Mongolian Saturday Pulls the Turf Sprint Upset
Updated: October 31, 2015 at 5:40 pm
The ultra-consistent Mongolian Saturday (Any Given Saturday) sat a dream trip stalking the early leader and had just enough left in the tank to hold off ‘TDN Rising Star’ Lady Shipman (Midshipman) by a neck at odds of 15-1 in the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. It was another half-length back to Green Mask (Mizzen Mast) in third. “I was expecting the horse to run well,” trainer Enebish Ganbat said after celebrating his first career Breeders’ Cup victory. “I thought he could come first or second. Here, he’s been doing very, very well. We came here to win a Breeders’ Cup and we did.”
The versatile Mongolian Saturday–proficient on dirt, turf and all-weather–hit the board in all nine of his previous attempts this term, including a painful second at 51-1 in the GIII Parx Dash H. July 11. Second again in Mountaineer’s West Virginia Chairman’s Cup going 4 ½ furlongs on dirt Aug. 1, the bay delivered in an optional claimer over a yielding going at Arlington Aug. 20, then came up a nose short in the GIII Turf Monster H. at Parx Sept. 7. Mongolian Saturday entered the Turf Sprint off a runner-up finish in the off-the-turf Woodford S. at Keeneland Oct. 3.
Lady Shipman won the break and led early in the Turf Sprint, but was quickly replaced on top by Ready for Rye (City Zip) as Mongolian Saturday eased across from the 14 hole to sit an ultimately soft trip through fractions of :22.19 and :45.09 over the “good” going. Given his cue by Florent Geroux in upper stretch, Mongolian Saturday kicked into a clear lead and was saved by the wire, as Lady Shipman, who was a chasing third, came charging hard to just miss.
“It was like a Work All Week repeat, except this was turf instead of dirt,” Geroux said. “It was a nice stalking trip. I was able to save ground and when I asked him turning for home he gave me a good kick and showed a lot of heart. He was very professional.”
Geroux has won with three out of his first four rides in the Breeders’ Cup. “I love these races,” he said. “I wish we could have these a few times a year [laughs]. I have been very lucky and very fortunate and I want to thank all the connections who gave me the opportunity to be here today. That’s about it. Good horses make me look good.”
As for what’s next for Mongolian Saturday, Ganbat added, “Our horse can run anywhere on the turf. I nominated to Hong Kong Dec. 13. Maybe we’ll go there. Also, Ascot. I’d really like to go to Japan and England is my dream. This is a national event of Thoroughbred horses. Also, maybe Dubai.”
Ganbat didn’t exactly take the most conventional path to training Thoroughbreds in America. “I started training Mongolian ponies in 1995, and five years ago, we came here to Lexington to train Thoroughbred horses,” he explained. “It’s quite a bit different. We switch from Mongolian ponies to a big, faster horse. But a horse is a horse.”
Owner Ganbaatar Dagvador races as Mongolian Stable. “It’s been an honor to participate in this big event,” he said through a translator. “And for us, it’s a big dream as Mongolians to participate in this big event. And as a Mongolian, we ride horses starting at age four. So, yeah, it’s our tradition just to raise with the horse. Being a Mongolian, it’s part of our tradition.”
As for his primary business, he added, “We are in the business of construction, mining, and food distillery and the hotel industry. And oil too. The family has hotels in America, including Holiday Inn. Plus we franchise Burger King.”
Mongolian Saturday’s dam Miss Hot Salsa (Houston) produced a Scat Daddy filly in 2014.
Saturday, Keeneland
TWINSPIRES BREEDERS’ CUP TURF SPRINT-GI, $920,000, KEE, 10-31, 3yo/up, 5 1/2fT, 1:03.19, gd.
1–#@&MONGOLIAN SATURDAY, 126, g, 5, by Any Given Saturday
1st Dam: Miss Hot Salsa (SW & GSP, $227,756), by Houston
2nd Dam: Miss High Blade, by Highland Blade
3rd Dam: Darling Miss Q., by Alydar
($60,000 Ylg ’11 KEESEP). O-Mongolian Stable; B-Normandy
Farm (KY); T-Enebish Ganbat; J-Florent Geroux. $550,000.
Lifetime Record: 31-7-8-6, $960,926. *1/2 to Victoryasecret
(Victory Gallop), MSW, $242,485. Werk Nick Rating: A+.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.[bullet ad=”gainesway-consigned-by”][bullet ad=”eaton-hip2682-keenov15″][bullet ad=”copper-crowne-trained-at”]
2–Lady Shipman, 121, f, 3, Midshipman–Sumthingtotalkabt, by
Mutakddim. ($35,000 RNA 2yo ’14 OBSAPR).
“TDN Rising Star” O-Ranlo Investments LLC; B-Randall E Lowe
(KY); T-Kathleen O’Connell. $180,000.
3–Green Mask, 126, g, 4, Mizzen Mast–Bonsai Beauty, by
Forestry. ($37,000 Ylg ’12 FTKOCT; $150,000 2yo ’13 OBSAPR).
O-Abdullah Saeed Almaddah; B-D. J. Stable, LLC (KY); T-Wesley
A. Ward. $100,000.[bullet ad=”cassesales-soldby”]
Margins: NK, HF, 2. Odds: 15.90, 4.50, 6.90.
Also Ran: Bobby’s Kitten, Undrafted, No Silent, Ready for Rye, Pure Sensation, Marchman, Stacked Deck, Joe Franklin, The Great War, Something Extra, Jimmy Bouncer. Scratched: Rumble Doll, Holy Lute.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.