HIGHEST HONORS TAKES CURLIN IN FIRST STAKES TRY
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY >> The scratch of the three biggest prices on the morning line – including 12-1 Cairo Cat, who was a vet scratch after acting up in the paddock – left a tight and closely matched field of six to contest Friday’s $100,000 Curlin Stakes.
With three-sixteenths to run, four of the six were spread across the track, each apparently in with an equal chance. The two outside horses, Highest Honors and Endorsed, soon separated themselves from the others. After dueling for some strides, Highest Honors, who had been last in the early going, edged away from his rival, continuing on to score by a length and a half. The running time for a mile and an eighth over a “muddy” main track was 1:52.27.
“I just tried to keep him comfortable going a mile and an eighth for the first time,” said winning rider Jose Ortiz. “I think he should be undefeated right now. He almost got dropped at Keeneland in his debut, and he won his maiden easy. Today he proved that he’s a nice horse. Hopefully he’ll move forward.”
Endorsed was second by five lengths over Looking At Bikinis, the even-money favorite.
Rowayton, Intrepid Heart and Direct Order also ran. Cairo Cat, Grumps Little Tots and Mo Gotcha were scratched.
Looking at Bikinis broke
first, getting a quarter-mile in 24.23 seconds and a half in 49.36, with Rowayton tracking in second. The latter challenged for the lead on the turn at the same time that Highest Honors and Endorsed were moving on the outside, with the four eventually lining up for the final dash to the finish.
“Today was for Highest Honors,” said winning trainer Chad Brown. “He made that big sweeping move, and we thought he would get a mile and an eighth. It looks like even a little more distance won’t hurt him.”
Brown said the Curlin winner would likely be pointed to the Travers. “We always thought [Highest Honors] was very talented, and the Travers was the dream.”
Highest Honors, a W. S. Farish homebred son of Tapit, is a neck shy of being unbeaten in three starts. He broke his maiden in his second outing, a 1 1/16-mile MSW at Belmont on June 1. The $55k winner’s share of the Curlin bumps his earnings to $114,800.
Today’s last word goes to Joe Bravo, who was aboard the runner-up.
“I’m really proud of the big guy,” said Bravo, who had ridden Endorsed when he broke his maiden last summer here at the Spa. “It was a big question if he would be able to step up to this level or not, and look what he did. He fought all the way down the lane. I can’t wait to see his next race.” middle and around the edges during the no-contact session in which players went without pads.
Though McCoy declined to speak to reporters following practice, general manager Brandon Beane cleared up whatever doubts there might be regarding the running back’s status on the team.
Asked about the “outside noise” revolving around McCoy, Beane said “there’s not any inside noise,” and chalked the rumors up to media having nothing to report with the Bills off since mid-June.
“When Sean and Brian Daboll roll the ball out, LeSean’s going to be the first running back to touch the ball,” Beane said, referring to coach Sean McDermott and Daboll, the offensive coordinator. “That’s the way we see it.”
It made no difference to Beane that McCoy’s 514 yards rushing and 752 yards from scrimmage were career lows for the 11-year veteran; or that he’s set to make a $6.175 million base salary in the final year of his contract; or that Buffalo expanded its stable of running backs by signing TJ Yeldon in free agency and used a third-round pick to draft Devin Singletary.
“He’s handled the challenge all through the spring,” Beane said. “I think he sees the competition. He hasn’t shown that he’s afraid of it or has a problem with it. So that’s where that sits.”
Gore and McCoy might be old by any NFL standard, and yet they also represent the most productive backfield in NFL history. Gore ranks fourth overall and leads active players with 14,748 yards rushing. McCoy is 25th overall and third among active players with 10,606 yards rushing.
Gore got a firsthand glimpse at how driven McCoy (also known as ‘Shady’) is after the two continued their tradition of spending the offseason working out together in Florida.
“Every year as a back you’ve got individual goals and when you don’t hit them, you should be upset,” Gore said. “And me knowing ‘Shady’ for a while, he’s very motivated this year . ... He’s going to compete. He’ll be on top of his game.”
The Bills could use the push given how their once-dominant running attack went from leading the league in both 2015 and ‘16 to dropping to ninth last year. And much of the reason Buffalo still finished in the top 10 was Josh Allen setting the single-season franchise record for quarterbacks with a team-leading 631 yards rushing — or 117 more than McCoy.
Aside from the running game, the entire offense is under the microscope entering training camp after undergoing a massive offseason overhaul.
Buffalo upgraded a young and untested group of receivers by adding speedster John Brown and slot receiver Cole Beasley in free agency. And Buffalo placed a large emphasis on retooling what had been a patchwork offensive line by signing six free agents, including center Mitch Morse, and selecting tackle Cody Ford in the second round.
Identifying a starting lineup and getting it to jell on offense is one of the Bills’ most pressing needs before the start of the season.
“That is one of our challenges right now is the lack of continuity on the offensive side. And we understand that,” McDermott said. “We’d like to find it as quickly as possible.”
NOTES: McCoy is scheduled to speak to reporters this weekend . ... Buffalo opened camp with four new starters on the line, including Ford at right tackle. Left tackle Dion Dawkins was the only returning starter to retain his spot. ... The Bills have only nine more sessions at camp before opening the preseason hosting Indianapolis in two weeks. Buffalo then travels to Carolina to hold joint practices with the Panthers before playing them in a preseason game on Aug. 16.