GIII Ohio Derby

SARATOGA SPRINGS--When Neil Poznansky, sitting on the back of GI Kentucky Derby and GI Belmont Stakes champion Sovereignty (Into Mischief), saw jockey Junior Alvarado early Friday morning, he wore a wide smile. "How'd I do?" Poznansky said. Alvarado grinned back. No answer necessary. Sovereignty did what Poznansky, Alvarado and Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott wanted to see as he had his second work since winning the Belmont last month. Working in company with 4-year-old stablemate Jefferson Street (Street Sense), Sovereignty and Poznansky, Mott's assistant, covered four furlongs in :48.99...

He may have taken a right turn out of the starting gate and drifted in the lane, but Mo Plex (c, 3, Complexity--Mo Joy, by Uncle Mo) made a beeline for the finish line in the nine-furlong GIII Ohio Derby, gliding through his first attempt at two turns with efficacy. Chunk of Gold (Preservationist), recently profiled on these pages after his GI Kentucky Derby ninth, was second, while McAfee (Cloud Computing), the GIII Peter Pan Stakes runner-up and half to Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna), was third....

It's rare for things to go exactly according to plan in the Kentucky Derby. Trainer Ethan West learned that lesson about five seconds into his first attempt. In the past, Chunk of Gold (Preservationist) had done his best work coming from off the pace, but in the Derby he broke sharply and, with Jareth Loveberry aboard, found himself just behind the frontrunners heading into the first turn. "That was not on the bingo card," West admitted. "We were hoping to be mid-pack and Jareth would find a nice little hole...

A pair of noteworthy names were spotted on the work tab over the weekend at Saratoga, GISW Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) on Sunday and MGISW Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) on Saturday, both cruising over the Oklahoma dirt training track for the first time since their respective efforts during the Belmont at Saratoga festival. From the Chad Brown barn, the 'TDN Rising Star' put in a solo half-mile move with blinkers on in :49.66 (6/30) and galloped out into the backstretch while being encouraged by the exercise rider. When asked, Brown...

Unfortunately, they only have one Two Phil's (Hard Spun). If they had another, presumably making Four Phils in all, then they might yet have the consolation of a proxy in the big races through the second half of the season. As it is, we can only offer our sympathy to the heartbroken team around a horse that brought us such precious cheer during what is proving a challenging year for our sport. Because that's the whole point, really. The big programs would be able to temper their disappointment, on losing...

On the shores of Lake Erie in Cleveland sits the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and about 15 miles away Saturday afternoon in southeast suburban North Randall, Patricia's Hope, Phillip Sagan and Madaket Stables' Two Phil's (Hard Spun) turned in a heavy metal performance of his own, treating seven rivals to a thorough 'beat'-ing in the $500,000 GIII Ohio Derby. 'TDN Rising Star' Bishops Bay (Uncle Mo), narrowly defeated by next-out GI Belmont S. hero Arcangelo (Arrogate) in the GIII Peter Pan S. last month, was no match for...

FTGGG Racing's graded stakes-winner Masqueparade (Upstart) breezed a half-mile in :47.59 in company over a fast main track Friday in preparation for Saratoga's GII Jim Dandy S. July 31. The bay enters this year's Jim Dandy off a trio of wins for trainer Al Stall, Jr., including the GIII Ohio Derby most recently June 26. "We're happy with the breeze. He's right on track," Stall, Jr. said. "We'll give him a chance to see how far he can take his talent. We were patient getting to where we got to...