Imperial Hint towers over Vanderbilt field
Although Saturday’s $350,000 A. G. Vanderbilt Stakes (G1) lacks a single Grade 1 winner in its seven-horse field, it does not lack an obvious standout in the six-furlong sprint for older horses.
That horse is Imperial Hint, the prohibitive favorite. The 5-year son of Imperialism has won seven of his last nine starts, all but one of them stakes, and was a distant runner-up behind Roy H in last year’s voting for champion sprinter. During one stretch, Imperial Hint won five straight at tracks from Florida to Pennsylvania by a combined 23 lengths. He closed out the year with a length loss to Roy H in the BC Sprint.
Imperial Hint comes in to today’s race off a neck win in the True North (G2) on Belmont Stakes day. The Vanderbilt favorite has racked up four straight bullet works at Parx.
A pair of late-developing 4year-olds could provide Imperial Hint’s main competition. Switzerland has won his last four races (the last three by open lengths), most recently the Maryland Sprint (G3) on Preakness Day at Pimlico. That race was the Speightstown runner’s first venture into stakes competition.
Done Deal shows a similar background. The son of Macho Uno has also won four straight, culminating in a victory (the ungraded Iowa Sprint Handicap) in his initial stakes outing July 6 at Prairie Meadows. In his streak, Done Deal has won the four races by a collective 19¼ lengths.
Since Imperial Hint, Switzerland and Done Deal all like to run on the front end, one looks for a horse who might benefit from an overly fast pace. The most likely candidate is Warrior’s Club , who although he doesn’t always get there, is still a threat if the pace is quick enough.
The Vanderbilt field also includes Sweetontheladies, Mr. Crow and Petrov. Summer at Saratoga Race Course is not just for betting and watching workouts in the morning, it’s an opportunity to make money for young people.
Saratoga Springs High Schooler Katie Irish is following in her brother, Cameron’s footsteps, selling the Pink Sheet his summer for The Saratogian.
“It’s a great first job for kids our age because you can’t get a lot of job working when you are 14 (years old),” Katie Irish said. - It’s a good job. It gives you a good work ethic because you are selling by yourself, it’s not like you just get paid to sit around all day.”
Katie, like her brother, was encouraged to become a Pink Sheet kid by her parents. What was a passion turned into part of the job for former Saratoga sportswriter Sam Hollingsworth, one of this year’s Pink Sheet handicappers.
“I never thought that I would publicly handicap, but I was never afraid to do it,” Sam Hollingsworth said one morning at Saratoga Race Course watching the workouts on the main track. “The big thing growing up was just a game with my father, grandparents, being from Mechanicville, a lot of people were into it.
“While working at The Saratogian a handicapper dropped out and they needed an extra handicapper and asked me to do it and I said ‘Sure.’”
He may not have realize the pressure that came with putting a face his daily picks.
“People recognize me, say ‘You’re the guy in the Pink Sheet,’ more so, people who know me, follow me and my picks,” Hollingsworth