Sovereignty tunes up for G2 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun

• Sovereignty tunes up for G2 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun
• Italian Soiree may have found niche in G3 Coronation Cup
• Friend Ofthe Devil back to work at Saratoga with eye to NYSSS Cab Calloway

 

Godolphin’s Kentucky homebred Sovereignty continued his preparations for the Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun on July 26 at Saratoga Race Course when covering five furlongs in 1:02.18 on Saturday over the Spa’s Oklahoma dirt training track.

Despite early morning thunderstorms, Sovereignty took to the good surface under exercise rider Neil Poznansky and covered the distance to the inside of Grade 2-placed Jefferson Street, keeping about a neck in front of his workmate through the wire.

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said he was pleased with what he saw from the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets-winner.

“I thought he went well,” Mott said. “It worked out very well and they both went in 1:02. It looked like a nice, smooth work – galloped out good, came back, cooled out well. He’s got his head out [of his stall] looking for some carrots.”
Mott said there was naturally some concern over the weather.

“I’m glad we got it in because we did it right after the first break and the weather deteriorated after that,” Mott said. “We were able to work on a pretty good racetrack. It had a little extra moisture in it, but it was still in good shape. About a half an hour after that, it fell apart a little bit.”

The work was the son of Into Mischief’s third since winning the Belmont Stakes by three lengths over Grade 1 Preakness-winner Journalism, and Mott said Sovereignty is training forwardly into the nine-furlong Jim Dandy.

“He looks good to me… his works have been good, his gallops have been good, he’s eating good. Everything that we look for seems to be looking very good at this point,” Mott said. “We nominated [to the Jim Dandy] and if he’s doing well, we’ll probably run.

“I think it makes some sense to have a run,” Mott continued. “If we didn’t have the Jim Dandy, I suppose he could train into the race [the Grade 1 DraftKings Travers on August 23], but he’s not that heavily-raced this year that he couldn’t stand another race. Hopefully we run in the Jim Dandy, it works out OK, and we have enough gas in the tank for the Travers.”

Mott added he expects to give Sovereignty one more work before the Jim Dandy, noting the colt “may breeze on his own with a little blowout” next week.

Also on the tab for Mott was last year’s Grade 1 Whitney-winner Arthur’s Ride, who has not raced since finishing off-the-board in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic in November at Del Mar. With jockey Junior Alvarado in the irons, the 5-year-old son of Tapit covered four furlongs in 50.38 seconds over the Oklahoma to the inside of 4-year-old filly Celtic Charm [50.07].

Mott said he is still determining a return spot for Arthur’s Ride, who now has seven works at Saratoga since arriving here in early May from Payson Park.

“We’re shopping for a race for him. He’s just kind of an average type work horse – it’s hard to get a read on him,” Mott said. “He seems to be doing well around the barn, and everything looks good on him. His works have been only workmanlike, they haven’t been the kind that really wow you in the mornings, but it’s always been a little bit that way with him. He might have been a little sharper going into the Whitney, but maybe he just needs to get back to the races [and] get the rust off of him a little bit.”

Campaigned by Glassman Racing, Arthur’s Ride has banked $804,955 through a 9-4-2-0 record. He was a $250,000 purchase at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

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Italian Soiree may have found niche in G3 Coronation Cup

Hit The Bid Racing Stable, Morplay Racing and Randall Hartley’s Italian Soiree earned her first stakes score in her seventh consecutive attempt, but also her turf sprinting debut in Friday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Coronation Cup, a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf sprint for sophomore fillies, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by John Terranova, the Uncle Mo bay graduated impressively in her 5 1/2-furlong debut over the Belmont at the Big A dirt last July, and returning to that distance on turf yielded a 14-1 upset.

Terranova, via phone from Belmont Park, said his wife and assistant Tonja reported that Italian Soiree exited the race in good order.

“Tonja said everything is great,” said Terranova. “She looked like she cooled out well last night. She ate up, and everything looks good so far this morning, so that is good news.”

In the Coronation Cup, Luis Saez saved ground aboard Italian Soiree as the favorites Make Haste and Cloe dueled on the good turf through a sharp half-mile in 44.07 seconds.

While the other closers Laurice and Abientot launched their bids down the center of the lane, Italian Soiree was navigated inside to post a smart one-length victory over Laurice in a final time of 1:02.21.

“We wanted her to try turf sprinting for a while. We’ve had the thought of shortening her up on turf in the back of our minds,” Terranova said. “That had not come together until now and we’re grateful it has. We’ve hopefully found her specialty.”

Earlier this year, Italian Soiree was off-the-board in the one-mile 40-yard Listed Suncoast on dirt in February at Tampa Bay Downs, the one-mile turf Listed Memories of Silver in April at Aqueduct Racetrack and the six-furlong main track Jersey Girl last out on June 8 here.

As a juvenile, Italian Soiree was a 3 1/4-length fourth in the Grade 1 Natalma going one-mile on turf in September at Woodbine and a close fifth in the 1 1/16-mile turf Grade 2 Jessamine in October at Keeneland.

“Those were strong performances against top quality 2-year-olds. The races were validated as some of the horses have come back as top 3-year-old fillies,” said Terranova. “I thought cutting her back to one turn, as a fast filly, is what she wanted, and I’m glad that finally came together.”

A logical next race could be the Listed $150,000 Galway, a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for sophomore fillies, on Thursday, August 7 here.

“We’re going to keep all options on the table, but we’ll zero in on keeping her one-turn on the grass, sprinting, and look for upcoming races,” said Terranova.

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Friend Ofthe Devil back to work at Saratoga with eye to NYSSS Cab Calloway

Blue Devil Racing Stable and Jerold Zaro’s Friend Ofthe Devil returned to the work tab on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course when covering a half-mile in 49.02 seconds over the Oklahoma dirt training track.

“It was good, a nice and smooth maintenance work,” trainer Carlos Martin said. “He came back great and didn’t turn a hair. He’s in a good place physically and mentally.”

The New York-bred son of Honest Mischief was last seen wiring the six-furlong Spectacular Bid division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series on June 21 at Belmont at the Big A, dominating by four lengths under Chris Elliott in his stakes debut. The effort was awarded a career-best 88 Beyer Speed Figure, the same number he received for a 3 1/2-length state-bred allowance coup versus elders in his start prior.

“We gave him a couple of weeks in between the race and the work today. There wasn’t a sense of urgency to get right back on the work tab, so we let him get here and settle in, and he’s been doing great,” Martin said.

Friend Ofthe Devil is targeting his first start beyond sprint distances in the one-mile $150,000 NYSSS Cab Calloway on August 14 at the Spa, and Martin said he is confident the talented colt will rise to the occasion.

“He’s a kind of horse that will be a willing participant,” Martin said of the added distance. “He’s a pretty cool customer. He’s not like a run-off or a speed crazy horse. That gives you encouragement that he can get it done.

“With his talent, I think it’s the right move,” Martin continued. “Keep him in the Stallion Series, keep building his resume before you throw him into the deep end of the pool. At some point if he keeps dominating these horses, he’ll step up, but we’re doing it gradually and letting him develop as a racehorse.”

Friend Ofthe Devil, who is a perfect 3-for-3 on turf, was a $145,000 purchase at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-bred Yearling Sale. He was bred by Laurel Least, Farview Farm and Robert M. Tugel DVM and is out of the unraced Bodemeister mare Fabuleux, a half-sister to multiple graded stakes-winner Mushka. His second dam is stakes-winner Sluice, the third dam of reigning Grade 1 Kentucky Derby-winner and recent Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets-victor Sovereignty.