Saratoga roundup: Thorpedo Anna, Patch Adams win thrillers

Trainer Ken McPeek exuded confidence heading into Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Personal Ensign Stakes that his reigning horse of the year Thorpedo Anna would claim victory in the 1 1/8-mile test for older fillies and mares.

Although the margin was a desperate nose, the filly nicknamed the Grizzly Bear came out on the winning end of a dramatic stretch duel with Grade 1 winner Dorth Vader on the Travers undercard at Saratoga.

In victory, the 4-year-old daughter of Fast Anna was awarded a win-and-you’re-in berth in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, a race she won last year.

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McPeek was quick to give credit to George Weaver-trained Dorth Vader for her admirable effort.

“George did a great job. That filly ran super and seems to be improving,” McPeek said. “She’s a tough customer.” 

The Personal Ensign was Thorpedo Anna’s fourth win from five starts this year and came with a stalking trip engineered by regular pilot Brian Hernandez Jr. He held the dark bay in third through the early stages after breaking from the outermost post 7. Dual Grade 1 winner Randomized zipped along the rail to mark an opening quarter-mile in 23.24 seconds under pressure from 50-1 long shot Bernietakescharge.

A tightly bunched group followed the top pair with Thorpedo Anna racing to the outside of last-out Shuvee (G2) winner Leslie’s Rose just ahead of Dorth Vader and a sizable gap back to Dazzling Move and late-running Raging Sea heading onto the backstretch. Hernandez kept the pacesetters within his grasp as the half-mile elapsed in 47.11 seconds. He coaxed Thorpedo Anna into contention to make it three across the track approaching the turn.

McPeek said he was comfortable with Thorpedo Anna being wide up the backstretch.

“I think he needed to stay out of trouble,” McPeek explained. “I gave (Hernandez) instructions. Don’t worry about the loss of ground. You are going to lose a little ground, but I’d rather you do that than get her in behind horses and give her a chance to get stopped and blocked.” 

Bernietakescharge threw in the towel, and Randomized came under a ride as Thorpedo Anna swept to the lead with ease in the turn. She left the closers to give chase through three-quarters of a mile in 1:11.27 with Dorth Vader the main danger on the outside and Leslie’s Rose creeping closer.

Thorpedo Anna held a half-length lead over Odgen Phipps (G1) winner Dorth Vader at the stretch call, but her margin was threatened with every stride. The Weaver trainee did everything in her power to pass the champion through one mile in 1:36.42.

In a spectacular stretch drive, Thorpedo Anna dug in with great fortitude to will herself to the wire a nose better than her game challenger, completing the course with a time of 1:49.18 over fast footing.

Hernandez, aboard for each of Thorpedo Anna’s 15 starts, said Saturday’s result proved Thorpedo Anna is still among the best horses in North America.

“I don’t know if she was all out, but it’s just the fact (that) in these Grade 1 races, these horses they keep taking shots at you, and you’ve got to respect them all, and today’s another version of that,” Hernandez said. “You know our filly is horse of the year, and she showed why she deservingly should be.”

It was a farther 9 3/4 lengths back to Leslie’s Rose in third with last year’s Personal Ensign winner Raging Sea completing the superfecta. Dazzling Move, Randomized and Bernietakescharge completed the order of finish.

Thorpedo Anna has raced and won at six different racetracks and could visit a new one next. McPeek said the Delaware Handicap (G3) on Sept. 28 is a potential target moving forward. Another possible spot is the Spinster (G1) on Oct. 5 at Keeneland, the track where she broke her maiden on debut in October 2023.

“I’m going to cross-nominate to the Spinster and the Delaware Handicap,” McPeek said. “There’s a chance we could go to Delaware with her. We are going to talk about it, and there’s a chance we could go to Keeneland.”

Campaigned by Hill ’n’ Dale Equine Holdings, Magdalena Racing, Mark Edwards and breeder Judy Hicks, Thorpedo Anna added to wins this year in the Azeri (G2) and Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) at Oaklawn and entered from a win in the Fleur de Lis (G2) on June 28 at Churchill Downs. She returned $3.50 on a $2 win ticket.

Patch Adams takes Jerkens nail-biter

Returning to the site of his biggest victory, Patch Adams slipped through an opening along the rail turning for home and outran game Captain Cook through the stretch to register a determined, nose victory in the $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1).

The 41st running of the seven-furlong Jerkens for 3-year-old sprinters was the stage for the third consecutive win for Patch Adams. It was his second straight against Grade 1 company with Luis Sáez in the irons following his 2 1/4-length triumph in the Woody Stephens (G1) over the identical course and distance June 7, his most recent race. Sent off the narrow 5-2 favorite in a field of eight, he returned $7.00 for a $2 win bet.

“Good set-up. Obviously, a ground-saving trip,” winning trainer Brad Cox said. “He was ready to roll. He certainly acted like he was. Back home in Kentucky, we worked him out of the gate two weeks ago and put in a good move. We had him sharp enough. He broke well, and Luis saved ground, and we needed it. He needed all of the seven-eighths to get there.”

Captain Cook, racing with blinkers off in his seventh start and first for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, broke alertly from post 7 but was outrun to the front by Midland Money, in just his third lifetime race as one of three Jerkens contenders trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert.

Midland Money went the opening quarter-mile in 22.38 seconds over the fast main track. He was pressed by jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. and Captain Cook to his outside. Sáez had Patch Adams settled in third saving ground along the rail.

Midland Money continued to lead through a testing half-mile in 44.52 when Santana gave Captain Cook his cue, and they swept to a short lead entering the stretch.

Sáez remained patient with Patch Adams waiting for an opening that appeared once they straightened for home. He set the son of Into Mischief down for a drive and engaging with Captain Cook to the wire before prevailing with a final time of 1:21.61. Captain Cook was 1 1/2 lengths ahead of late-running Grade 2 winner Barnes in third, and it was another two lengths back to Grade 1 winner Chancer McPatrick in fourth.

“It was a pretty good trip. He broke pretty well. He put me in a great spot, and when he came into the top of the stretch, we got lucky to find a spot inside the rail, and we took it. He responded pretty well, and he fought for the race,” Sáez said. “I was a little worried, because the horse in front of me was kind of staying there. So I was trying to see if I could get out of the rail. But when I saw the little spot, we took advantage.” 

Madaket Road, second to Patch Adams in the Woody Stephens, finished fifth. Midland Money, Smoken Wicked and previously undefeated Verifire completed the order of finish.

Owned by CHC and WinStar Farm, Patch Adams benefited from a return to sprinting after a pair of fourth-place finishes this year on the Kentucky Derby trail. Since shortening, he is 3-for-3 with an optional-claiming win in May over sloppy and sealed footing at Churchill Downs and his score in the Woody Stephens prior to the Jerkens. He is 3-for-3 at seven furlongs including a maiden triumph last fall at Churchill.

Book ’em Danno rallies to win Forego

Five weeks removed from a career-best performance, Book’em Danno turned in another stellar effort. He took over the lead in mid-stretch and holding off late-running long shot Scotland to extend his winning streak to three races with a popular, one-length decision in the $500,000 Forego (G1).

Ridden by Paco López for trainer Derek Ryan, Book’em Danno covered seven furlongs in 1:22.43 to improve to 10-for-16 lifetime. He earned his fourth win from five career starts at Saratoga and his third this year following the True North (G3) on June 7 and the Alfred G. Vanderbilt (G2) on July 19.

“Once I’d seen him pretty close turning for home, I knew he’d have his kick,” Ryan said. “(López) just gets along with him. He gets in the position I want him in all the time.”

Book’em Danno was unhurried in the early going. Most Wanted, exiting a four-length, optional-claiming victory June 1 at Churchill Downs, sailed through a quarter-mile in 22.63 seconds with fellow last-out winner Hold My Bourbon at his right hip in second. Most Wanted’s Brad Cox-trained stablemate Bishops Bay, riding a four-race win streak, rode the rail in third.

The half-mile went in 44.85 seconds as Hold My Bourbon forged a short lead over Most Wanted. López had Book’em Danno positioned between horses in third with Bishops Bay to his immediate inside.

The top four straightened for home on even terms with Book’em Danno racing three wide before he edged clear of stubborn Most Wanted approaching the sixteenth pole. He was kept to task as Scotland closed with a flourish.

“I was like let him break a little bit sharper than last time. I saved a little bit of run. By the eighth pole I let him go. My horse, he goes for it today, and he comes through today. He’s very good,” López said. “He is a game horse. The race and the competition today and a little trouble between horses, but no problem today. He showed up big time and came through today.”

Crazy Mason, winner of the Carter (G2) on April 5 at Aqueduct, came with a late run to be third, three-quarters of a length behind Scotland, with another two lengths to Doc Sullivan in fourth. Most Wanted, Bishops Bay, defending race winner Mullikin, Extra Añejo, Hold My Bourbon and Over and Ollie completed the order of finish. Grade 3 winner Full Moon Madness was scratched.

Sent off as the 4-5 favorite over nine rivals, Book’em Danno returned $3.80 for a $2 win bet.

The win came with an automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 1, but Ryan said he was unlikely to send Book’em Danno to Del Mar. Atlantic Six Racing’s Jeff Rubenstein said the ownership group is content to leave the final decision up to Ryan.

“Owners are like mushrooms, best kept in the dark. So Derek makes all the decisions. I go one race at a time. So that’s all him,” Rubenstein said. “As a Jersey-bred on this stage, on the world’s biggest racing stage with a Jersey-bred, and (to) compete with Paco and Derek and this awesome ownership group, it means the world.”

Hope Road takes Ballerina for Baffert

Like mother, like daughter.

Hope Road, trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, captured her first top-level trophy with a statement win in the $500,000 Ballerina (G1), a seven-furlong affair for fillies and mares.

The 4-year-old filly’s dam Marley’s Freedom won her first Grade 1 race in the 2018 edition of this race for Baffert. 

“The same connections seven years later, we come back, and we win,” said owner Barbara Perry of Cicero Farms, which bred Hope Road in Kentucky.

Baffert, who watched the race from his Del Mar base, said via phone, “I’m so happy for the owners. I won that race with her mother, and they really appreciate those big wins like that. It’s pretty rare to do that. They’re passionate owners and horse-crazy, and I wish I could have been there with them to watch them cheer for their horse.

“There’s nothing better to me in racing than to win a Grade 1 at Saratoga. That is huge, especially on Travers day. That is really huge in this business.”

A daughter of Quality Road, Hope Road was guaranteed a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint on Nov. 1 through the win-and-you’re-in challenge series that includes the Ballerina.

Hope Road was reluctant to enter the gate before the start.

“She’s funny,” Baffert said. “Sometimes she won’t even load into the horse trailer. She can be very headstrong.”

Once she loaded, Hope Road stood perfectly in the outermost post and then broke with intention under jockey José Ortiz as the 2-1 favorite in the field of seven.

Able to use her tactical speed, Hope Road rated patiently behind Scylla, the Bill Mott trainee who set splits of 22.31 and 44.56 seconds under Flavien Prat. Claret Beret raced behind her. 

Hope Road then made her move in the turn. While racing outside of Scylla, she revved her engine as the mark of 1:08.58 was set for three-quarters of a mile. Hope Road reeled in Scylla by the eighth pole and kicked clear to win by two lengths with a final time of 1:21.93.

Now a four-time graded-stakes winner, Hope Road finished first in her first four starts after being transferred to Baffert last year. She had not found the winner’s circle in three prior starts this year. 

“I’m so proud of that mare,” Baffert said. “She deserved a Grade 1. José rode her perfectly. He had her in a nice spot turning for home. I was hoping she was fit enough to go, because training at Del Mar and training there is a little bit different. It’s more taxing at Saratoga, but she ran her race.”

Majestic Oops, making her first appearance in a Grade 1 event in her 31st start, was another four lengths behind in third. Brightwork, Halina’s Forte, Claret Beret and My Mane Squeeze completed the finish in that order. My Mane Squeeze was eased to the finish and walked off. Mystic Lake and Zeitlos were scratched.  

Perry, who admitted that she was nervous through the stretch run, is looking forward to Del Mar this fall.

“The nice thing about this is this gives her a lot of time to get ready for Breeders’ Cup,” she said. “Honestly, we’ll see how she is. I just want to enjoy the day.”

Hope Road returned $6.10 for a $2 win bet.

May Day Ready cruises in Lake Placid

May Day Ready made every pole a winning one under José Ortiz in the $400,000 Lake Placid (G2), a one-mile inner-turf test for 3-year-old fillies.

Owned by KatieRich Stables and trained by Joe Lee, the Tapit bay delivered a powerful win executed in stark contrast to her rallying, nose effort to make the grade in the Jessamine (G2) in October at Keeneland that capped a trio of victorious closing efforts.

Lee said he was not surprised to see May Day Ready up front.

“I left it up to José. I told him you decide what you want to do,” Lee said. “But I knew she’d be fresh. I knew if she got a clean break with the horses that were in there, should someone not decide to go, she may just be on the lead.”

Eponine, with Irad Ortiz Jr. up, broke to the front along with 3-2 mutuel favorite Play With Fire before a keen May Day Ready, exiting post 3 at odds of 9-5, took over to mark the opening quarter-mile in 24.51 seconds over the firm footing.

May Day Ready showed the way up the backstretch with Eponine tracking from second along the hedge. Scarlet Sands was in third to the outside of Play With Fire with Reining Flowers and Warming at the back of the compact field.

Flavien Prat-piloted Play With Fire advanced along the inside approaching the final turn but lacked room behind Eponine and was shuffled back through the turn. Scarlet Sands launched her clear run on the outside after a half-mile in 49.16 seconds with May Day Ready still a comfortable leader.

“I should have done it differently,” Prat said in frustration.

May Day Ready reached three-quarters of a mile in 1:13.39 and kicked for home. Play With Fire cut the corner, pinned her ears and took aim at the runaway leader while surging to the inside of Eponine. Well-prepared May Day Ready had plenty in the tank to post the half-length score with a final time of 1:35.70.

Play With Fire completed the exacta by two lengths over Eponine with Reining Flowers, Warming and Scarlet Sands rounding out the order of finish.

May Day Ready won her first three starts, taking her debut by a nose at Saratoga last August at odds of 25-1 ahead of a 1 3/4-length score in the listed Juvenile Fillies at Kentucky Downs. She followed her Jessamine score with a closing, 1 1/2-length second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar before heading to Japan, where she was 13th in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1) in December at Kyoto.

May Day Ready made her seasonal debut when she was last of three in an off-the-turf edition of the Wonder Again (G3) in June during Belmont Stakes week at Saratoga before a troubled fourth last out in the 1 1/8-mile Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1) on July 5 at Saratoga.

Lee said May Day Ready could point to the Winter Memories (G3) at Sept. 20 at the Belmont at Aqueduct meet with other potential options at Keeneland in the 1 1/8-mile Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) on Oct. 11 and the one-mile Valley View (G2) on Oct. 24.