The Sanford (Grade 3)- $150.000 Purse
SAR- For Two Year Olds
Six Furlongs on the Dirt
July 23, 2016
The Sanford is always one of the most exciting races of opening weekend at Saratoga, as young two year olds with lofty dreams come together to battle it out. The push to the BC Juvenile is beginning, and bigger aspirations for next year start to come together in the minds of every trainer. Last year, Symboli Rudolf captured victory in the race, but the only one who ended up going to the KYD this year was 4th place finisher Dogs Got Wings. 2014 winner Stating The Obvious never got out of allowance company as a three year old. So, while a win in this race will be a true shot in the arm in regards to the hopes of the winning trainer, this is just one race, and a juvenile sprint at that. Enjoy the race, here are our youngsters for the 2016 edition, the 13th overall running of the race!
#1- General Geek (Serenity Stables, ridden by D Moran)- Broke his maiden in his second start running against CA-breds at SA, and now heads east showcase his talents. While at SA, this Knowledge Geek colt has put together some very impressive work times consistently over the last six weeks or so. Look for him to be coming on strong late. He’s a light one, so as he grows and gets stronger, you have to think that the upside on him might be a little higher then some of the others here.
#2- Cantilever (Team 7 Illusions, ridden by I Oritz Jr)- Much like General Geek, Cantilever broke his maiden in his second start running against statebreds at CA, and now makes the journey east. He has Charley Farley on both sides of his pedigree, with an overall balanced conformation. His sire, Commercial Grade was quite successful in turf races on the NY-bred circuit.
#3- Private Sector (Allinthegate, ridden by J Lezcano)- So far, Private Sector has only been seen at EMD, braking his maiden in his most recent start at the end of May. He has been showing improvement since then, and his work times show that he can be right there at the end with any of these in this race. Charley Farley features prominently in both sides of his pedigree as well, and his dam, Bonne Journee is a former graded winner.
#4- Water Wolf (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by R Bejarano)- On Tuesday, Water Wolf underwent the snip, and will be a first time gelding for the race. This will be the fourth race of his career, picking up a win and two second place finishes in his young career. Work times might be a tick or two off some of the others here, so the trainer will be hoping the geld pays off. His pedigree is mostly autogen heavy, and Mr Hollywood is the most recognizable name within in.
#5- Shootfromthehip (Nakamura Stables, ridden by J Alvarado)- The second of two Knowledge Geek foals in this race, Shootfromthehop looks to give Nakamura his second consecutive Sanford victory. Symboli Rudolf, by the way, is also by Knowledge Geek. He’s won two of three so far, with his maiden win being a modest score at BTP. Shootfromthehip followed that up nicely, however, taking a N1X at WO last month. He’s working nicely right now, but I really believe his work times are going to garner much more attention when he starts working a mile. Shootfromthehip is a contender here today, but looks like one we will certainly be seeing in derby preps next year.
#6- Unclean (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Broomstick Opus sired two different TC runners this year, and Unclean is doing a great job of following in their footsteps. He has won two of three, including the $200.000 Tremont at BEL last month, making him the highest earner so far in this field. Don’t want to jinx him too much yet with the TC talk, but check out that work on June 23rd. Yep, he’s following in the footsteps, alright. He’s simply begging for more distance, but can still beat these at six furlongs.
#7- Champsville Sweeper (Axeman, ridden by E Trujillo)- The NM-bred was also in the Tremont last month, and finished third in the race, two lengths behind Unclean. He has won a stake, though, for what its worth, as it was the CT Futurity at SUN, a race held on the 17th of April, and it was his second start. He is by the promising sire Champsville, who is a son of Charley Farley. Dam side features some decent blood, but nothing extraordinary.
#8- Effinex (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by R J Albarado)– He has made just one start so far, and made it count as he won a FL MSW. In the win, he earned an 88 SRF, which is pretty good for one’s debut race. Looks like the may have gotten a bit of a bump after that race as well, so if there is going to be further improvement off that race, then we must look out for him. Diplomatic Immunity, a Charley Farley son, is his sire, but the dam side is strong as well with the likes of Timepiece and Halfbaked, the latter of which won over $5,800.000 in her career.
#9- Road To Glory (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Leparoux)- Like his stablemate, Road To Glory is a stake winner, having won the $125.000 King Stakes for ON-breds against three others. It marked his second win in three starts thus far. He’s been working well since that race, including a sub-1:11 work on July 7th down at BEL. Pedigree features Ironbound on the sire side, but not all that much to talk about on the dam side.
#10- Hold The Gold (Eastern Equine, ridden by F Pennington)- Has only raced once so far, doing so back on April 24th, and he would win the maiden event at PRX that day. Since then, he has been allowed to rest while others have made a couple more starts. Hold The Gold is working well, and will look to use the rest to his advantage. Pedigree features Kapa Haka on both sides, and Die Laffin on the sire side.
#11- Made To Sin (Harrell Racing, ridden by J Rosario)- The Gsin (Charley Farley) colt has made three starts and picked up a finish in each of the top three finishing positions. The win was in his last start, where he went to CD in early June and won the MSW in an HRP-rout of three lengths. It was his first time with lasix, and looks as though that really paid off. Works are sharp, especially his most recent time out on the track at DMR.
Prediction: 6-8-5-11
— NS
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES
