South Bend double threat for new owners

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – South Bend, runner-up in the Grade 3 Ohio Derby, was purchased privately by a group that includes Gary Barber and Adam Wachtel and is now with trainer Bill Mott. South Bend is under consideration for either the $1 million Runhappy Travers Stakes, a 1 1/4-mile dirt race on Aug. 8, or the $500,000 Saratoga Derby, a 1 3/16-mile race on turf Aug. 15.

Though South Bend is 3 for 6 on dirt and 0 for 5 on turf, Wachtel believes that from a speedfigure perspective South Bend “is equally as good on both surfaces, which makes him an interesting 3-year-old, to say the least.”

South Bend is a son of Algorithms who began his career with three straight wins on dirt, including a one-length victory in the Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs last Oct. 27.

Trained by Stan Hough for Sagamore Farm, South Bend finished sixth in the Kentucky Jockey Club and fourth in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes before making his next five starts on turf.

Though he didn’t win on turf, South Bend was three times stakes-placed, including narrow defeats to Decorated Invader and Field Pass, two who figure to be among the favorites in the Saratoga Derby.

South Bend was switched back to dirt for the Ohio Derby, where he rallied from 10th to finish within three-quarters of a length of upset winner Dean Martini. South Bend earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 94 for that race.

“I thought his Ohio Derby was excellent,” said Wachtel, whose other partners on the horse include Peter Deutsch and Leonard Schleifer’s Pantofel Stable. “He came from way back, circled the field. It was his most professional race.

He put his head down and came running.”

On Monday, South Bend had his first workout for Mott, going four furlongs in 49.01 seconds over the Oklahoma training track, starting one length behind the 5-year-old Chewing Gum and finishing on even terms at the wire. South Bend galloped out five furlongs in 1:01.92.

“He’s a really nice horse,” Mott said. “Good head, good eye, nice scope. As a horse, I like him.”

Mott, after looking at his past performances, seemed to indicate a preference for the Travers, a race he definitely covets and finished second in last year with Tacitus.

“His dirt form looks as good or better than his turf form,” Mott said. “I guess he had some trouble in some of those [turf] races, but still.”

Wachtel said a decision on whether to run in the Travers would be made following South Bend’s next workout.

There are 18 nominations for the Travers. Those expected to run include Tiz the Law, the Florida Derby and Belmont Stakes winner; Uncle Chuck, winner of the Los Alamitos Derby; Country Grammer and Caracaro, the 1-2 finishers from the Grade 3 Peter Pan on July 16 at Saratoga; and Max Player, the third-place finisher from the Belmont Stakes.

Tacitus waits for Woodward

Though he worked Sunday for the second time since his dominant victory in the Grade 2 Suburban on July 4 at Belmont Park, Tacitus will skip Saturday’s Whitney and await the Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward Stakes here on Sept. 5, trainer Bill Mott said Monday.

Mott likes the fact the Woodward will be run at 1 1/4 miles this year – it typically has been run at 1 1/8 miles – and it should be a springboard to the fall when the ultimate goal is the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 7 at Keeneland. Mott also would consider running Tacitus in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont in late September or early October.

“If this were the last race of the year we’d be in there,” Mott said of the Whitney. “There would be no reason not to run him. Now, with three other races in mind, I don’t have to run in the Whitney.”

On Sunday, Tacitus worked a half-mile in 49.44 seconds over the Oklahoma training track in company with Channel Maker, who is scheduled to run in Saturday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green Stakes at 1 3/8 miles on turf.

– David Grening

Maker red hot in stakes

To say trainer Mike Maker has been on a roll the past two weeks would be an understatement.

Maker won his sixth turf stakes and fourth graded stakes during that period here Sunday when Somelikeithotbrown led a one-two finish for the barn with runner-up Mr Dumas in the Grade 2 Bernard Baruch here.

The roll began July 12 at Keeneland with wins by Zulu Alpha in the Grade 2 Elkhorn and Field Pass in the Grade 3 Transylvania, and includes a victory by Aquaphobia in the Grade 1 United Nations at Monmouth Park, Cross Border last week in the Lubash here, and the filly Ask Bailey in the Northbound Pride at Canterbury.

Maker also has won races at Gulfstream Park and Indiana Downs during that period, and is fifth in the trainer standings through the opening two weeks of this session with five wins.