Englehart hopes Mrs. Ramona G can kickstart meet
Trainer Jeremiah Englehart ended the Belmont Park spring/summer meet with 18 wins and just over $1 million in earnings and is looking to keep his good momentum going into the summer meet at Saratoga.
Gold Square’s Mrs. Ramona G is pointing towards next Saturday’s $200,000 Caress at 5 ½-furlongs on the turf. A 4-year-old filly sired by Kantharos, she kicked off her 2019 campaign with a third-place finish in the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf at Gulfstream. She followed with a fourth-place finish in the License Fee at Belmont before recording two secondplace finishes back-to-back in the Politely on May 18 at Monmouth Park and the Perfect Sting on June 29 at Belmont.
Englehart said Mrs. Ramona G is training well and is building towards a start in the Grade 2, $400,000 Presque Isle Downs Masters, slated for September 16.
“It seems like she came out of the Perfect Sting in good order,” said Englehart. “We kind of had the Caress in mind for her and then maybe the Masters at Preque Isle Downs. So we’re king of using the Caress as a stepping stone to that race.”
Gold Square’s New Yorkbred stakes winner Wendell Fong will eye a start in the Grade 2, $200,000 Amsterdam on July 28 according to Englehart. The 3-yearold Flat Out colt won the Gold Fever in May at Belmont before stepping up to graded stakes competition for the first time, finishing fifth in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens in his most recent start.
Englehart said he was encouraged by Wendell Fong’s graded stakes debut.
“I was pleased with his effort in the Woody Stephens,” said Englehart. “It looked like you had to be on the inside on that day and we kind of took him out of his game plan in letting him sit and relax. We pressed him early to get him into the race to see if we could get on the rail and we had to sit just outside. He really ran well to finish fifth and only get beaten by a couple of lengths, so we’re pointing to the Amsterdam from here with him.”
Englehart said graded stakes winner Forty Under, who last out ran fifth in the Grade 2 Penn Mile at Penn National, received throat surgery following the race. Forty Under is currently stabled at Saratoga with the hopes of making a race before the end of the meet.
“He’s doing well,” said Englehart. “We did throat surgery on him coming out of the Penn Mile. Dr. Patty Hogan of Hogan Equine in New Jersey performed the surgery and we just got him back to Saratoga. Since he’s been here, he also picked up a little foot abscess, but we’re hoping to make a race with him by the end of the meet.”
Englehart also reported New York-bred graded stakes winner Sue’s Fortune is in good order after not finishing in the Grade 3 Victory Ride on July 5 at Belmont in her third start of year after running second in the Jersey Girl on June 9.
“She came back okay,” said Englehart. “It just didn’t seem to be her day. I ran her back a little too quick off of her race against Brad’s filly [winner, Break Even]. I was hemming and hawing on whether to run her and I talked to Junior [Alvarado] before the race and I said if it’s not her day don’t worry about it. I wasn’t 100 percent sure I had her 100 percent going in, but we’ll regroup from here.”
Englehart said stakes winner Isotope, who was recently entered in the Fasig-Tipton Summer Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale and kept by her owners, would also target a race towards the end of the meet.