Scramjet and Mindfield meet again in $200K Funny Cide

SJB Stable’s debut winner Scramjet will rematch with that race’s runner-up Mindfield in Closing Day Monday’s $200,000 Funny Cide, a six-furlong sprint for New York-bred 2-year-olds, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Linda Rice, Scramjet set fractions of 22.24 seconds and 45.73 over good dirt in the local six-furlong state-bred maiden on August 15. Coming to the top of the lane, the stalking Mindfield launched a bid along the rail and at the eighth pole nearly took command from Scramjet, who battled back en route to a 1 1/2-length victory in a final time of 1:11.27.

“I was very happy with that performance,” Rice said of the effort that earned a field-best 71 Beyer Speed Figure. “He’s trained very well. We’re excited about running him. This will be a much tougher spot, but he deserves a chance in there.” 

Scramjet [post 5, Ricardo Santana, Jr.], bred by Stephen J. Barberino, Jr. Accumulation Trust, is an Uncle Mo bay out of the winning Simon Pure mare Dorothy’s Aurora.

“He is really a big, strong colt,” said Rice. “He covers a lot of ground, so we are excited about his future.” 

John Oxley’s Mindfield [post 3, Kendrick Carmouche] will look to avenge his runner-up finish as he attempts to graduate second-out. Trained by dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse, the Mind Control dark bay got a good education in that first race after being bumped at the break and traveling inside of rivals early. 

“I thought he ran really well first time down on the inside,” Casse said. “I like the distance and the timing for this race, so we’ll give it a shot.”

Bred by Rockridge Stud, Animals in Motion and Chesapeake Farm, Mindfield, out of the Flatter mare First Valentine, was a $700,000 purchase from the OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, where he breezed one furlong in 9 3/5 seconds.

“We paid a lot of money for him, and he’s a beautiful horse that’s trained good,” said Casse. “He made a little bit of a middle move and flattened out. That race should really help him.”

John Foster, Dennis O'Neill and trainer Horacio De Paz’s Professor Plum [post 1, Manny Franco] won at first asking sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs versus fellow state-breds on July 12 here. The Solomini chestnut closed from 7th-of-9 under returning rider Manny Franco en route to a one-length victory over the Casse-trained next-out winner Road Show. 

“Easiest way to put it is that Professor Plum has no ‘Clue,’” De Paz said, with a laugh. “He’s still very green. He is unimpressive in his works, and gallops with more energy than he breezes with, but he comes out of his works no worse for wear, so I’m not reading into it much. He ran a good race his first time out breezing that exact way.” 

Bred by Jimbo and Torie Gladwell, Professor Plum, a $40,000 purchase at the OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, is out of the Quality Road mare Overlook Ground and his second dam is Argentine Group 1-placed Renacere.

“I thought he could use that first race mentally and move forward,” De Paz said. “The only issue is that we haven’t raced in so long.” 

Team Penney Racing and Wachtel Stable’s Fullcup [post 2, Junior Alvarado] was one tick off Scramjet’s field-high 71 Beyer with his 70 earned sprinting six furlongs versus fellow New York-breds on July 31 here. Trained by Riley Mott, the Authentic dark bay stalked and pounced to a 4 3/4-length victory over the good dirt. 

Bred by Team Penney Racing, Fullcup is out of the Milwaukee Brew mare Flipcup, who enjoyed six seasons of racing from 2013-18, winning stakes in each of the first four years, including the state-bred 2013 East View at Aqueduct Racetrack and 2014 New York Oaks at Finger Lakes to go along with an Ontario-sired score in the 2015 Classy ‘n Smart. She proved her class in open company with Grade 3 wins in the 2015 Maple Leaf on Tapeta at Woodbine and 2016 Arlington Matron at Arlington Park.

Rounding out the field are maiden winners D I Wire [post 4, John Velazquez] for trainer Kelly Breen and Midnight Raider [post 6, Chris Elliott] for conditioner Mitchell Friedman.

The Funny Cide is slated as Race 10 on Monday’s 12-race card, which includes the $200,000 Gio Ponti in Race 11. First post is 11:30 a.m. Eastern. 

Saratoga Live presents daily coverage and analysis of the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule/.

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