Three
weeks after making the pace against a top-class field in the Grade 1 Test, Black
Swan Stable’s Roman Treasure returns to action Saturday in the Grade 3, $100,000
Victory Ride presented by Jose Cuervo at Saratoga Race Course.
The 3-year-old daughter of Roman
Ruler out of the top-class racer Jeanne Jones easily opened up by two lengths
heading into the turn in the Test before being overtaken by eventual winner
Turbulent Descent, one of the premier sprinting fillies in the country.
“I don’t know how good a spot it
is, but we’ll try her,” said trainer Michael Hushion of the 5-1 second choice on
the morning line. “It’s pretty straightforward from here.”
The six-furlong Victory Ride
attracted a strong field of 10, with one coupled entry.
Trainer Tony Dutrow will send out
Jealous Girl, a daughter of Petionville owned by Michael Dubb and Bethlehem
Stables, who has won four straight starts since her debut, none by less than 3 ¾
lengths.
Jealous Girl, the 3-1 favorite on
the morning line, broke her maiden in February by 5 ¾ lengths at Parx and has
since climbed the ladder. In her most recent start, she tore through the
$100,000 Femme Fatale at Penn National, winning by five lengths.
“We were planning to make the
Prioress and Test with her but after her May victory [at
Delaware
Park ] she had a tender left shin and that
ruined our plans,” Dutrow said. “We were hoping for bigger and better by now.
This will be her biggest test.”
Maple Forest ,
8-1, trained by Todd Pletcher, registered a 1 ¼-length victory in the $75,000
Dearly Precious on July 10 at
Monmouth
Park . The race was her first stakes
victory in four tries.
“She’s coming off a stakes win at
Monmouth and broke her maiden here at
Saratoga , so we know she likes the racetrack,”
Pletcher said.
Maple
Forest will run as a coupled entry with
Moon Buzz, undefeated in two starts for trainer Steve Margolis.
Bob Baffert sends out A Z
Warrior, 6-1, winner of the Grade 1 Frizette last October at
Belmont
Park . The Zayat Stables-owned daughter of
Bernardini has not raced since finishing third to Turbulent Descent in the Grade
1 Santa Anita Oaks in March.
Completing the field are Funny
Sunny, 6-1, recently second in an overnight turf sprint stakes August 11 at
Saratoga; Hot Summer, 8-1, winner of the Grade 3 Comely in April at Aqueduct and
third behind Alabama winner Royal Delta this spring in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed
Susan at Pimlico; Precious Soul, 12-1, a recent 6 ¼-length allowance winner for
Hall of Fame trainer Allen Jerkens; Oflee Wicked, 20-1, an allowance winner for
trainer Kiaran McLaughlin; and Valiant Passion, 7-2, third last year in the
Grade 1 Spinaway at Saratoga and a recent open-lengths allowance winner in his
first start for trainer Graham Motion.
The field for the Grade 3 Victory Ride
presented by Jose Cuervo:
|
PP |
Horse |
Jockey |
Wgt |
Trainer |
Odds |
|
1a |
Maple
Forest
(KY) |
J R Velazquez |
120 |
T A Pletcher |
8-1 |
|
2 |
Jealous Girl
(KY) |
J Rose |
120 |
A W
Dutrow |
3-1 |
|
3 |
A Z Warrior
(KY) |
M Garcia |
120 |
B Baffert |
6-1 |
|
4 |
Oflee Wicked
(KY) |
J Valdivia, Jr. |
118 |
K P McLaughlin |
20-1 |
|
5 |
Funny Sunny
(KY) |
K J Desormeaux |
116 |
R B Hess, Jr. |
6-1 |
|
6 |
Hot Summer
(VA) |
C H Velasquez |
123 |
D Fawkes |
8-1 |
|
7 |
Precious Soul
(KY) |
E S
Prado |
116 |
H A Jerkens |
12-1 |
|
8 |
Valiant Passion
(KY) |
J R Leparoux |
116 |
H G Motion |
7-2 |
|
9 |
Roman Treasure
(KY) |
R A Dominguez |
120 |
M E
Hushion |
5-1 |
|
10a |
Moon Buzz
(KY) |
S
Bridgmohan |
116 |
S
Margolis |
8-1 |
a – coupled entry