Terranova Barn Picking Up Steam
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Photo:
chelsea durand, NYRA
Should Triple Crown winner American Pharoah wind up in Saratoga for Travers, he'll be coming into a barn that has been picking up steam since the calendar turned to August.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert's horses that ship to New York bed down with trainer John Terranova, who has won with five of 12 starters this month and 13 overall. Baffert was in town earlier this week for the Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearling Sale and stopped to visit Terranova on the backstretch.
Terranova housed American Pharoah in the days before and after to his Triple Crown-clinching victory in the June 6 Belmont Stakes.
"I'd be excited if he came. It'd be great," Terranova said. "I know it'd be busy around here and everything, but it was really special just being around him and having him here. Even us, we don't get to see anything like that so just to be close to a horse like that is pretty amazing. I'd be looking forward to it if they decided to come. We'll see what the team decides. Hopefully, everything goes well. As long as he stays healthy, it'd be nice to see him run and make a trip here. We'll be ready."
Terranova picked up his first victory of the meet with Draft Day ($8.10) on August 1. Wins followed with Cryptic Comet ($22.40) on August 3, Harp N Halo ($49.20) on August 7, Takajo ($27.60) on August 8 and Greywalls ($21.20) on August 9. He has Alaapatique entered in today's 10th race finale, a six-furlong claiming event.
"I thought they were going in there doing well and would run well, but these fields up here have so many nice horses that a lot of horses are going to take money over some of ours in these spots," Terranova said. "It's been a good first couple weeks; everything's run well. I don't have huge numbers to run but, so far, everything has fired pretty much. It's been great. I've got a great crew between here and Belmont and everybody is working hard to make it happen. We've got some decent horses and they've just landed in the right spots and stepped up."
Terranova said he hopes to bring each of his winners back at the meet and will take a look at the $100,000 Riskaverse for 3-year-old fillies going a mile on the grass August 27 for Greywalls. He is also close to unveiling some of his unraced 2-year-olds that have been training here and at Belmont.
"Everything I ran early, so far most of them have come back really well. We'll see if the right spots come up," he said. "We've got others that are going to be ready. I just don't have the big numbers to keep going week after week and run all the time, but the ones we've been running have been firing."
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Less than three weeks after making his U.S. debut at Saratoga Race Course, long-distance specialist Tacticus returned a 2 ½-length winner in Wednesday's $100,000 Birdstone.
Previously based in England, where he was a two-time stakes winner, the 4-year-old A.P. Indy colt ran 1 ¾ miles in 2:59.15 over a fast main track under jockey Joel Rosario. Second choice in a field of seven at 2-1, he returned $6.60 for a $2 win bet.
Tacticus is owned by Flaxman Stable and trained by Graham Motion, who watched the race from his base at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md.
"I was kind of impressed with how he did it, to be honest. I thought he did it pretty comfortably," Motion said by phone. "Joel gave him a great ride and rode him very confidently. It looked like he was always going very well."
Village Warrior, one of two Birdstone horses trained by meet leader Todd Pletcher, broke fastest from outside post 8 and held the lead through the first mile, going through splits of 24.41 seconds, 49.97, 1:16.15 and 1:42.28. Turco Bravo, who had stalked the pace throughout, took over the top spot leaving the backstretch, and opened up on the field as it rounded the final turn.
Making a relentless run on the outside, Tacticus reeled in a game Turco Bravo in the last of 14 furlongs before pulling clear. Turco Bravo was a decisive second, 6 ¾ lengths ahead of 27-1 long shot Desvelo, followed by Gridley Here, Cary Street, Village Warrior and defending champion Micromanage, the 9-5 favorite trained by Pletcher, who was pulled up and eased to the wire.
"I don't think you want to get too far back [in a 1 ¾-mile race]. The longer the race, they can get tired in the end, and if you're too far back you probably won't get there," Rosario said. "With this horse, I just wanted to get him into the race a little bit. He can run all day. Perfect trip, and the further he goes he gets stronger and stronger."
Motion said he will continue to seek out long-distance races for Tacticus, who debuted with a fourth-place finish going 1 1/8 miles July 26 at Saratoga.
"The distance was the key; that's why they brought him over here originally," he said. "He was supposed to run on Belmont weekend, but he came up with a foot abscess. This was always kind of the idea, to look at these kinds of races. There aren't that many."
Source: NYRA Communications
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