Mo Plex, winner of the Grade 3 Sanford opening weekend at Saratoga, runs in Sunday’s Funny Cide. NYRA Photo.
The Saratoga Special
Jeremiah Englehart debated whether to run both Bellacose and Mo Plex in 2-year-old stakes on Sunday’s New York Showcase Day program at Saratoga. He eventually opted to not run Bellacose, breezing the daughter of Audible Saturday morning instead of running in the $200,000 Seeking the Ante with eyes on the Grade 1 Spinaway on closing weekend.
There was less debate – although some with the Grade 1 Hopeful on Closing Day still out there – for Mo Plex in the $200,000 Funny Cide Stakes.
R and H Stable’s Mo Plex ran his record to 2-for-2 when he ventured out of New York-bred company and won the Grade 3 Sanford the first Saturday of the meet. Englehart said the 6-furlong Funny Cide was in the cards even before the son of Complexity won the Sanford, reiterated it after his front-running 1-length win and again Friday.
“The plan was to come back in this race and it’s still the plan,” Englehart said. “There’s a good group of horses in there. He’s coming into the race very well. My biggest thing is, last time we asked him from start to finish. Probably for him we drew well again, being on the outside, which he’s been used to.”
Mo Plex drew the extreme outside posts in his 10-length maiden and Sanford, and again in the 10-member Funny Cide field. Irad Ortiz Jr. takes the return call on the 5-2 morning-line favorite.
“I’m going to let Irad do what he wants to do from there,” Englehart said. “Hopefully he runs well, gallops out well and then we start trying to stretch him out for his next start.”
The Seeking The Ante leads off the Showcase Day card at 1:10 p.m. Accelerating, a 4 1/2-length winner for Asmussen July 26 and the 8-5 morning-line pick before Bellacose breezed a half in :50.09 on the Saratoga main track Saturday, tops the Seeking the Ante field. She now takes on Schuylerville fourth Carmen’s Candy Jar, Saratoga maiden winner Trail Of Gold and Parx maiden winner Central To Success.
The Funny Cide goes as the next-to-last of six stakes on the card and the ninth race with post time of 5:42 p.m. Trainer Mike Maker, who won last year’s Funny Cide with The Wine Steward, entered the duo of Smilensaycheese and Under Who’s Radar for Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher. Other major players in the Funny Cide include the Wesley Ward-trained Bostontonian, recent private purchase Mi Bago and Saratoga maiden winner In The Chase.
The first three finishers from last year’s West Point Handicap – City Man, Spirit of St Louis and Jerry the Nipper – are back for this year’s $200,000 renewal. Spirit of St Louis finished 1 1/4 lengths behind City Man last year and hasn’t lose in five starts since. The 1-2 favorite on the morning line in the 1 1/16-mile stakes, Spirit of St Louis brings an 8-for-10 record for trainer Chad Brown. The West Point goes as the fourth race at 2:48 p.m.
Six New York-bred sophomores entered the featured $250,000 Albany Stakes, including the first three finishers in the New York Derby in 4-5 favorite Pandagate, Doc Sullivan and Skyler’s Starship. Pandagate returned from almost four months off to win the New York Derby by three-quarters of a length over Mike Lee winner Doc Sullivan. The Albany goes as the fifth race at 3:21 p.m.
The $200,000 Fleet Indian Stakes for 3-year-old fillies opened up with the connections of Grade 2 My Mane Squeeze opting to skip the 9-furlong stakes in favor of Friday night’s Grade 2 Charles Town Oaks. That leaves a field of eight led by Bouwerie Stakes winner Landed, Grade 2-placed Dolomite and last year’s Seeking The Ante winner and recent New York Oaks winner Caldwell Luvs Gold. The Fleet Indian goes as the eighth race at 5:05 p.m.
The $200,000 Yaddo Handicap closes the stakes portion of the Showcase Day card as the 10th race at 6:16 p.m. Silver Skillet, winner of the off-the-turf Mount Vernon and the Port Washington on the grass in her last two starts, looks to improve to 3-for-3 on the turf at Saratoga as the 8-5 morning-line favorite. The daughter of Liam’s Map meets eight others, including Barry Schwartz’s homebreds Whatlovelookslike and Stonewall Star, Moonage Daydream and Marvelous Maude.
