Intricate Spirit and Ewing represent West Point Thoroughbreds in G3 Quick Call presented by the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation
The West Point Thoroughbreds’ co-owned Intricate Spirit and Ewing are promising contenders among an overflow field in Sunday’s Grade 3, $225,000 Quick Call presented by the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf sprint for sophomores, at Saratoga Race Course.
Intricate Spirit, co-owned by Madaket Stables, Kenneth Beitz and Gail Beitz, is in good form for trainer Miguel Clement. The Complexity dark bay was equipped with blinkers last out on May 23 at Belmont at the Big A and went gate-to-wire to score by 3 1/4 lengths in the six-furlong Paradise Creek – a race named for the Virginia-bred dark bay, who earned Eclipse Award honors as Champion Grass Horse in 1994.
“He just dominated that field, broke on top and never looked back, just a powerful win,” said Jason Blewitt, Executive Vice President of West Point Thoroughbreds. “I was such a big Paradise Creek fan back in the day when Bill Mott had him, so it was neat to win his namesake race especially near the end of Aqueduct.”
Intricate Spirit captured the Grade 3 Futurity over that same course and distance in October, which granted a berth into the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint later that month at Del Mar, where he finished off-the-board to cap his four-start 2-year-old campaign.
Intricate Spirit [post 4, Manny Franco] returned for his sophomore season as a gelding with a 1 3/4-length third in the five-furlong Texas Glitter over the all-weather surface in March at Gulfstream Park, ahead of a troubled ninth when steadying late in the 5 1/2-furlong Listed Palisades in April at Keeneland.
“Miguel was disappointed with how Intricate Spirit finished up at Keeneland and we were all happy to see him put that race behind him and get back to the form that he had as a 2-year-old,” Blewitt said. “He had always trained really well from his maiden win to winning the Futurity at Aqueduct.”
Intricate Spirit, a debut winner over the Quick Call course and distance in August, was a $185,000 purchase at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He is a half-brother to the Clement-trained dual graded stakes-placed Spirit Prince, out of the winning Curlin mare Dottie’s Spirit – a half-sister to Grade 3-placed Lecturing Lynn. His third dam, A Chance of Storm, is a full-sister to 1992 Grade 1 Alabama-winner November Snow.
“He was awesome last time out in the blinkers,” Blewitt added. “He’s a fast, handy horse and when he’s on his game, he’ll run well no matter where he is, but it’s nice having that option that if no one else wants the lead, he might be able to take it and run them off their feet.”
Ewing [post 1, Jose Ortiz] is trained by dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse and co-owned by D. J. Stable and Kenneth Freirich. The Knicks Go gray is 2-for-3 overall and has made all three starts on dirt, including a 12-length debut score last July here ahead of a one-length victory in the 6 1/2-furlong Grade 2 Saratoga Special in August. Returning as a sophomore, Ewing was a troubled sixth in the six-furlong Ozark in February at Oaklawn Park.
“It’s been a long time since he won the Saratoga Special, but we’re looking forward to him reigniting his career in the Quick Call,” Blewitt said.
Blewitt said Ewing, a $585,000 purchase at the 2025 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training out of the Indian Charlie mare Sassy Ali Joy, has been well-regarded since Day One.
“Ewing was 2-for-2 up here last summer and won the Saratoga Special. The day before the Breeders’ Futurity he came up with an issue and we had to send him home… We were thinking Derby horse or maybe even Pat Day Mile or Woody Stephens,” Blewitt said. “It didn’t work out at Oaklawn in February, so we sent him back to Mark’s place and the good news is he’s back healthy.”
Ewing breezed a half-mile in 47 seconds flat over the Oklahoma training turf on July 5, following with a 48.77 half-mile over the main track on July 12.
“I’ve said all along he should be a good turf horse, so we’ll find out,” Casse said. “I felt like maybe we rushed him back [to the races] and he just wasn’t himself. I decided after that to give him a break and he’s come back good now.”
The Casse-trained El Magnate [post AE13, Irad Ortiz, Jr.], a 2-for-2 son of Into Mischief owned by M Racing Group, is also-eligible and needs one defection to draw into the race. The bay rallied to win his 5 1/2-furlong debut in May over Tapeta at Woodbine Racetrack despite leaping at the start as well as clipping heels and stumbling when in tight nearing the quarter-pole, before tipping out and powering home a 3 1/4-length winner. He followed with a four-length wiring of an optional claimer versus elders on June 14 going 6 1/2 furlongs over the same course.
“I think he should get nothing but better. I can see it with him, he’s still learning,” said Casse. “He’s got to break a little better. He’s not going to be able to give up a lot going five and a half [furlongs].”
El Magnate breezed a half-mile over the Oklahoma training turf in 50.85 around the dogs on July 5 and in 49 flat on July 12.
“I thought he worked good,” Casse said, following the latter. “We were just trying to let him get a feel for the turf. I thought he went well last time, and even better [Sunday]. Once he levels out, he looks good.”
The $500,000 purchase from the 2023 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale is out of the Grade 2-winning Fastnet Rock mare Cover Song. His second dam is multiple Group 1-winner Misty For Me, who produced multiple Group 1 winners U S Navy Flag and Roly Poly.
John Cronin, Jr. and RAP Racing’s Johnny’s Red Storm [post 10, Flavien Prat] makes his sophomore bow with a perfect 2-for-2 ledger for trainer George Weaver. The Twirling Candy dark bay graduated over course and distance in August and won the Listed Juvenile Sprint later that month at Kentucky Downs, but was sidelined before the Breeders’ Cup. The colt is co-owned by Hall of Fame basketball coach Rick Pitino.
“We want to put him in a position to have a revisit to Kentucky Downs. He hasn’t run since then. He’s undefeated, I don’t want to mess this up,” Weaver said, with a laugh.
Weaver may also send out Medallion Racing, Swinbank Stables, Joey Platts and Mark Stanton’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint-winning filly Cy Fair [post 8, John Velazquez], who is cross-entered in Saturday’s Grade 3, $225,000 Coronation Cup here versus fellow sophomore fillies.
“We’re just playing the weather,” said Phillip Shelton, racing manager for Medallion Racing. “Our first choice is the Coronation Cup against the girls, but there’s obviously some rain forecast on Saturday, so we are just giving ourselves a secondary option in case Saturday becomes a washout and comes off the grass. We won’t run if it comes off and we’ll just default to Sunday.”
The Not This Time bay posted a 3-for-4 juvenile campaign capped by a statement score over males in the five-furlong Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint in October at Del Mar. Cy Fair returned in the Grade 3 Limestone on April 10 at Keeneland and was a pacesetting three-quarter-length third behind the victorious Slay the Day. Cy Fair ran back 20 days later in the Grade 3 Mamzelle at Churchill Downs and defeated Slay the Day by one length. That rival exited to win the Grade 3 Soaring Softly on June 7 here.
“Keeneland didn’t go to plan because she was very fresh, nobody wanted the lead and she pulled her way up there. Then at Churchill, she really won convincingly and Slay the Day came back to win during Belmont Week,” Shelton said. “The form of our starts has been good. At five and a half furlongs, you can’t be too far off the pace, but you do need to be able to hit the next gear, or you’ll get run down by somebody that does. I think what makes Cy Fair so special is that she has a very high cruising speed, but she has the ability to still quicken.”
Gold Square’s stakes-winner Throckmorton [post 3, Luis Saez] will make his first outing for trainer Chad Summers after making his first seven career starts for conditioner Jose D’Angelo. The Caracaro bay won the six-furlong Awad in November at the Big A to cap his 2-year-old season, and has placed in three stakes attempts this year, most recently a third in the Listed William Walker on May 9 at Churchill Downs.
“He’s coming off a layoff. We’ll see how he runs in the race,” Summers said.
Steve Berg and Eclipse Award-winning trainer Dale Romans’ Bobrovsky [post 12, Junior Alvarado] makes his sophomore debut. The Daredevil bay graduated by 10 1/2 lengths second-out sprinting six furlongs against restricted company on dirt last July here, ahead of a successful switch to grass to win the Skidmore in August over Sunday’s course and distance. He exited to finish a three-quarter-length fourth in the Listed Indian Summer in October at Keeneland to cap a four-start juvenile campaign.
Romans also sends out Charles Monfort, America's Pastime Stables, Bloom Racing Stable and Edwin Barker’s Rockies Balboa [post 11, Dylan Davis], who is 10-3-3-0 with a pair of restricted stakes placings on dirt. The Girvin bay has never tried turf and enters from a 6 1/2-furlong optional claiming win over sloppy and sealed footing on June 25 at Churchill Downs. Co-owner Charles Monfort is a primary owner of the Colorado Rockies Major League Baseball team.
Kaleem Shah’s Stradale [post 9, Ricardo Santana, Jr.] will try the turf in his ninth start for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen. The dual stakes-placed Yaupon bay finished sixth last out in the seven-furlong Grade 1 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun on June 6 here. He was a $1.3 million purchase at the 2025 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training out of the Stormy Atlantic mare Twitterpated, a full-sister to Grade 1-winner Stormy Lucy.
A talented field includes Grade/Group 3-placed Longshoreman [post 7, Jaime Rodriguez] for trainer Wesley Ward and Learntodiscover [post 2, Tyler Gaffalione] for trainer Brendan Walsh; stakes-winner Unwritten Rule [post 6, Jose Lezcano] for conditioner Thomas Proctor; and multiple stakes-placed Monster [post 5, Edgard Zayas] for trainer Jose D’Angelo.
Oscar’s Hope is entered for the main track only.
The Quick Call is slated as Race 9 on Sunday’s 10-race card. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
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