The Amsterdam (Grade 2)- $200.000
SAR- For Three Year Olds
Six and a Half Furlongs on the Dirt
August 1, 2015

There was a lot to like about Trench Admiral heading into the 13th running of the Amsterdam at beautiful Saratoga.   His workouts leading up to this race couldn’t have been better as the Admiral fired four bullets in his last four works.  He had won three of five, including his first graded win back in May.  SRF figures had been showing improvement, and he was ready to run.  We made him our second choice, giving a little more support to the eventual second place horse, Tequila Ruler.  Still, these two seemed to be the ones to beat.  In the end, the race played out exactly that way, although Trench Admiral’s ending odds of 7/1 were a gift, even with him being the 3rd favorite.  Grimley is the proud trainer of the winner, and it’s the first time they have won this stake.   It is also the 10th career graded stake winner for the trainer, so congratulations on that milestone as well.    Jockey E Trujillo also added his name to the list of stake winners for the first time.   Let’s take a deeper look now at how the Admiral won this battle.

1st- 5- Trench Admiral (7/1)- Our eventual race winner from Grimley wasted no time in this one, getting off to a good start and assuming the lead in the backstretch.  He would set the opening quarter time in :22.66, and open up about a two length cushion as they entered the turn.  Once there, he opened up by three, and set the half mile time in :45.24.   It was just a question of whether or not they would catch him in the stretch, and Trench Admiral would not let that be easy as he was still in very good form.  Only until about a half furlong ago did we start to see rivals make significant headway.  That final half furlong though was likely quite nerve racking for Grimley as Tequila Ruler has closing hard on the outside.   Fortunately for the trainer, the wire came up just in time.  The winning time was 1:15.21, and that, my friends, is a new record for the The Amsterdam! (It misses the overall Saratoga record by .06).  Trench Admiral is a three year old gelding by Star Admiral, who is by HRP-War Admiral. He is out of Red Trench Princess, who dates back to Rhythm.  He was bred in New York by Grimley who has enjoyed the ride for Trench Admiral’s entire career.  Congratulations to all of the connections!

2nd- 7- Tequila Ruler (6/5)- The post-time favorite from Mb Stables was at the back of the pack early, but that’s no reason to worry as often comes from off the pace.  On exit of the turn, jockey R Bejarano told Tequila Ruler it was time to make everyone in the stands happy and make his closing bid.  Unfortunately for the trainer, race traffic meant that this had to be about a six-wide move in the stretch.  Once in that lane though, Tequila Ruler was stout, and made a frantic bid to catch Trench Admiral. It was exciting to watch, but a look at the photo revealed that he would just miss.  Mb Stables has nothing to be ashamed of, and it goes without saying that if he did not have such an outside trip, that it would have been him in the winners circle.

3rd- 1- Endure Luxury (8/1)- R J Albarado and Sanny Village had Endure Luxury near the back of the pack in the early going.  Did well to maintain a position along the rail for the trip around the turn, and into the stretch.  With a lot of jostling for position going on to his outside, Endure Luxury had none of that in his way and had a clear lane to make a bid on Trench Admiral.  He wouldn’t quite get there, but this allowed him to edge out Bonsai Gullis for third.  This trainer and jockey combination would have plenty to celebrate after the next race on the card, though.

4th- 4- Bonsai Gullis (4/1)- The Running Farms entry was near the back of the pack early, running in a 3-wide position as they approached the turn.  Looked for position in the turn to the outside of Montalcino, and J R Leparoux had his gelding in what seemed to be great shape for the stretch.  In the stretch, he ran well, but there were those that ended up being a little bit better.  Tequila Ruler went by on the outside, and Endure Luxury, while benefitting from a run on the rail, beat him in very tight third place photo.

5th- 2- Faithful Nebraska (19/1)- The longest shot on the board from Night Rider Stables was also towards the back early, as the middle horse of three wide in to the turn.  Maintained a midpack position for much of the turn, and held steady in the stretch.  There were a couple times in the stretch where it did look like Faithful Nebraska also wanted to make a closing bid, but he would just not be able to match what the others in this field would do.

6th- 3- Fear The Tree (10/1)- It was a rather average start for the Alydar Stables entry, but this would still have him third in the early portion of the race, and in a good striking position.     That remained the case during the turn, but when it came time to make a move in the stretch, there was simply no response to any urging by jockey K Carmouche.  As such, not only did he fail to make headway on the leader, he had horses go by on both sides.

7th- 8- American Horror (11/1)- The D J C Racing Stables entry was initially the quickest of them all out of the gate, but he soon retreated in the backstretch to be about two lengths off the lead.  From that point, it just seemed to be a gradual progression to the back of the pack as the race wore on.  Not a glaring fade or anything, he just didn’t have anything for anyone today.

8th- 6- Montalcino (19/1)- There was nothing wrong with his start, assuming a midpack position about three lengths off the lead as they approached the turn.  That trip around the turn was a struggle for the Alabarda Stable entry, as he would lose touch with the two he had been running with, and had those behind begin to make their moves.  Montalcino had nothing for them, and settles for last.

Track: Fast
Time: :22³  :45¹  1:08⁴  1:15¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 5 – 7 Paid 27.20
$1 Trifecta: 5 – 7 – 1 Paid 80.20

Scratched: None

Exacta Box picked by NS

— NS

Categories: Grade II