OPENING DAY AT SARATOGA FEATURES G3
SCHUYLERVILLE AND JAMES MARVIN STAKES
Courtesy NYRA
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – A pair of stakes races – the Grade 3, $100,000
Schuylerville for 2-year-old fillies and the $75,000 James Marvin for older sprinters –
grace the opening-day card as the 143rd meet gets underway Friday at Saratoga Race
Course.
The Schuylerville will be run as race 9 on the 10-race card, following the James Marvin,
which drew an outstanding field of 11, featuring Grade 1 winners Gayego, Here Comes
Ben, and Jersey Town. First race post time is 1 p.m.
Nine juvenile fillies were entered for the 93rd edition of the six-furlong Schuylerville, in
which Todd Pletcher will be seeking his fourth victory as he opens defense of his 2010 H.
Allen Jerkens Saratoga training title.
Representing the Pletcher barn this year will be Georgie’s Angel, coming off a 6 ¼length maiden win at Churchill Downs on July 4. The dark bay daughter of Bellamy
Road covered the 4 ½ furlongs in 51.23, which earned her an 83 Beyer Speed Figure,
third-highest among juvenile fillies this year.
“She’s settled in well here and had a nice breeze the other day,” said Pletcher of the
Sheffer Racing Stables’ color-bearer, who worked a half-mile in 49.07 over the Spa’s
main track on July 16. “It’s a graded stakes at Saratoga, and obviously it’s a tough race to
win. This will be a test of her quality.”
John Velazquez, the Spa’s leading jockey in 2010, has the mount on the 5-2 morning-line
favorite from post position 9.
While the majority of the Schuylerville starters have but a maiden win on their resumes,
the race also drew the first two finishers in the Grade 3 Debutante at Churchill Downs –
Flashy Lassie and Five Star Momma.
Flashy Lassie, who went for a modest $4,000 at the Fasig-Tipton sales in October, more
than earned back her purchase price with a nine-length maiden victory at Churchill on
May 13, and followed that with a 17-1 surprise in the Debutante.
“She’s on the smallish side, and out of an unraced mare,” explained her trainer, Garry
Simms, who selected the daughter of Flashy Bull for owner Barry King. “But she’s a
beautiful filly, and she’s been doing great. The Schuylerville is a logical spot for her, and
it would be nice to get another Grade 3.”
Kent Desormeaux was named aboard Flashy Lassie, who drew post position 8 at 6-1 on
the morning line, while owner-trainer Charles Dickey tabbed Alex Solis to ride Five Star
Momma, 8-1 on the morning line, from post 2.
Along with Flashy Lassie and Five Star Momma, the other Schuylerville entrant with
stakes experience is Gypsy Robin, who was seventh, beaten 3 ½ lengths, in the Grade 2
Queen Mary Stakes at Ascot on June 15. Jeffrey Sanchez has the call on Gypsy Robin,
the 3-1 second choice on the morning line, from post position 6.
Rounding out the Schuylerville are recent maiden winners Force de La Nature, True
Feeling and Vukovar, along with Alydarla, who is making her debut in the Schuylerville,
and Dorothy’s Aurora, who is 0-1-1 from three starts.
In the James Marvin, Here Comes Ben returns to the scene of his greatest triumph,
2010’s Grade 1 Forego.
“He arrived in Saratoga last Friday morning, settled in great and had a really nice work
this morning,” said trainer Charles LoPresti of Here Comes Ben, who went three furlongs
in 36.67. “We thought we’d come up and get an easier race into him before the Forego,
but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.”
Alex Solis has the mount aboard Here Comes Ben from post 6. The winner of the Kelly’s
Landing at Churchill in his most recent start is 6-1 on the morning line.
Gayego, who won the Grade 1 Ancient Title in 2009, is the leading money-earner among
the James Marvin entrants, having collected $1,751,120 in compiling an 8-4-2 mark from
21 lifetime starts. Now 6, the Godolphin color-bearer has had one start this year, finishing
ninth in a listed stakes at Meydan on February 11.
“It would be a nice race to win and get him back going again,” said Rick Mettee, assistant
to Saeed bin Suroor.
Alan Garcia will ride Gayego, 5-1 on the morning line, from post position 5.
Making his 2011 debut in the James Marvin is Jersey Town, who closed out 2010 with a
victory in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct Race Track. Trained by Barclay Tagg for
Charles Fipke, Jersey Town has been worse than third just once in 12 career starts.
Cornelio Velasquez rides Jersey Town, 5-1 on the morning line, from the outside.
“He’s a neat horse,” said Tagg. “We really like him. I can’t get [assistant] Robin
[Smullen] off him. She rides him every day. He’s the gamest race horse. He’s doing
good. We’re excited about him.”
Pletcher will be well-represented in the seven-furlong James Marvin with multiple
graded-stakes winner Aikenite, the second choice on the morning line at 4-1, and 7-2
morning-line favorite Caixa Eletronica, the Grade 3 Westchester winner who was third in
the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park on Memorial Day.
“This is supposed to be a step down in class for Aikenite, but the race isn’t shaping up
that way,” said Pletcher of the Dogwood Stable color-bearer, most recently fourth in the
Met Mile. “Still, seven-eighths is his preferred distance. Caixa Eletronica has been a very
consistent horse who always runs well. He’s more of a one-turn mile horse, so we’ll see
how he fares in here.”
John Velazquez will ride Aikenite from post position 2, while Javier Castellano is aboard
Repole Stable’s Caixa Eletronica from post 9.
Completing the field, from the rail out, are Escrow Kid, Jackson Bend, Ravalo, D’
Funnybone, Hamazing Destiny, and Congressional Page.
The field for the $75,000 James Marvin:
PP Horse
Jockey
Wgt Trainer
Odds
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
119
121
123
121
121
123
121
119
123
121
119
30-1
12-1
4-1
50-1
5-1
6-1
8-1
12-1
7-2
20-1
5-1
Escrow Kid (FL)
Jackson Bend (FL)
Aikenite (FL)
Ravalo (KY)
Gayego (KY)
Here Comes Ben (KY)
D' Funnybone (FL)
Hamazing Destiny (KY)
Caixa Eletronica (KY)
Congressional Page (KY)
Jersey Town (KY)
M Franklin
C S Nakatani
J R Velazquez
J Sanchez
A Garcia
A O Solis
E S Prado
R Albarado
J Castellano
R A Dominguez
C H Velasquez
C Doran
N P Zito
T A Pletcher
C Johnson
S bin Suroor
C Lopresti
R E Dutrow, Jr.
D W Lukas
T A Pletcher
M J Trombetta
B Tagg
The field for the Grade 3, $100,000 Schuylerville:
PP Horse
Jockey
Wgt Trainer
Odds
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
5-1
8-1
20-1
12-1
20-1
3-1
8-1
6-1
5-2
Force de La Nature (KY)
Five Star Momma (KY)
Dorothy's Aurora (PA)
True Feelings (KY)
Alydarla (KY)
Gypsy Robin (KY)
Vukovar (KY)
Flashy Lassie (KY)
Georgie's Angel (KY)
J R Leparoux
A O Solis
M Mena
J Rose
E S Prado
J Sanchez
D Cohen
K J Desormeaux
J R Velazquez
-30-
119
119
117
119
117
119
119
121
119
E Kenneally
C L Dickey
H Pitts
A W Dutrow
J K Chapman
W A Ward
E J Guillot
G W Simms
T A Pletcher