Fourstar Crook streaking into Yaddo Stakes repeat bid

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The amazing Fourstar Crook, who has won eight consecutive starts since October 2015, will put her streak on the line Friday at Saratoga when she defends her title in the Yaddo Stakes, one of two New Yorkbred turf stakes on New York Showcase Day. Both the Yaddo, for fillies and mares, and the West Point, for 3-year-olds and up, cover 1 1/16 miles and offer a purse of $150,000.

Fourstar Crook is one of two key contenders for trainer Chad Brown in the Yaddo, along with Ack Naughty. A field of 10 was entered for the Yaddo, with Literata to start only if the race is moved to the main track.

Fourstar Crook began her streak with a maiden win against open company at Belmont Park. Her threequarter-length decision over Flipcup in the 2016 Yaddo was the fifth win during the streak and her first stakes tally. She has made two starts this year and most recently ventured out of statebred company to win the Grade 3 Dr. James Penny Memorial on July 4 at Parx.

“It takes a really, really good racehorse to win eight races in a row, and that’s exactly what she is,” said Brown. “I can’t even say she’s been lucky to win some of those races because she’s just so good, she’s gotten herself out of bad-luck situations the one or two times that’s happened.”

Brown said Fourstar Crook deserves a shot against Grade 1 opposition this year. If she wins on Friday, he said he might consider sending her to Santa Anita for the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive Stakes on Sept. 30.

Ack Naughty overcame trouble and a soft pace to rally from far back and win an open entry-level allowance here last month. She was beaten less than a length by Fourstar Crook at Belmont Park in May in the Mt. Vernon and is the beneficiary of an eightpound weight shift in Friday’s rematch.

“She’s doing really well,” Brown said of Ack Naughty. “She’s just gotten better and better. She’s reaching the point where winning a stakes race is well within her reach. She was very impressive in her last race, winning off no pace at all. She just flew home.”

Flipcup has lost to Fourstar Crook three times and will take her on once again while seeking her first victory since capturing the Grade 3 Arlington Matron in May 2016.

Bar of Gold, who has shown promise since switching to turf this summer, Feeling Bossy, and Freudie Anne are among the other leading contenders in the Yaddo.

Familiar cast in West Point

King Kreesa, Kharafa, and Offering Plan were separated by a neck as the top three finishers in the 2016 West Point, and they will match strides again in another wide-open edition of the race, which also attracted the major players Get Jets, Macagone, and the speedy pair of Changewilldoyagood and Black Tide.

Trained by Brown, Offering Plan has made just two starts this year, defeating New Yorkbreds in the Kingston before finishing fifth against open company last month at Belmont in the Forbidden Apple. Offering Plan drew the outside post in the field of nine.

“He’s coming into the race in the right shape, has liked Saratoga in the past, and it’s a race we’ve been pointing to for a while,” said Brown. “The outside post is not what I wanted. It’s going to be a challenge working out a trip from there.”

Kharafa and King Kreesa continue to hold their form remarkably well at age 8. Kharafa came out of his nearmiss last summer in the West Point to win the Ashley T. Cole Stakes over Offering Plan at Belmont last September. He’s winless in four starts this year, but finished a solid third in the Grade 2 Monmouth Stakes in his latest outing.

“He trains as well as he did when he was younger and might be a better horse now because he’s more settled,” said trainer Tim Hills. “The race didn’t unfold properly at Monmouth, where they backed down the pace and he had to make an early, wide move, which is hard to sustain.”

King Kreesa does his best on the lead and figures to have some company out front with Changewilldoyagood and Black Tide in the lineup. King Kreesa led at every call to outlast Kharafa by a nose in last year’s West Point.

Get Jets has finished first or second in his last four starts, including the Forbidden Apple, when he was no match for the red-hot Disco Partner.

Macagone is a multiple stakes winner against open company and is another who figures to make his presence felt during the early stages.