Saratoga: Asmussen has 3 in Whitney week graded stakes

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen has a trio of stakes contenders for Whitney week at Saratoga.

Graded-stakes winner Disarm is entered in the Grade 1 Whitney on Saturday, North American record-holder Cogburn will start one race earlier in the Troy (G2), and dual graded stakes-placed Lagynos will run in the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (G2) on Friday.

Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Kentucky homebred Disarm enters from a sixth in the 1 1/8 mile Stephen Foster (G1) on June 29 at Churchill Downs. The 4-year-old Gun Runner chestnut looks to return to his year-end form, which saw him finish a closing second to eventual champion 3-year-old colt Arcangelo in the Travers (G1) last August at Saratoga.

Asmussen said the winner of last year’s Matt Winn (G3) at the distance at Ellis Park will have to improve to come out on top.

“He needs to pick it up. He needs to go faster,” Asmussen said. “It is an extremely competitive field. There appears to be plenty of pace in there. It’ll be interesting to see if the racetrack is similar to how it was last week.”

Hall of famer Joel Rosario will look to get Disarm back on track from post 2 of 12, tabbed at a morning line assessment of 15-1. The Whitney offers a win-and-you're-in berth to the Breeders' Cup Classic in November at Del Mar.

Cogburn returns to the scene of his record-setting performance of 59.80 seconds going 5 1/2 furlongs on the Mellon turf in the Jaipur (G1) on June 8.

Cogburn is tabbed as the 4-5 morning line favorite as he returns to course and distance in the Troy with Irad Ortiz Jr. up. He seeks a title defense after beating eventual Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Nobals in last year’s edition, along with the favored and then-reigning Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint champ Caravel.

“It’s fun to run him back in the Troy, that was his breakout race last year that put him at this level,” Asmussen said. “He is coming off an incredible performance. He’s training really well.”

Cogburn has trained over Saratoga’s Oklahoma training turf three times since the Jaipur, and he most recently breezed on the dirt surface with a three-furlong move in 38.68 seconds Sunday.

Lagynos has finished in the superfecta in his last four outings going into the one-mile National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame, including a pair of thirds in the Transylvania (G3) in April to returning rival Neat and the American Turf (G2) in May at Churchill Downs.

“He’s been very competitive all year long, but we need a breakout performance from him,” Asmussen said. “We need to get over all those placings, and he needs a win.”

Lagynos’ last four efforts also coincided with a return to grass for the first time since a debut win in September at Kentucky Downs, with returning rider Cristian Torres up for all. He exited the first-out graduation to make four starts going 1 1/16 miles on the main track, including off-the-board results to begin his current campaign in Smarty Jones and the Rebel (G2), both at Oaklawn Park.

“He broke his maiden on the turf. We had him at Turfway Park last year before he had run, and he trained unbelievably good on the synthetic. Then the financial opportunity that Kentucky Downs was, we started him there and had success,” Asmussen said. “His dirt form was because of the lack of turf at Churchill Downs last fall, a couple were off-the-turf races that he competed OK in, but he is faster on the turf.”

Torres will come to ride from post 5, tabbed at morning line odds of 9-2.

Asmussen said stakes winner American Rascal is probable for Sunday’s listed Mahony, a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for sophomores. The Curlin bay closed from last of seven for fourth at the distance in the Quick Call (G3) won by filly Star of Mystery on July 14 at Saratoga.

The effort was his first since an off-the-board finish in the six-furlong Ozark in February at Oaklawn.

Asmussen also provided an update on Skelly, who set the pace in the six-furlong Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G1) before relinquishing the lead late to the victorious Nakatomi on Saturday. The place-honors brought the 5-year-old Practical Joke gelding's record to an impressive 17: 10-6-0.

“We are very proud of him. He always runs extremely hard,” Asmussen said. “The racetrack, as slow as it was, was not ideal for him.”

Skelly has consistently shown up at a high level, including back-to-back wins in Oaklawn’s Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) the last two years and a runner-up finish in the Riyadh Dirt Sprint (G3) in February in Saudi Arabia.

Asmussen said no race has been picked out yet for a next start, but it will be at six furlongs with a goal of preparing for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in November at Del Mar.

“We will definitely keep him at three-quarters of a mile," he said. “I expect one more run between now and the Breeders’ Cup, and it will be at six furlongs.”