Zito taking a chance at 2016 Woodward with Catholic Cowboy

Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito is hoping Saratoga lives up to its reputation as the 'Graveyard of Champions' when he sends out Mossarosa's multiple stakes winner Catholic Cowboy in Saturday's Grade 1, $600,000 Woodward.

 

Catholic Cowboy is listed at 20-1 on the morning line for the 1 1/8-mile Woodward, in which Frosted, impressive winner of the Grade 1 Whitney and Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap, is the 1-2 program favorite over eight others.

 

"Forget Frosted," Zito said. "You have to leave him alone, I guess. You have to put him in a different category, although it is Saratoga. The deal is, you still have to run around the track. You never know what can happen."

 

A 6-year-old gelded bay son of Irish-bred Heatseeker, Catholic Cowboy has two wins from six starts this year after going 0-for-8 in 2015. Still, he has finished third or better in six of his last 10 races, winning the Old Hickory Stakes at Gulfstream and an optional claiming allowance at Keeneland in succession in late winter/early spring.

 

He was fourth, beaten 3 ½ lengths, by Turco Bravo in the Flat Out May 15 and ninth after prompting the pace in the Grade 2 Brooklyn June 11, both following wide trips at Belmont Park.

 

"The other horses in there, at one time during the summer he looked like he was stacking up pretty good. I ran him in the Flat Out; I thought he had an excuse there. I ran him in the Brooklyn and I thought he had a little excuse there," Zito said.

 

"The horse has been doing so well and I said, 'Why don't we just run him?' Let me just run him because he likes Saratoga, he did win up here, and there's a good possibility he may get a good piece of it. And it's racing, too. The history of Saratoga is so good about that over the years, so that's why we're doing it."

 

Catholic Cowboy won a Saratoga allowance in August 2014 and was most recently fourth in an off-the-turf optional claiming allowance at the Spa July 31. He has posted two sharp half-mile works since then over the Oklahoma training track.

 

"I had to run him as a main track only and he got in that day and broke through the gate, so I never really got to run him," Zito said. "He's trained the best he's ever trained. He's never been better; that's why I want to do this. Hopefully everything goes good."

 

Luis Saez, aboard for the past six races including both recent wins, gets the return call from post 5 at 118 pounds. Catholic Cowboy gets two pounds from Canadian classic winners Shaman Ghost and Breaking Lucky, four from Grade 1 winner Bradester and six from Frosted.

 

Catholic Cowboy won the Claiming Crown Jewel in 2014 and was third in the Sunshine Millions Classic in 2015 and 2016, all at Gulfstream Park. He has been off the board in two previous graded stakes tries, including the Grade 1 Donn Handicap in 2015.

 

"He drew well and he gets in light, and he's got Luis. He absolutely he does well with Luis all the time, so we'll see. We'll see if everything works out," Zito said. "Someone I really respect told me once, 'If you don't take the shot, you can't score.' It's the truth."