Volatile shows he's a star besting Whitmore in G1 Vanderbilt
Making his graded stakes debut, Three Chimneys Farm and Phoenix Thoroughbred's Volatile may have vaulted to the head of the sprint division on Saturday with an authoritative win in the Grade 1, $250,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga Race Course.
Sent off the 2-5 favorite under Ricardo Santana Jr., Volatile shot to the front and was allowed to set moderate fractions of :23.46 and :46.67 for the opening half mile while stalked by Mind Control on the outside and millionaire Grade 1 winner Whitmore along the rail.
On the turn of the six-furlong Vanderbilt, Whitmore, Mind Control and Firenze Fire from the back all ranged up to Volatile and it was a four-way scramble entering the stretch. But when set down for the drive, Volatile -- aided from the favorable pace set up -- proved to be too much when kicking clear of those graded stakes winners and holding a hard-trying Whitmore at bay to win by about two lengths.
"When he broke, he broke really sharp and and he's a horse that's cool," Santana Jr. said. "Today he relaxed really well...I was very happy because he was very happy."
Prior to the start, Whitmore -- the second choice at 4-1 -- broke through the starting gate. However, he was quickly pulled up by jockey Joel Rosario and appeared no worse for wear upon his return. At the same time, it was announced the inside horse, longshot Lexitonian, was a late scratch, reducing the field to four.
Whitmore was followed across the wire by Mind Control and Firenze Fire. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Volatile -- who paid $2.80 as the popular winner -- completed the trip on a fast track in 1:09.35.
"For a Grade 1 sprint race to be allowed that first quarter was very fortunate," Asmussen said. "I think the anxious moments were all pre-race with the incident at the gate. Once he was away from the gate smoothly and they threw up the first quarter, he would be awfully hard to beat from there."
As for Whitmore, jockey Joel Rosario was satisfied with the effort given the pace setup and starting gate antics.
"I was in a good position and he was enjoying everything in there. I thought for a second we were going to come and get the winner, but he was too good today," Rosario said. I was up close and my horse was there for me. I could see the pace wasn't very fast, but he was travelling hard and very comfortable on the inside there. He's a champ."
Volatile was a debut winner last summer as a 3-year-old at Ellis Park and added an entry-level allowance win. He resurfaced as an older horse on April 24 at Oaklawn Park and aired by seven lengths in a second-level allowance. Most recently, the son of Violence signaled his readiness for a Grade 1 assignment when winning the June 6 Aristides at Churchill Downs by a widening eight lengths.
"We saw the first two races from him this year and they were absolutely brilliant," Asmussen said. "I feel very good about getting those races into him before he met accomplished horses like this. But from an ability or a speed level, he has it all."
Out of the Unbridled's Song mare Melody Lady, Volatile was an $850,000 purchase at the 2017 Keeneland September yearling sale.
Next up for Volatile could be another marquee Grade 1 matchup on Aug. 29 in the seven-furlong Forego against Vekoma, who has bagged Grade 1s in the seven-furlong Carter and the Met Mile in his most recent starts.