OUR WAY PULLS AWAY IN BETTER TALK NOW
SARATOGA SPRINGS >> Our Way’s two victories had both come at a mile on turf, first while breaking his maiden last winter at Gulfstream, and more recently in winning an opening-level allowance here at Saratoga on July 23.
On Monday, sent off as the 3-1 second choice in the $100,000 Better Talk Now Stakes, Our Way tried a mile for the third time, and the result was the same. Last of six coming off the turn, Jose Ortiz found running room for the son of Tizway and he responded with a winning drive through the stretch, drawing off late to prevail by 2¼ lengths.
“[Our Way] is going to be a serious horse this fall,” said winning trainer Jim Bond, who also won Monday’s second race with Mascarello and now has six victories for the meet. “He’s really getting it together now. Jose really fits this horse. He gave him a fantastic ride.
“We’re stabled here, and it’s our backyard eight months a year,” Bond added. “It’s nice to win in front of our home crowd. I have great owners and a great crew.”
Dragon Bay, pressed intermittently by Mighty Mo, made most of the running from his inside post. Dragon Bay was still there when the field straightened out, but others were on the move, including favored Hammers Vision. At first, Our Way looked like he had nowhere to go, but once he was clear, the outcome was no longer in doubt.
“I knew the rest of the field was going fast, so I took back a little bit,” said Ortiz, who is now 2-for-2
aboard the Better Talk Now winner. “At the quarter pole I swung out and had a ton of horse. He exploded.”
Hammers Vision was second by a half-length over Dragon Bay. The latter was
disqualified from third to fifth after drifting out (after hitting the fence) in the stretch. Mighty Mo was moved up to third and was followed by Noble Quality,
Dragon Bay and Conquest Big E. Time of the race was 1 minute, 34.75 seconds over firm ground.
Our Way is campaigned
by William L. Clifton Jr, who also raced Tizway (Bond was the trainer). The son of Tiznow’s biggest wins came as a 6-year-old in 2011 when he won the Whitney
and Met Mile.
The Better Talk Now improved Our Way’s record to 3-1-2 in nine starts and upped his earnings to $163,390.