Saranac Win Puts Brilliant Speed Back On Beam
Brilliant Speed lived up to his name
Sunday afternoon at Saratoga Race Course with a swift run through the
stretch to capture the 104th running of the Grade 3, $100,000 Saranac.
Well-rated
in mid-pack as Chinglish led through an opening quarter in 24.33
seconds with Queen'splatekitten taking over for a half-mile in 49.89,
Brilliant Speed moved three-wide on the final turn to join the leaders
in the stretch. Passing Queen'splatekitten in the final furlong,
Brilliant Speed kicked clear to win by 2 ½ lengths.
His
final time for 1 1/8 miles over firm turf was 1:48.73 and he returned
$6.50 as the 2-1 favorite in the field of 10 sophomores.
A
veteran of the 2011 Triple Crown trail, with his best finish a third
over a sloppy track in the Belmont Stakes, Brilliant Speed was fifth in
Saratoga's Grade 2 Jim Dandy in his most recent start before the
Saranac. The son of Dynaformer broke his maiden on the grass in December
and won the Grade 1 Blue Grass over the Polytrack at Keeneland this
past spring.
"We'll keep our options open," said Tom
Albertrani, who trains Brilliant Speed for Charlotte Weber's Live Oak
Plantation. "He showed more kick today, which is what I had wanted to
see on the dirt. All things considered, he might just have to stay on
the grass; Polytrack might also be an option. Johnny kept him a little
closer to the pace today and didn't let the lack of speed get away. He
had a nice kick today."
With the winner's $60,000 share
of the Saranac purse, Brilliant Speed has now earned $700,750 with a
record of 3-2-3 from 12 starts.
"I knew there wasn't
going to be a lot of speed, so I wanted to be in nice position," said
jockey John Velazquez. "I had a good hold of him. He was going nice the
whole way around. At the quarter-pole, I asked him and he responded
right away. A very good effort. He's a better horse on the grass. No
doubt."
Albertrani said Belmont Park's Grade 1 Jamaica
Handicap, 1 1/8 miles on turf October 8, was likely to be the next start
for Brilliant Speed.
Queen'splatekitten held second
while the Albertrani-trained King Congie got up for third. Sky Blazer,
Perregaux, Chinglish, Seal Cove, Live in Joy, Clement Rock and Canaveral
completed the order of finish. Moonhanger and Pass the Dice were
scratched.