Summersault leads upcoming Saratoga entrants for Mark Hennig
With nine racing days of the Saratoga meet already in the rearview mirror, trainer Mark Hennig is looking to gear into action this week, starting with the return of graded stakes winner Summersault in the Grade 3, $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Waya on Saturday's Whitney Day undercard.
Hennig, with a second and third from just nine starters through the first week and a half of racing, was encouraged by the 5-year-old Rock Hard Ten mare's effort in the River Memories on July 9 at Belmont Park, overcoming traffic trouble in the middle of the stretch to hold on for a game second, finishing a half-length behind the favored Apple Betty.
"I thought she ran well," said Hennig. "She didn't get a lot of pace to run at, unfortunately, but she ran. She's always going to be a little bit of a victim to the pace, but she likes that distance. She's run well at those longer distances and she likes firm ground too, so hopefully it doesn't rain too much later this week."
Also on Saturday, Hennig will point recent allowance winner Cursor to the Grade 1, $500,000 Longines Test for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs.
By Quality Road, Cursor is exiting a 2 ½-length win in a six-furlong allowance race on July 13. With a 2-2-1 record from seven starts, including a second-place finish to start her year in the Any Limit at Gulfstream Park, Cursor's worst finish came in her two-turn debut in a 1 1/16-mile optional claimer on June 1, where she finished a tired fifth, 12 ½ lengths behind next-out Grade 2 Mother Goose winner Unchained Melody, and was vanned off as a precaution after the race.
"Obviously, it's a big step up in class, but the race seems kind of suited to her style," Hennig said. "We kept trying to stretch her out, but we came to the conclusion she might be best as a come-from-behind closing sprinter. If you just draw a line through her long races, she's given very good efforts."
Hennig added that New York-breds Paz the Bourbon will enter for the NYSS Statue of Liberty on August 10 and Inalienable Rights, who won his debut on closing week at Belmont will point to the $200,000 Funny Cide on August 25's New York Showcase Day.
Source: NYRA