Get Stormy, who had a five-race winning streak end in his
most recent start, returned to form on Sunday at Saratoga Race Course with a
gate-to-wire victory in the 26th running of the Grade 2, $150,000
Fourstardave.
Owned by his breeder, Mary Sullivan of Sullimar Stable, Get
Stormy earned his first stakes victory when he won the Lure last year at Saratoga, then added
victories in the Grade 3 Bryan Station at Keeneland and the Grade 3
Commonwealth Turf at Churchill Downs in the fall. A 3 ½-length victor of the
May 22 Elkwood at Monmouth Park in his first start of 2010, Get Stormy faded to
fourth in the Grade 2 King Edward at Woodbine June 27 and was attempting to
start a new string of victories in the Fourstardave.
After stumbling at the start, Get Stormy recovered to grab a
1 ½-length lead, maintaining that advantage through fractions of 23.65 and
47.01. Pinckney Hill drew within a length of the pacesetter as the field turned
for home, but Get Stormy had plenty in reserve, holding sway under a drive to win
by 1 ¼ lengths, with Public Speaker edging out Zifzaf by a nose for second.
“My horse likes to be close to the pace – if he isn’t on the
lead he can be second or third, but he loves to go on the lead,” said winning
rider Javier Castellano. “Turning for home, everybody thought I didn’t have a
horse and they were asking, and he took off again.”
Get Stormy’s final time for 1 1/16th miles on the
Mellon Turf Course was 1:39.09, just 0.18 seconds off the track record set by
the race’s namesake when he won this race – then called the Daryl’s Joy – in
1991.
“We got the kind of course he has proven himself on,” said
winning trainer Tom Bush. “He was really kind of rattling down the backside,
and I wasn’t sure if he’d have enough left. The fractions were pretty legit.
This horse really is something special. He was a very light and narrow horse as
a baby and he grew into such a strong, big horse. We want to sit down and back
up from the Breeders’ Cup and figure out what he needs to do between now and
then.”
The 3-2 favorite in the field of seven, Get Stormy returned
$5.10 for a $2 win wager and improved his record 6-2-1 from 14 starts. The
$90,000 winner’s share of the purse boosted the homebred’s career earnings to
$435,961.
Whatsthescript, Radical Sabbatical, Pinckney Hill, and
Wesley completed the order of finish.