Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Actress has quality, hot trainer
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Jason Servis is enjoying a sensational Saratoga meet, one that could get better over the final three weekends when he participates in two Grade 1 races beginning with Saturday’s $600,000 Alabama Stakes.
Servis, who had seven winners from 17 starters at Saratoga entering Thursday’s card, will send out Actress in the Alabama for 3-year-old fillies. While she may be a longshot, Actress had the quality to win the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico as a maiden. A further examination of her past performances shows Actress was beaten only 1 1/2 lengths by Unchained Melody when the two debuted in the same race at Gulfstream Park on March 19. Unchained Melody, who has since won the Grade 2 Mother Goose, is the morning-line favorite in the Alabama.
In her second start, Actress ran in the Game Face Stakes, where she finished second to My Miss Tapit, who had won a maiden race impressively at Gulfstream. Actress rallied from 19 lengths back to win the Black-Eyed Susan. Most recently she finished third, beaten a half-length by It Tiz Well – also in the Alabama – in the Grade 3 Delaware Oaks.
“In Delaware her race was good,” Servis said. “She was grinding and grinding, I thought.”
Servis doesn’t think the 1 1/4 miles of the Alabama will be an issue. He has secured the services of leading rider Irad Ortiz Jr.
On closing day of this meet, Servis will send out Firenze Fire in the Grade 1 Hopeful. Firenze Fire won the Grade 3 Sanford Stakes here on opening day. The son of Poseidon’s Warrior is now 2 for 2.
Servis, 60, has a stable that is growing in both quantity and quality. He has more than 20 horses at Saratoga and a large contingent at Monmouth, where he is 20 for 68.
“I don’t want to consider myself a little guy, but I never got the good horses, always the claimers, which I did well with,” Servis said. “I always had to grind it out, so it’s exciting for me and my wife [Natalie] and my family to get some quality horses.”
Fayeq completes major Travers prep
Kiaran McLaughlin had a memorable Wednesday, winning two races at Saratoga shortly after he and his wife, Letty, were honored by the New York Racetrack Chaplaincy.
The McLaughlins were honored for their dedication to improving the lives of backstretch workers at New York Racing Association tracks.
The two victories – including one with the maiden Spieth, named for the well-known golfer – improved McLaughlin’s meet record to 10 wins from 37 starters.
McLaughlin is hoping the Aug. 26 Travers card could be another day to remember. He will have several runners, including the longshot Fayeq, in the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers.
Fayeq, a half-brother to 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, completed his major preparations for the Travers with a half-mile work in 48.89 seconds Thursday morning over the Oklahoma training track. McLaughlin said he wasn’t looking for a big work since Fayeq had a very fast workout last week.
Fayeq, who has had difficulties around the gate and who didn’t change leads in his allowance win, will be making his stakes debut in the Travers. But McLaughlin believes the risk is worth the reward.
“We feel like he’s improving all the time, but it’s a tough race,” McLaughlin said. “We don’t have any visions of us being the horse to beat, we just feel like the race is a Grade 1, it’s an important race, [and] with his pedigree we need to take a chance.”
McLaughlin will also run Takaful in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens and Dickinson in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa on Travers Day. Takaful, winner of an allowance race earlier this meet, worked a half-mile in 50.88 seconds Thursday morning at Belmont Park.
Hot City Girl retired
Hot City Girl, the morningline favorite, was scratched from Thursday’s $100,000 Union Avenue Stakes, and has been retired from racing, according to trainer Linda Rice.
Rice said that Hot City Girl, who won the Union Avenue last year, had filling in an ankle the last few days and could not run. Rice said the decision was made by owner Sheila Rosenblum to retire Hot City Girl and send her to Edition Farm in Hyde Park, N.Y., where her older half-sister La Verdad resides. La Verdad, the champion female sprinter of 2015, earlier this year had a foal by Medaglia d’Oro.
Hot City Girl, a daughter of City Zip, had a record of 7-3-4 from 20 career starts and banked $682,050. She won four stakes, including the Grade 3 Charles Town Oaks.
“She’s really a beautiful filly and we think she’s going to have big career in the broodmare shed,” Rice said.
Dream It Is sidelined
The 2-year-old filly Dream It Is, undefeated in three starts including a nine-length victory in the Grade 3 Schuylerville Stakes at Saratoga on July 21, is sidelined until late fall due to an ankle injury, trainer Barbara Minshall said Thursday.
Minshall said Dream It Is came out of her victory in the Schuylerville with a wrenched right hind ankle.
“She’s healing up really well right now,” Minshall said Thursday from Canada, where Dream It Is resides at Woodbine. “She’s a baby. We want to be extra cautious that everything’s perfect for her.”
Minshall said it is possible Dream It Is could return to the races this fall, and mentioned the $100,000 Glorious Song, a seven-furlong stakes at Woodbine on Nov. 18, as a possible spot.
Dream It Is, a daughter of Shackleford, won her first two starts over Woodbine’s synthetic surface, including the My Dear Stakes, before shipping to Saratoga and dominating the Schuylerville.