John Q. Public Looks to Give The Coach an Early Birthday Gift

Over the course of his Hall of Fame career, trainer D. Wayne Lukas has won prestigious juvenile male stakes at Saratoga Race Course 15 times, most recently with Strong Mandate in the 2013 Grade 1 Hopeful.

Five of those victories have come in the first of the Spa's traditional 2-year-old triumvirate, the Grade 3, $150,000 Sanford Stakes, to be run for the 101st time on Saturday.

John Q. Public in the six-furlong Sanford, a race he last won with Time Bandit in 1998. John Q. Public enters the Sanford 20 days after a debut victory at Ellis Park, where he was bumped and bothered early and lost ground before sweeping past the field on the outside to win by 2 ½ lengths in 57.95 seconds for five furlongs.

"I like him. He's a nice colt," Lukas said. John Q. Public's sire, Proud Citizen, ran second in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby and third in the Grade 1 Preakness in 2002 after finishing fifth in the 2001 Sanford for Lukas.

"It was a pleasant surprise to see him run the way he did," he said. "They damn near put him over the inside fence and he had to check badly after being almost head-and-head for the lead and dropped back four or five lengths. For him to circle and finish like that was pretty impressive. I like him. He's a pretty nice colt."

To be ridden by Luis Saez, John Q. Public drew post position 3 and program odds of 20-1 in a field of 11 that includes Grade 3 winner He's Comin in Hot, making his fifth start for trainer Bret Calhoun, as well as Tremont Stakes 1-2 finishers Cocked and Loaded and Paynes Prairie.

"The horse of Bret Calhoun's should be a deserving favorite. He's got all the seasoning," Lukas said. "He may beat us, but if he does he won't be finishing his grain that night."

Source - Saratoga