Bond tests his hot hand with Prioritize in Woodward

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer James Bond is enjoying his best Saratoga in nearly two decades, so there is no better time to take a swing at a Grade 1 stakes with a longshot. Saturday, Bond will do just that when he sends out Prioritize in the Grade 1, $500,000 Woodward Stakes.

Bond has won 10 races from 34 starters at this meet, his most wins at Saratoga since 2001, when he went 11 for 41. Four of his wins at this meet came with horses returning from an extended layoff owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bond was a part or sole owner of four of the 10 winners.

“A lot of homebreds from our breeding program have done very well,” Bond said Monday as he watched a set of unraced 2-year-olds breeze out of the starting gate. “Just some of the horses through the COVID situation we backed off and reprogrammed them. We were hoping Saratoga would be our dream, and it has happened pretty good for us. We’ve been pretty lucky.”

Prioritize won a second-level allowance race July 25 by a neck over Money Moves, who is scheduled to run in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. Prioritize is a 5-year-old gelding by Tizway, a colt who won the Grade 1 Whitney here in 2011 for Bond and owner William Clifton, who also owns Prioritize.

Bond raced Prioritize nine straight times on the turf with mixed results and put him on the dirt last December at Aqueduct in a $35,000 claiming race. He won by 1 1/2 lengths and fortunately for Bond and Clifton was not claimed. Prioritize followed that with a narrow defeat in an allowance race in February before the pandemic forced the shutdown of racing.

Prioritize returned in June and finished second to the loose-on-the-lead Its All Relevant in a one-turn 1 1/16-mile allowance at Belmont. In his allowance win here, Prioritize came with a determined run under Eric Cancel to split horses and outfinish Money Moves by a head. He ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.08 and earned a career-best 99 Beyer Speed Figure.

This year, the Woodward has been extended from 1 1/8 miles to 1 1/4 miles, which Bond thinks may benefit Prioritize.

“I think he’s a true mile-anda-quarter horse,” said Bond, who said Cancel will ride Prioritize. “He’s a grinder, and those are the type that usually get the job done at a mile and a quarter.”

The Woodward is likely to be a five-horse field, with Tacitus, winner of the Suburban Stakes on July 4 at Belmont, the likely favorite. Tacitus, who will be ridden by Jose Ortiz, was assigned high weight of 124 pounds, nine more than Prioritize. Others expected to run are stakes winners Global Campaign (Luis Saez, 122), Spinoff (Irad Ortiz Jr., 118), and Moretti (TBD, 118).

“It’s probably not the strongest race in the world,” Bond said. “This is the time to take a shot.”

McGaughey stars reboot

Based on their 2019 campaigns, a lot was expected from Code of Honor and Performer in 2020. Little of it has materialized.

Code of Honor, last year’s Travers and Jockey Club Gold Cup winner, has gone 1 for 3 this year and is coming off a fourth in the Grade 1 Whitney on Aug. 1. Performer has not run since winning the Grade 3 Discovery on Nov. 20 at Aqueduct. He suffered an ankle injury that scrapped an anticipated return in the Grade 1

Carter in June.

Trainer Shug McGaughey hit the reset button with both of them.

Monday, both Code of Honor and Performer returned to the work tab, each working three furlongs. Code of Honor went in 38.49 seconds, Performer in 37.03.

If all goes well, Code of Honor could make his next start in the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap on Oct. 3 at Belmont. McGaughey said he hopes to get Performer to the Grade 1 Cigar Mile on Dec. 5 at Aqueduct. From a timing standpoint, the Grade 3, $100,000 Bold Ruler Handicap on Oct. 31 at Belmont could make sense as a comeback race.

“I’m not in any hurry with either one of them,” McGaughey said. “If they don’t make it, they don’t make it. I think both of them will run next year.”

Five fatal injuries in 4 days

Five horses suffered fatal injuries over a four-day period at Saratoga, including two on Monday who were injured while putting in a workout.

On Monday, Obsidian Flow, an unraced 2-year-old trained by Jimmy Jerkens, suffered an injury to his right foreleg after completing a workout out of the gate over the main track.

About 90 minutes later, Zunith Moon, a 2-year-old trained by John Kimmel, suffered an injury to a front pastern while working over the Oklahoma turf course. He was euthanized on the course.

On Friday, Own the Outcome, an unraced 2-year-old colt by Tonalist trained by Carlos Martin, suffered a condylar fracture during training and was euthanized.

There were two fatalities during the races over the weekend. Soon after the start of Saturday’s 11th race, Pot of Hunny, a 3-year-old filly making her fifth career start, suffered a fracture of her left radial bone and had to be euthanized.

In Sunday’s fifth race, Perfection, a 2-year-old filly making her career debut for trainer Michelle Nevin, suffered an injury nearing the finish line. Perfection was vanned off and later euthanized.

Through 34 days of racing, during which there have been 2,514 starters in 340 races, there have been four racing-related fatalities. Since July 24, there have been five training-related fatalities.

– David Grening

Brown juveniles run 1-2

Trainer Chad Brown has an arsenal of talented 2-yearolds to draw from here this summer, among the most noteworthy being Founder and Highly Motivated, who finished first and second in a field filled with highly touted juveniles in Saturday’s sixth race.

Founder rallied from last to a neck decision over Highly Motivated, winning at first asking despite ducking out suddenly under Jose Ortiz to lose momentum while in the midst of his rally near midstretch. A son of first year sire Upstart, Founder earned a 78 Beyer Speed Figure.

“Founder ran great – they both did,” Brown said. “The horses ran just the way we thought. Highly Motivated looks like a true sprinter with a lot of quality. We figured Founder would be coming from behind. Six furlongs is as short as he’ll ever want to run. I told Jose in the paddock he might get there, he might not. Both horses definitely have a bright future.”

Brown said the Champagne at Belmont and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Keeneland are possible spots for Founder.

– Mike Welsch