Mindframe returns to work tab at Saratoga Race Course, Fierceness breezes

• Mindframe returns to work tab at Saratoga Race Course, Fierceness breezes
• Mo Plex works for G2 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun
• Echo Sound breezes for G1 Test presented by Ticketmaster; Kilwin also Test bound
• Take Charge Milady draws high praise from McPeek ahead of G1 CCA Oaks
• Nakatomi vies for successful title defense in G2 Alfred G. Vanderbilt
• Giddings confident in Leon Blue after Rick Violette score

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables’ Mindframe, the last-out Grade 1 Stephen Foster-winner on June 28 at Churchill Downs, completed his first breeze back when covering a half-mile in 52.46 seconds on Friday over the main track at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the 4-year-old Constitution dark bay currently leads the National Thoroughbred Racing Association Top Thoroughbred Poll following wins in the nine-furlong Stephen Foster and the seven-furlong Grade 1 Churchill Downs on May 3. Mindframe is 3-for-3 this year, also capturing the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile in March, among his 7-5-2-0 lifetime record with over $1.8 million in earnings.

“We were just looking to get an easy half in, he went by himself,” Pletcher said of Friday’s work. “He does whatever you ask him to do. He is cool that way. He goes easy if you want him to go easy, fast if you want him to go fast.”

On August 2, Saratoga hosts the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney, a nine-furlong main track test for older horses, offering a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic in November at Del Mar. The question for Pletcher has been whether or not Mindframe could run there alongside Fierceness, who has been reported to be targeting the race for Repole Stable, Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor and Mrs. John Magnier.

“I’ve got to gather up with the connections. We are still a couple weeks away, but he is a fit horse coming out of the Foster win. We don’t have to do a lot with him if we did decide to run in the Whitney,” Pletcher said.

On if he’d like running Mindframe and Fierceness against each other in the Whitney, Pletcher said, “Ideally, no. We’d split them up, so if we decide to wait for the [Grade 1] Jockey Club Gold Cup with him [Mindframe], that would be one way of splitting them up.”

The Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup, a 10-furlong “Win and You’re In” event for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, is run on August 31 at the Spa.

“Fierceness hasn’t run since the Met Mile, so we have always been pointing him towards the Whitney,” Pletcher said. 

Fierceness worked Friday over the main track, covering five furlongs in 1:01.70 in company with Dreamlike.

“He worked terrific today. He is giving us every indication he is on target for it [the Whitney],” said Pletcher. “I’d say if he stays that way, that would probably give us a good reason to wait a little longer on Mindframe and give him a little extra time off a huge effort shipping to Churchill.”

Fierceness, the multiple Grade 1-winning 4-year-old City of Light colt and the 2023 Champion 2-Year-Old Male, last ran second in the one-mile Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap here after a track-record setting win in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Alysheba on May 2 at Churchill Downs.

“I thought he worked terrific, like he always does, he finished up nicely and put in a huge gallop out, moving great, doing everything you’d like to see,” Pletcher said.

Fierceness has earned in excess of $4.5 million through an 11-6-2-1 record, including a head score over subsequent Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna in the Grade 1, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers in August here.

 

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Mo Plex works for G2 Jim Dandy

R and H Stable’s dual graded stakes-winning New York-bred Mo Plex worked a half-mile in 48.84 seconds Friday over the Saratoga Race Course main track in preparation for the local Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun, a nine-furlong route for sophomores on July 26.

Trained by Jeremiah Englehart, the Complexity bay worked solo under Manny Franco, who will have the call in the Jim Dandy – the local major prep for the Grade 1, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers on August 23.

“The plan was nice and easy this week into the race next week,” Englehart said of the work. “He's been uber aggressive, so I thought Manny did a pretty good job to get him to settle. At the quarter-pole he was wanting to go, go, go and he got him to relax a little bit. All in all I thought that was pretty good.”

Mo Plex [8-5-1-2, $745,000] captured the Grade 3 Sanford and state-bred Funny Cide presented by Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital here last summer. He has won 2-of-3 starts this year, taking the seven-furlong Listed Bay Shore in April at Aqueduct Racetrack with Franco aboard ahead of a Joe Ramos-piloted victory last out in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Ohio Derby on June 21 at Thistledown.

Englehart said he’s looking forward to taking on a formidable Jim Dandy field that could include Grade 1 Kentucky Derby-winner Sovereignty along with Baeza, Hill Road and Sandman.

“It's obviously going to be a challenge. It's always tough to run against a horse like Sovereignty, but when you have one that hopefully can compete with him, you look forward to these opportunities,” Englehart said.

Bred by Everything’s Cricket Racing, Mo Plex was a $45,000 purchase at last year’s OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training and is out of the unraced Uncle Mo mare Mo Joy, a half-sister to dual stakes-placed Little Daddy.

Englehart won a pair of races on Thursday’s Spa card, taking Race 2 with the Jose Ortiz-piloted Annexperience, who bested elders in a New York-bred maiden over one-mile of firm turf in gate-to-wire fashion from post 9-of-10.

Owned by Legacy Racing, the Instagrand sophomore out of the More Than Ready mare Sistas Ready, made his first three starts in turf sprints, including a half-length third on June 19 at Belmont at the Big A.

He showed the way through splits of 24.52 seconds, 48.89 and 1:12.99, opening up by seven lengths at the stretch call and crossing the wire a 7 3/4-length winner in a final time of 1:36.23.

“I really thought last year he was one of those horses that would be a first-out winner but he needed more ground,” Englehart said. “It looks like there's a little more More Than Ready to him than Instagrand. That's a good combination to have. I was very impressed by his performance yesterday to run away from them like he did, especially on the grass, which is hard to do.”

Bred by Forty Oaks and Pug Hart, the $165,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale purchase is a half-brother to graded stakes-placed Vote No.

In Race 6, a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf sprint for state-bred juvenile fillies, Sacred Goddess made a winning debut for Jayson Werth’s Icon Racing Stable, Team Penney Racing and Peter Dorsman Racing.

The $200,000 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training purchase bumped with a rival at the start and stalked from fourth position under Irad Ortiz, Jr. as Bella Bello Banker marked the half-mile in a swift 44.99 over the firm footing. She was angled wide for the stretch drive and made a sustained run to take command in the final sixteenth and best Trading Trouble by a neck in a final time of 1:03.69.

Sacred Wish was the first starter for Icon Racing, a syndicate launched in part by Werth, a former MLB all-star and World Series winner. Werth has enjoyed a tremendous start in racing ownership via his nom de course of Two Eight Racing, having captured the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets and the Grade 1 NYRA Bets Haskell last year with Dornoch.

“That was Icon Racing's first start and first win. Jayson has done a good job getting that off the ground. For everything he's put into the game, you pull for them to do well and it was pretty special to have her win first out for him,” Englehart said.

Bred by Trail Creek Stables, Sacred Goddess is out of the Quality Road mare That’s My Cue.

Englehart noted that another recent Spa state-bred maiden winner, Toga Twist, exited his debut nose score on July 6 here in good order and is pointing to the six-furlong $150,000 Funny Cide presented by Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital on August 24.

“He came out of it good,” Englehart said. “We have him slated for the Funny Cide and hopefully he stays on that course.”

Bred by Gold Square, the Omaha Beach 2-year-old colt is campaigned by Legion Racing, Flash Toga Farm, Echo Racing and Stephen Lovelette.

 

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Echo Sound breezes for G1 Test presented by Ticketmaster; Kilwin also Test bound

Gabriel Duignan’s Echo Sound, last-out winner of the Grade 3 Victory Ride on July 3 here, worked back a half-mile solo in 50.49 seconds Friday on the Oklahoma dirt training track with Luis Saez aboard. The Echo Town bay is pointing to the Grade 1, $500,000 Test presented by Ticketmaster, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies on August 2.

“Luis breezed her and said he was very happy with the work. Everything is on schedule,” said Arnold over the phone from Kentucky.

Echo Sound has won 5-of-6 outings and is perfect in two starts this year, taking the six-furlong Grade 3 Miss Preakness in May at Pimlico Race Course ahead of her 4 1/4-length romp in the 6 1/2-furlong Victory Ride that garnered a career-best 101 Beyer Speed Figure.

Echo Sound, a half-sister to Grade 2-winner Pick of the Litter, is out of the late Fusaichi Pegasus mare Eagle Sound – a half-sister to Grade 2-winner Wild Syn.

Arnold said BBN Racing’s Kilwin will work at Keeneland on Sunday before shipping up to Saratoga on Monday to square off against Echo Sound in the Test.

The Twirling Candy bay made her first five starts on turf, including a win in the Untapable at Kentucky Downs in September ahead of a fifth-place effort on the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf in November at Del Mar. She squared off against well-regarded Shisospicy in her first two outings this year when sixth in the Listed Limestone in April at Keeneland and second in the Grade 3 Mamzelle in May at Churchill Downs.

Last out, she tried dirt for the first time in the seven-furlong Leslie’s Lady on June 8 at Churchill Downs, powering away to a 1 1/4-length score in a final time of 1:21.61 that earned a career-best 96 Beyer.

“It was a pretty good race,” said Arnold, with a laugh. “We decided to try her on the dirt once and it went the right way. She came out of it good, and she’ll also run in the Test. I wish they weren't in the same spot, but they are - it's a good problem to have.”

A pair of Calumet Farm Kentucky homebred sophomore fillies worked solo over the Oklahoma training turf on Friday with Daisy Flyer covering a half-mile in 51.70 seconds and Fixin to Bee breezing five-eighths in 1:00.44.

Daisy Flyer, who worked with Jose Lezcano aboard, was a neck third last out in the Grade 3 Herecomesthebride in March at Gulfstream Park and the Mshawish bay is pointed to the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Lake George presented by Surfside on July 26 here.

“She traveled really nicely over the grass,” Arnold’s local assistant Lyndsay Delello said. “We were really happy with her work.”

Fixin to Bee, also by Mshawish, was fourth last out here on July 3 in the Listed Wild Applause. Although nominated to the Lake George, Arnold indicated she would point to either the Grade 2, $400,000 Lake Placid on August 23 here or one of the Kentucky Downs Preview events in August at Ellis Park.

“She went a good five-eighths with her exercise rider,” Delello said. “She can be a little bit of a quirky filly, but she worked great too.”

Bregman Family Racing’s dual graded stakes-placed Totally Justified is slated to work here this weekend with an eye towards the Grade 2, $500,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Oaks Invitational on August 9. The Justify bay was an uncharacteristic last-of-7 last out in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational here on July 5.

“Her last race was a little bit of a disappointment. We haven't completely figured it out yet,” Arnold said. “She'll work tomorrow and if all goes good, she's still possible for the Saratoga Oaks. She's the only horse we brought up there that didn't run well. Hopefully, we'll get her back on track.”

 

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Take Charge Milady draws high praise from McPeek ahead of G1 CCA Oaks

More than 20 years ago, Take Charge Lady walked into the barn of trainer Kenny McPeek and would become one of the first of several high-profile fillies that would be trained by the Hall of Fame-nominated conditioner.

As much of a star as the three-time Grade 1-winner was on the track, she would be immortalized in the breeding shed as the dam of Grade 1-winners Will Take Charge, As Time Goes By and Take Charge Indy, and the second dam of Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Take Charge Brandi, multiple Grade 1-winner Omaha Beach and dual graded stakes-winner Charge It.

Through her son Take Charge Indy, the legacy of Take Charge Lady continues in the McPeek barn as Take Charge Milady looks to provide the family with yet another Grade 1 win in Saturday’s $500,000 Coaching Club American Oaks, a nine-furlong route for sophomore fillies at Saratoga Race Course.

The dark bay filly has already won two stakes, and earned a Grade 1 placing when second in the Ashland in April at Keeneland. Though it is early in Take Charge Milady’s career, McPeek has high praise for the filly and said he already sees the family resemblance.

“She’s very reminiscent of Take Charge Lady for me,” said McPeek, who recently returned from a trip to Japan where he visited his star fillies Swiss Skydiver, Eskimo Kisses and Simply Ravishing in retirement. “Take Charge Lady is probably the first really good filly I ever trained, and this filly is heading that direction. I think the bloodline pushes through and she’s a similar body type, head and mover. She’s been really, really good to us already.”

Take Charge Milady enters from a determined win over Champion 2-Year-Old Filly and returning foe Immersive in the Monomoy Girl on June 14 at Churchill Downs, where she stalked in third and made a move entering the turn under Brian Hernandez, Jr. to duel down the stretch with Immersive and stick her neck in front in time, completing the 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.17.

“She’s doing good and she’s all set and ready to roll,” McPeek. “It’s hard not to like her last race and the fact that she beat the Champion 2-Year-Old Filly and she seems to be a filly that’s on the improve. She’s going to need to do that, and I like to think we can get a Grade 1 win out of her. I’d love to think that between this race, the Alabama and the Cotillion, she can knock out a Grade 1.”

Take Charge Milady got her year started with a pair of wins in January at Oaklawn Park, led by a 5 3/4-length romp in the Listed Martha Washington ahead of a distant finish in the Grade 3 Honeybee there. She rebounded with a strong effort in the Grade 1 Ashland where she rallied from seventh to come up just 1 1/4 lengths shy of returning rival La Cara, giving her a spot in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks where she could go on to finish a flat 12th over a wet, fast, and sealed main track at Churchill.

“We were nursing a quarter crack that week, and I didn’t want to breeze her fast going into the race because I was afraid if I did too much with her that it was going to open,” McPeek explained. “I decided to give her a nice two-minute clip, and then the race came up sloppy and she didn’t handle it at all. It just wasn’t her day. The rebound race was excellent, and hopefully it sets her up for this.”

Take Charge Milady has been in Saratoga since mid-June and has posted three works over the Oklahoma training track, including a bullet half-mile breeze in 47.03 seconds last Saturday.

“She’s very happy,” McPeek said of how she has adjusted to the Spa.

A $60,000 purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Take Charge Milady out of the winning Scat Daddy mare Price too High. She is campaigned by James Ball, Magdalena Racing and Kenneth Rhodes.

While Take Charge Milady looks to become racing’s latest top filly, the one who currently sits atop the throne is the McPeek-trained Thorpedo Anna, who arrived in Saratoga on July 10 on the heels of a return to her usual form when dominating the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis on June 28 at Churchill.

“She’s doing good and we’re getting her into a routine here,” McPeek said.

Thorpedo Anna got back to winning ways last out after an uncharacteristic seventh in the Grade 1 La Troienne on May 2 at Churchill where she was jostled in the first turn and never fired. McPeek said it was good to see the reigning Horse of the Year get back to the form he’s become accustomed to.

“I thought the race on Derby week was just a shame because she just got mugged,” McPeek said. “It wasn’t her, and she came out of it fine, it’s just what could go wrong did. She’s certainly far from done.”

Thorpedo Anna, who won the Grade 1 DK Horse Acorn and Coaching Club American Oaks ahead of a narrow second in the Grade 1 DraftKings Travers here last summer, is preparing for the Grade 1, $500,000 Personal Ensign on August 23.

McPeek said plans are to be determined for last year’s Grade 1 Kentucky Derby-winner Mystik Dan, who arrived on the same van as Thorpedo Anna on July 10. The son of Goldencents was last seen finishing an even fourth in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster on June 28 at Churchill.

“He’s training good and I haven’t really decided where I’m pointing him to yet,” McPeek said. “He’s going to run in something important later in the season.”

 

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Nakatomi vies for successful title defense in G2 Alfred G. Vanderbilt

Qatar Racing and Mrs. Fitriani Hay’s evergreen sprinter Nakatomi will attempt a title defense in Saturday’s Grade 2, $400,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt, a six-furlong sprint for older horses, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Welsey Ward, the Firing Line 6-year-old was a 1 1/2-length winner of last year’s Vanderbilt when run as a Grade 1 handicap, stalking in second under Tyler Gaffalione and showing a strong response in the lane to collar pacesetter and returning rival Skelly and complete the course in 1:09.97.

Nakatomi went on to finish second to Federal Judge in the Grade 2 Phoenix at Keeneland and sixth in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar to close out his campaign. He did not return until this April in the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen, where he finished a neck second to Dark Saffron in a stellar effort to improve on a third in last year’s running of the prestigious sprint at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.

Nakatomi returned relatively quickly from an overseas trip to take on the Grade 3 True North last out on June 7 here, with Ward noting the seasoned gelding showed all the right signs heading into the 6 1/2-furlong sprint.

“He hadn’t had a race all winter and he ran a big race off the bench in Dubai,” Ward said. “He came home and I think because of not having a prep, he had some spice to him. Usually when I go over there, it requires a lot more time, but he had more sizzle to him when he got home so we started training him guardedly. Each work was one where you could see that he was bright and sharp, so that’s why we decided to run him in the True North a little earlier than I would have done with him or any horse.”

The True North did not go as planned after Nakatomi missed the break and trailed early before being asked to keep up by Irad Ortiz, Jr. and failing to threaten. He raced in fifth throughout, and that’s where he would finish 5 1/4 lengths behind the victorious and reopposing Book’em Danno.

“Unfortunately, he got left at the gate, and when you get left at the gate in a sprint, that’s everything,” Ward said. “That’s a throw-out race, but he did run a big number. He ran a six on the Ragozin sheets and a good Beyer [91] to where it was an effort. I got him home to Keeneland and he bounced right back, so we’re going again here and we’ll see what happens.”

Nakatomi makes his 23rd career start, looking to build upon an impressive resume that includes an additional stakes win in the Bowman Mill as a juvenile at Keeneland, and another Grade 1 placing when third in the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita Park.

“He’s a lightly-raced six-year-old and I think that really helps his longevity,” Ward said. “We give him the winters off. He was gelded early on, so he’s always had a real good personality and is a laid-back kind of guy. He’s a joy to train and he’s always a real happy horse. He loves to go to the track and you look forward to training horses like these.”

Nakatomi will emerge from the outermost post 8 on Saturday in rein to Emisael Jaramillo [9-2ML].

“When the gates open, it can unfold differently, but there looks to be a lot more speed this year than last,” Ward said. “The good thing is we’ve got that outside post, which he’ll really like. The rider can sort of play the first quarter-mile however he wants to when you’re on the outside.”

Ward noted his other top sprinter, the New York-bred Whatchatalkinabout, will head out of town after he was not entered in the Vanderbilt to keep him separated from Nakatomi. Owned by Ice Wine Stable, the Dialed In gelding was last seen winning the Grade 3 John A. Nerud by a head on May 10 at Belmont at the Big A, and Ward said he is targeting the Grade 1 Bing Crosby next Saturday at Del Mar.

“He’s good and I didn’t want to have a collision between two of my guys, so he’s going out to Del Mar,” Ward said. “Nakatomi didn’t run as well as expected in the Breeders’ Cup last year, so I decided to send Whatchatalkinabout out there to run in the Bing Crosby. I try to space his races out, and the end goal is the Breeders’ Cup.”

The Bing Crosby is a “Win and You’re In” for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint in November at the Southern California oval.

On the sophomore side of dirt sprinters, Ward has a strong contender in Three Chimneys Farm’s Kentucky homebred Touchy, who was last seen winning a June 27 optional claimer sprinting seven furlongs at Belmont at the Big A in unexpected frontrunning fashion.

There, the son of Nyquist stumbled from the gate, leading Hall of Fame rider Joel Rosario to allow the colt to rush up and take command through splits of 22.47 seconds and 44.74 over the fast main track, the first time he would have the early lead since a debut second in the Listed Tremont last June here. He faced a late bid from the graded stakes-placed New York-bred Sand Devil, but dug in and staved off his rival by a head in a final time of 1:22.13.

“Joel said he picked himself up after the stumble and wanted to go, so he just let him. He ran a big race there and I was very proud of him to dig in and beat the home court guy,” Ward said. “He’s doing very well right now and we’ll start his works and make sure if we bring him up there that we’re confident he’s going to run well.”

Ward said he is considering the Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on August 23 for Touchy, who has finished second or third in five stakes and would be making his Grade 1 debut.

Ward secured his first win of the Saratoga meet last Saturday when Lael Stables’ homebred Pulstar graduated at second asking in an off-the-turf maiden sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs under Rosario. The Kantharos chestnut led each step of the way and had a two-length lead at the stretch call, but came under threat in the lane and narrowly prevailed by a nose over the oncoming Delightful Darling.

“I liked it. She’s a small filly, and I think it was just a tick farther than she wants to go,” Ward said. “I think we’re going to be looking at five-furlong races on the grass. We’ll have a chance to breeze her on the grass here to see if she likes it, but pedigree suggests she would.”

Ward said he will consider the upcoming 5 1/2-furlong $150,000 Bolton Landing on August 17 for Pulstar, who is out of the two-time winning turf mare Bellerue, a daughter of Quality Road.

 

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Giddings confident in Leon Blue after Rick Violette score

Trainer Melanie Giddings said she was pleased with Leon Blue’s first stakes effort being a winning one in Thursday’s $150,000 Rick Violette, 1 1/16-mile Mellon turf route for New York-bred sophomores, at Saratoga Race Course.

Giddings said the AWC Stables, Gold Square, Paul Braverman and Scott Akman owned gelding was in good order the morning after his thrilling victory.

“He’s doing really well," Giddings said. "Typical Leon, he is still full of energy. So, he’s ready to fight another day.”

Leon Blue broke towards the top under apprentice rider Christopher Elliott, but quickly settled to second letting his Ricardo Santana Jr.-piloted foe Sounds Like a Plan dash away to the lead, propelling the field into an opening quarter-mile in 23.29 seconds over the firm Spa going.

Giddings said she had no qualms having Elliott take back and sit just off the pace.

“If you look at his form, probably the riders against him look and think he is a horse that is too sharp, needs the lead and always goes to the lead,” Giddings said. “But that horse is going to show people he can really do anything. It’s just an education for him.”

As Elliott guided the son of Mo Town home, he faced a stiff challenge from the Jorge Abreu trained favorite Smooth Breeze with jockey Flavien Prat in the irons. Around the turn Smooth Breeze took his shot at Leon Blue with the tiring pacesetter Sounds Like a Plan fading on the inside. Elliott and Leon Blue stayed game as could be and held off Smooth Breeze, finishing up in a final time of 1:41.34.

“As far as Chris, I obviously have been one of his biggest supporters I think here in New York,” Giddings said. “We have been very lucky together, but I also think he deserves the chance to show that he is as good as these other guys. He proved that yesterday.”

Giddings is hopeful for another opportunity for Leon Blue along with Christopher Elliott to show that they can win another stakes race here at the Spa. One option is the $150,000 West Point Handicap for New York bred 3 years old and up over the same distance this winning effort was posted.

“It’s a possibility. It looks like the most logical possibility,” Giddings said. “I’m going to talk to the owners and see what they think but that sounds like something we will aim for.”

Giddings added that the older company won't deter them from entering.

“I’m not too worried,” Giddings said. “We will see what kind of horses are out there and we will have to take a look when it comes closer.”

The emotional win is still setting in for Giddings and her team given their deep ties to late trainer Rick Violette, who served as a New York Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association (NYTHA) President as well as being a monumental figure in the beginning of the TAKE2 Second Career Thoroughbred Program and TAKE THE LEAD Retirement Program.

“Yeah, it was kind of emotional. I knew it would mean a lot to my assistant at Belmont, Melissa Cohen, and my foreman here at Saratoga, Fausto Flores. They have missed Rick a lot and they’ve got a lot of nice stories about working for Rick - he was a good man,” Giddings said.