time with him. We missed the beginning of the year, so we figured we'd make it a good end of the year."
Fast Anna, owned by Frank Calabrese, is scheduled to have his first breeze at Saratoga on Saturday. His sire won eight of 17 lifetime starts and more than $5.7 million, including victories in the 2002 Travers and 2003 Whitney at Saratoga.
"[The King's Bishop] fit into his schedule perfectly," said Ritvo. "He went six furlongs and he went 6 ½ furlongs. It's a 3-year-old race going seven furlongs, and it just seems to fit him. It's a big swing for us, but it seems that the horse is doing all the right things. So far, so good."
Other horses Ritvo brought with her from south Florida are Carlo Vaccarezza's Little Daddy, being pointed to the $150,000 West Point for New York-breds on August 24, and 2-year-old maiden fillies So It's True and Morgan Falls.
It will be Ritvo's first summer in Saratoga without Mucho Macho Man, who made her the first female trainer to win the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2013. The 6-year-old Macho Uno colt was retired in mid-July and sent to co-owner Frank Stronach's Adena Springs Farm in Kentucky for the 2015 stallion season.
Mucho Macho Man had nine wins, six in stakes, and more than $5.6 million in purse earnings from 25 career starts.
"It is [strange], it really is. But, things change," said Ritvo. "Time goes on. He's good. He's got a great place to go to. Bringing him there, I felt like I took my kid to college."