Bulletin stretching out on grass

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – To date, Bulletin has only sprinted on the turf while Bourbon War has only routed on the dirt.

Sunday, both will try something new when they run a mile on turf in the $100,000 Better Talk Now Stakes at Saratoga. The Better Talk Now drew seven runners for the turf, but Performer was scheduled to run in a dirt allowance sprint on Saturday. Achilles Warrior was entered to run only if the race is run on the main track.

Bulletin is 3 for 4 in his career, all in turf sprints, including a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint last fall at Churchill Downs. He won the Palisades Turf Sprint at Keeneland on April 4 before finishing fourth as the 1-10 favorite in the William Walker at Churchill Downs on April 27.

Bulletin ran along the inside in the William Walker, and while trainer Todd Pletcher said that was probably not the best part of the course, he felt the poor effort “was more of a function of us running him back too soon.”

A temperature forced Bulletin to skip a trip to England for the Royal Ascot meet. Pletcher said he ran out of time to make the Quick Call here on July 11 and the Better Talk Now became the target.

Pletcher doesn’t feel Bulletin will have any problem stretching out to a mile.

“If you watch him train, he’s got a big way of going, he’s got a big stride. He gets into comfortable rhythm and gallops out strongly,” Pletcher said. “For a horse that’s very quick, he gives us the impression that he’ll handle a mile no problem.”

Bulletin will break from the outside post under Javier Castellano.

Bourbon War won an off-the-turf race last Nov. 14 at Aqueduct and has remained on the dirt through the Triple Crown, where he finished eighth in the Preakness and last in the Belmont. Turned out for three weeks thereafter, Bourbon War, whose dam, My Conquestadory, was a Grade 2 winner on grass, is now being directed back to the turf by his connections. He has worked three times over the Oklahoma turf course.

“I think he looks good,” trainer Mark Hennig said of the colt’s turf works. “The rider said he’s using his whole body a lot better. That’s kind of what grass horses do.”

Luis Saez will ride Bourbon War for the first time. He breaks from post 3.

Front Run the Fed, trained by Chad Brown, is 2 for 2 on turf this year, including a 13 1/4-length first-level allowance win at Belmont on May 17. He has not been out since that race, owing to a foot problem, according to Brown, and tries two turns for the first time off a three-month layoff.

“I was looking to get him in a two-turn race off that last race,” Brown said. “I wish he had more recency. It could be a challenge off a layoff.”

Swamp Rat was beaten a nose in a 1 1/16-mile allowance here on July 18 before finishing fifth in the Grade 2 Hall of Fame.

Regally Irish, winner of the Bridgetown Stakes going six furlongs at Aqueduct in April, and Our Braintrust, who tries turf for the first time, complete the field.