8/1/2020
10 SAR The Whitney (GI) [BC]
$875.000 4yo&Up 1 1/8m Dirt 123lbs
When the hot summer settles in here in upstate NY, you know the big races and big horses will be around each and every weekend… and it just doesn’t get much bigger than The Whitney (GI). Past winners include a who’s-who of HRP HOF type horses, including last year’s winner and today’s entrant, Splash Mountain. He’s a 5yo now and looking for his first win of the 2020 season, but you always have to give this monster a big look. That second place finish in the Suburban (GII) may have him prepped for a winning effort. Another that certainly turns a head is Tactical… three wins this year, all graded and his only bad effort came on the CT bull-ring. Again, big horse, big purse… I expect a big effort. If you like the little-guy-done-good story, look for Mintmach to run another big race. He was claimed for pennies and has two graded wins since then… what a great job by the connections with that one.
This is a can’t miss event… let’s get a good spot and take this one in.
Here’s The Field –
He has been on point here of late, hitting the board in all races this season including a win two back in the Blame at CD, then a close-up third in the Foster Hcp (GII) and he looks ready to take on this kind of competition. He will need his best, but Mb doesn’t just enter them.
What a bounce back… after a pair of less than thrilling races, he bounced back to take the Met Hcp (GI) by a length, and flew down the lane to get the win in that big race. He also won the Toboggan (GIII) to kick off the ’20 season, so this is a bit longer… will he notice?
Got his second win of the year taking the Eclipse (GII) at WO last out, and he showed a nice late move in that one to secure the win. He also beat NY-bred stakes horses to kick of the year and seems like a horse on the improvement. Give him a look here.
Still looking for his first win of the season and has back-to-back up-the-track finishes to show. He was steady prior to that pair of stinkers, showing three runner-up finishes and a third from his six ’20 starts. Can he get back on track in this one?
Sold at the June Auction for $43.580 and won an Alw race at WO on the grass at only 247/1 odds… so they go big-game hunting today. He’s worked over this surface and had been sprinting on the main track prior to the sale. Can he make this a Cinderella Story?
In a time when “they just don’t make ’em like that no more” he breaks the mold. Seven wins and $6,059.660 in the bank… yeah, he runs big in big races. He just missed last out in the Suburban (GII) and is looking for his first win of the ’20 season… but don’t count him out.
He’s been making this race-horse thing look easy of late… four wins in a row including a two-length victory in the Dominion Day (GIII) at WO last out. This is another step up in class but don’t tell him and maybe he won’t notice.
Got back on the winning side of things last out taking down OptAlw horses at DMR going a flat mile. He had two wins and put $836.000 in the bank last year before being sold under private conditions, but if he can repeat that ’19 Travers effort… who knows?
He’s a real story-book kind of a horse, being nabbed via the hostile take-over for just $10.500… now has the Alysheba (GII) and the PRM Cornhusker (GIII) under his belt. You just have to take your hat off to the connections as they go for another golden ring.
Back-to-back wins vs. Alw horses so they go for the gusto today. The 6yo has seven wins from thirty starts, so he certainly has had his picture taken a few times. But that fifth in the Berkley Hcp (GIII) tells me that this is asking a bit of the old boy.
He just keeps reeling off big win after big win, the latest was a one length victory in the Gold Cup (GI) at SA, giving him a pair of GI wins this year. Add in a win in the GP Mile (GII) and you have the makings of another huge year for last year’s runner up in the BC Classic (GI).
Three wins this year and closed out ’19 with a win so it was four in a row … then a pair of not so good races so he was sold prior to this one for $100.000. Catches a bad break in the post draws and will need his best to get a minor share from way out here.
Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES
