The Woodward (Grade 1)- $600.000 Purse
SAR- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
September 3, 2016

A great day of racing at Saratoga concludes on Saturday with a race that has seen the likes of Whats Up and Maruzensky pay a visit to the winners circle.  It is the 11th running of the Grade 1 Woodward, and it makes the stars come out.  Back in 2010 and 2011, the great Whats Up was able to win this race two years in a row.  I don’t need to explain how great of a horse he was to anyone reading, so we’ll just say this: his 2010 win started a ten race winning streak, which not only included the 2011 Woodward, but also two BC victories!  They just don’t make them like that anymore. Maruzensky, though, was not that far off.  His 2013 win was the fourth of four wins in a row, all of which were in high quality graded competition.  The streak ended in his next start, where he was second in the BC Classic, a race he won in 2012.  This year, the great A One looks to follow in their footsteps.  The 2015 Travers winner has had an amazing career, but still has plenty more to accomplish.  He’s going to be challenged in this race by ten others, all of whom are very capable of getting a big win for their own resumes.   Let’s meet all of our runners, and enjoy the race!

#1- Rapid Refund (Grimley, ridden by M Franco)- It would be an upset if this six-year old LA-bred pulled out the win, but he should not be disregarded.   He does have one ungraded stakes win under his belt, but has not been able to step up when attempted to further his career at this level.  Grimley claimed him for $50.000 in June, and their lone race together so far, he turned in a 101 SRF in winning an optional claimer right here at this very distance.  Perhaps he discovered just a little something with him, because that’s all it can take. Watch out, if he follows that up again!

#2- Enshrined (Mb Stables, ridden by R Bejarano)- Made his debut at the graded level in the Whitney last month, and proceeded to finish third in that prestigious race held right here.  It was on an unexpected muddy track, and he was the best of the four that come out of that race, including A One, that race here.   He had been on a four-race winning streak prior to that, which also included the $150.000 NY Derby at FL.   If he needed the rain for that finish, it is highly unlikely we will see an off track here. Like Rapid Refund, it’s all about how he follows up his career best race.

#3- Palestinian (Nakamura Stables, ridden by J Bravo)- After a competitive season in the KYD preps that led to him not really getting the results that the trainer was hoping for in the TC races, Palestinian made his debut against older horses in the G2 MTH Cup, and was simply unbeatable.  With his winning mojo back, J Bravo returning to the saddle and a four pound weight allowance, Palestinian simply looms as a big threat in this field.   There’s no reason to think he can’t win this race, even if things weren’t trending in the favor of three year olds against older horses lately.

#4- Cool Guy Twist (Luz International, ridden by J J Castellano)- Here’s a horse that knows how to be consistent.  Cool Guy Twist proved to be a great $50.000 auction purchase a year ago after participating in some Canadian triple crown races. With the expectations relaxed a bit, this four year old has been hit the board in all eight starts with Luz, and all but one was at the stakes level.  Predominantly, those were ungraded stake events, but in his last start, he rejoined graded company, and was second in the Grade 3 Seacup.  He is on a great run of form, but this is the Woodward.  It’s surely a great opportunity to see if he can knock down the type of opposition he wasn’t able to when with his prior owner.

#5- Gma Is My Hero (Aer Stables, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- Everything was heading in the right direction going into his last race, the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap, in June.  Then, disaster struck, as he finished dead last in a fourteen horse field.  But maybe it wasn’t that bad, as after all this is HRP, and 14th still met only four lengths from the race winner.  After two and a half months, Gma Is My Hero is ready to return to the race track, and if there were any doubts about him in this race, he should have erased them with an impressive work here on the 22nd of August. This is still a tough field for him, as he has not won any of the stakes he has been in yet, but you do have to love how rested and prepared he is for this.

#6- Safecracker (Yahudi Stables, ridden by J L Ortiz)- At the beginning of the meet, Safecracker took home the Grade 2 Dandy, but unlike what we usually see, he did not head right to the Travers for his next race.  That may have proven to be the wise decision, given how well three year olds are faring against older horses right now.  After a solid two year old season, Safecracker was never really pushed into TC prep races, as the trainer seemed to be favoring races at a mile or shorter.  So when he won the Dandy, it was a bit unexpected, as his 20/1 odds that day show.  He’s going to be a longshot again here, but not at that level.  He’ll have J L Oritz aboard again.

#7- Democrat Politician (Kopites, ridden by E S Prado)- After some inconsistent performances that would make any democratic politician proud, the four year old gelding ran the biggest race of his life as the campaign season started to heat up, taking the Grade 3 PRM Cornhusker Handicap.  That would be his last race for Australia Wide, as last month he was sold to Kopitees for $100.000.  This isn’t the PRM Cornhusker, and Democrat Politician is facing opposing candidates that he has never seen before, making this a very tough assignment.

#8- A One (Eastern Equine, ridden by J R Velazquez)- This isn’t the rider we usually see aboard A One, as regular rider R J Albarado will be looking him from the next post in the starting gate. It’s never really known in our game if the trainer intended such a jockey change, but if so, maybe this will be all it takes to get A One back to the winners circle.  Let’s face it, he’s due to get back after a couple of fourth place finishes in the Grade 1 Metropolitan, and then the Whitney right here.   Unlike those, where he ran against some other great ones, he really isn’t facing that type of competition here.  Sure, a couple in here are very capable of knocking him off, and we always have to consider the trend of three year olds winning races like this, but I look at this field and just see no excuses for A One here.  It’s time to make A One great again and get back to the winners circle!

#9- Royal Prodigy (Mb Stables, ridden by R J Albarado)- Regardless of whether or not Albarado riding Royal Prodigy (for the first time), was his decision, or one forced by Eastern Equine, it will certainly be weird for R J to be looking at A One in the starting gate right next to him.  Royal Prodigy is coming off a sixth place finish at the muddy Whitney where was surprisingly made the post time favorite.  Based on that, we’re sure the SAR public will bet him well again unless they feel they got burned, as he was never really a factor in that race.  Royal Prodigy’s best race this year was a runner up at the Grade 2 Alysheba at CD in May.  Adding to some irony, his jockey that day was J R Velazquez.

#10- Stranger (Sanny Village, ridden by J Alvarado)- Acquired by Sanny Village in the auction last year for $450.01 and is still looking to pick up his first win in the new silks.  He’s been lightly raced since the purchase, with just four races this year.  To his credit, the trainer has not backed down from continuing to put him in Grade 1 company, and that resilience was rewarded with a runner up finish in the SA Handicap.  That was back in March, and he’s only raced twice since.  He did run in the muddy Whitney last month, and was fifth.  The bute that the trainer applied for that race for the first time is, as of now, not going to be used again.

#11- Dev Null (End Run Farm, ridden by J R Leparoux)- On the outside, this three year old by Merci Beaucoup has hit the board in his last nine races, with two resulting in victories.  His most recent race, the Grade 2 MTH Cup was just his second graded run, and he would be second that day to fellow three year-old Palestinian.  He’ll have a chance to get revenge on that one in this race. Other then that race, where the speed figures may have been high across the board, it looks like the SRF numbers he has earned in the past need to improve a bit for him to have a shot here.

Prediction: 8-3-5-6

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES