Obliteration steps up for G3 Sanford

Leland Ackerley Racing’s Obliteration steps up in class after an impressive debut in Saturday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Sanford, a six-furlong sprint for juveniles, during the July 4th Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course. 

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, the Violence bay captured a 5 1/2-furlong sprint by a widening 7 1/2 lengths on June 12 at Churchill Downs. There, he stalked in second position under Erik Asmussen, the reigning Eclipse Award Outstanding Apprentice and Steve’s son, before taking over at the top of the lane and drawing off.

Obliteration did just that to his 10-1 odds in the eight-horse field, and his final time of 1:03.32 earned a solid 75 Beyer Speed Figure.

“I was as surprised as anyone,” said owner Leland Ackerley. “He had been working well at Keeneland for a bit before the race, but with 2-year-olds, you never know what to expect. He blew them away. I got a lot of calls with excitement. It has been a fun ride so far.” 

Ackerley’s past top horses, owned with his brother Robert under the nom de course Ackerley Brothers Farm, include multiple Grade 1-winner Jersey Girl, Grade 1-winner Miss Linda, dual Grade 3-winner Valid Expectations and Grade 3-victor Snuck In, among others. 

“My brother and I got into the industry as Ackerley Brothers Farm in the early ‘90s,” said Ackerley. “We started off claiming, then buying 2-year-olds, and we had a lot of horses with Steve Asmussen and Todd Pletcher when they were new trainers. We started breeding, buying yearlings, and had over 100 horses at one point and got a bit overwhelmed. I’ve been quiet the past 10 years, but post-pandemic I wanted to get back involved with a racing stable.”

Obliteration [post 2, Flavien Prat] could be a hot start to the Texas-based Ackerley’s re-emerging presence. He credits Asmussen with selecting the $200,000 buy at the 2025 OBS March Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training, and noted Violence sired 2022 Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Forte.

“If he’s a great sprinter, we’d love him. Maybe he can go longer, it looks like some of the Violence babies can run a distance, Forte was one of them,” said Ackerley. “Right now, however, we are taking it one race at a time.” 

Bred in Kentucky by Ocala Stud, Obliteration, out of the stakes-placed Master Command mare I’mclassyandsassy, is a half-brother to stakes-winners Sassy Beast and Pure Class, Grade 3-placed Big and Classy and stakes-placed Family Biz. 

John C. Oxley’s Florida homebred Strategic Risk [post 5, Irad Ortiz, Jr.] made an impressive debut when defeating fellow state-breds by 8 1/4 lengths sprinting five furlongs on June 7 at Gulfstream Park. Trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, the Noble Bird bay set the pace and drew off to finish in 58.29 seconds, registering a 65 Beyer in victory.

“He's a horse we've been really high on. He was about 80 percent ready and he ran very well and won easy,” said Casse. “Obviously, this field is going to be much tougher, but he should move forward off of that win. The way he did it and how fast he ran was good. He's always trained like he's pretty good.”

Strategic Risk, out of the Afleet Alex mare Strategize, is a full-brother to dual stakes-winner Strategic Bird, and his third dam is dual Grade 1-winner Educated Risk. 

Casse will also send out Gary Barber and Peter Deutsch’s Blinging It Back [post 4, Jose Ortiz] off a runner-up finish in the 5 1/2-furlong Listed Tremont on June 5 at the Spa. 

There, the Volatile gray was making his second start after a third on debut in May at Churchill, stalking in third position and unable to make up significant ground on the runaway filly Mythical. 

Blinging It Back earned a career-best 85 Beyer in the 3 1/2-length defeat, which represents the field-high for the Sanford. He was slow away from the gate on debut, showing marked improvement second time out. 

The $80,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, a half-brother to multiple stakes-winner Ima Discreet Lady [51-15-11-9, $700,670], is out of the multiple stakes-placed Too Much Bling mare Ima Three Blinger.

Rounding out the field is maiden winner Fistfulofmoney [post 6, Dylan Davis] for trainer Kevin Rice, second-out maiden Imagine John [post 1, Javier Castellano] for conditioner Jena Antonucci and first time starter Honey Dutch [post 3, Manny Franco] for trainer Whit Beckman. 

The Sanford is slated as Race 3 on Saturday’s 12-race card, which also features the Grade 1, $500,000 Belmont Oaks Invitational [Race 11] and the Grade 3, $175,000 Kelso [Race 10]. Statistics for the 37-day Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet will include the July 4th Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.

America’s Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the July 4th Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule/.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the July 4th Racing Festival. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.