Saturday, August 10th will hopefully feature the Grade I Fourstardave Handicap at Saratoga with a few other stakes races rescheduled from last week due to rain. As NYRA becomes more cautious running turf races on softer tracks, more grass contests have been postponed for the safety of the runners. With some new entries in these postponed fields, a few fresh Midlantic breds have prime opportunity to pick up wins at the Spa this meet.

Beginning the stakes tries for the day is the Grade I Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes in the sixth race. After being taken off the card last weekend, a new entry in Maryland bred Fulmineo was able to draw into this now eight horse field starting at long morning line odds of 10/1. By Bolt d’Oro – Starr of Quality, by First Dude, this three year old colt will stretch out to the mile and three-sixteenths distance on the turf after back to back tries at eight furlongs. Even in a field of some slightly classier runners, this Arnaud Delacour trainee certainly has shown his affinity for the turf with six finishes in the top two in seven tries. His best victory came in the James Murphy at Pimlico on Preakness day, closing from seventh by five lengths to win by two and a quarter. On that soft surface, Fulmineo was still able to pick off horses even with very little early pace. His connections hope that the late running style will translate to the added distance, as Tyler Gaffalione will take the irons here. Gaffalione was last able to pilot Fulmineo in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf this fall, where he was just a tad overmatched in a classy grade I field. Now stepping back up into grade I company, Fulmineo will need to prove that he has improved since his two year old season against an evenly-matched group. Breaking from the five post, Fulmineo was bred by Country Life Farm & Starr of Quality LLC and is owned by Starlight Racing and Mark B. Grier. 


The second of the rescheduled turf races, the Grade II Troy Stakes will start as the ninth race on the card going five and a half furlongs for four year olds and up. The field remains the same outside of one entry change, but a redraw for post positions leaves Pennsylvania bred Witty breaking from the inside. In a field of eleven, the break is important for Witty, but his strength has remained as a closer who will likely be chasing the favorite Cogburn. At 1/2 on the morning line for Steve Asmussen, Cogburn broke the North American turf record at five and a half in June over a dry Saratoga turf course, and will likely be sent near the lead once again. The potential softer conditions could slow things down a bit for Cogburn and the Elizabeth Merryman trained Witty, but a fair pace is still likely at this distance. Jockey Jose Lezcano will grab the reins for the first time on this grey gelding, hoping for the longer priced horses to take aim at Cogburn from the jump. Even if the set up isn’t ideal, Witty has proven to find a way into the money at sprint distances, finishing in the top two in all six sprint tries on turf. By Great Notion – Zeezee Zoomzoom, by Congrats, this experienced runner should have a good chance to add to an already solid resume as a five year old. Witty is owned by Qatar Racing LLC, Marc Detampel, and Elizabeth M. Merryman, who on top of training the horse, was also the breeder.


Last but not least on the card is the penultimate Galway Stakes as the twelfth race. Similar to the Troy, the Galway will run at five and a half on the turf, but is exclusively for three year old fillies. In a nine horse field with a 2/5 morning line favorite, there are plenty of long shots, but none longer than the 30/1 Greavette. Bred in Pennsylvania by Heart Hill Farms LLC, this Midlantic runner is a bit overmatched on paper, despite a recent stakes win at Presque Isle Downs. Although that gate to wire win came on an artificial surface, Greavette has flashed some speed in her two victories, perhaps factoring into the pace scenario in this race. By Astern (AUS) – Convertible, by Forestry, getting the typically aggressive Luis Saez in the irons almost guarantees that she will be forward here, even if there are faster options. Five other runners have shown speed at some point in their careers, making Greavette’s early style difficult in this spot. Still, trainer James Bagg may see the best opportunity to get a piece of the pie here is by going for it early and hoping to hang on in the stretch. Even if a win isn’t the most likely outcome, stepping up to run against some of the better turf sprinters in her division should only lead to improvement. Greavette is owned by Upland Flats Racing and will break from post two in the Galway.

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