Shirreffs Says Baeza Will Head East for Jim Dandy

[Wandering Eyes]

SARATOGA SPRINGS–After Baeza's (McKinzie) lackluster third-place finish in the GI Belmont Stakes last month, trainer John Shirreffs wasn't convinced his horse was as bad as he showed at Saratoga Race Course.

Shirreffs is keeping the faith and will ship Baeza back to Saratoga for a date in the $500,000 GII Jim Dandy on July 26.

“It seems like all roads lead to Saratoga,” Shirreffs said by phone from California Wednesday afternoon. “So far, it's the only race that has been under discussion with [owners] Mr. [Lee] Searing and Mr. [Robert] Clay.”

Baeza came to the Belmont with plenty of hype after his third-place finish in the GI Kentucky Derby and a second in the GI Santa Anita Derby. In six career starts, Baeza has just a maiden win, but has shown plenty of potential.

Shirreffs thought that potential would shine through in the Belmont, but he finished 6 1/2 lengths behind Sovereignty (Into Mischief). Journalism (Curlin) was 3 1/2 lengths in front of him.

“I did not expect him to run that way at all,” Shirreffs said. “We were expecting him to run more like he did in the Kentucky Derby and maybe do a little bit better. I really don't know what led to that.”

Since the Belmont, Baeza has worked twice at Santa Anita. His most recent move was a bullet (1/66) four furlongs in :46.40 last Friday.

Shirreffs said if Baeza performs well in the Jim Dandy, he would keep the colt in Saratoga for a return trip in the GI Travers on Aug. 23.

“I think he is as good as any 3-year-old in the country,” Shirreffs said. “I just want hm to prove it.”

One potential snag in the Jim Dandy plan is who will ride Baeza in the Jim Dandy. Flavien Prat was his jockey in the Belmont and the Kentucky Derby.

Shirreffs said that he was told by Prat's agent Brad Pegram that Prat would be in California to ride Nysos (Nyquist) in the GII San Diego Handicap on July 26 if trainer Bob Baffert opts to run the 4-year-old in that spot.

 

Locked Gets His Turn To Shine For Pletcher

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher is hoping that Friday's  $400,000 GII Suburban is a lock.

That's because Locked (Gun Runner), one of the talented trio of older horses living in his barn, is running in the 1 1/4-race for 4-year-olds and up.

Locked schooling in Saratoga | Sarah Andrew

Pletcher has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to older horses. Besides Locked, he can see Mindframe (Constitution) and Fierceness (City of Light) down his shedrow. Mindframe stamped himself as the leader of the division last weekend when he won the GI Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs; Fierceness was last seen finishing second in the GI Met Mile at Saratoga on Belmont Day.

Now, it's Locked's turn.

“It's back to a distance that he is at his best at,” Pletcher said outside his office on the Oklahoma Training Track. “He has had some good wins, but I think the [GI] Santa Anita Handicap was his best effort.”

Locked, owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm, won the 1 1/4-mile Santa Anita Handicap by 8 1/2 lengths under jockey Jose Ortiz, who will be ride on Friday. Locked is the 8-5 morning-line favorite in the field of eight.

In his last start, Locked finished fourth in the GII Alysheba at Churchill Downs on May 2, beaten 6 3/4 lengths by Fierceness. That race was run at 1 1/16 miles. Fierceness set a track record (1:40.66) while Locked was screaming for more distance.

“If you look at it, they went slow fractions [:24.39, :48.31] and then they had a track record,” Pletcher said. “Usually, track records are set with fast paces. [Locked] was trying to close ground into horses that went soft fractions early and then they set a track record. Kind of an impossible scenario.”

While Pletcher awaits Locked, he can sing the praises of Mindframe, owned by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables LLC. He ran his record to three wins in three starts this year at three different distances. The Stephen Foster was run at 1 1/8 miles; the GI Churchill Downs seven furlongs and the GII Gulfstream Park Mile.

For his career, he has five wins in seven starts; last year he was second in the GI Belmont and GI Haskell following a maiden and allowance wins.

Pletcher now must decide what comes next for Mindframe. He already has Fierceness, also owned by Repole Stable, pointed to the prestigious $1-million GI Whitney Stakes at Saratoga Aug. 2.

“We have to keep it in play,” Pletcher said about Mindframe and the Whitney. “You hate to run two horses like that against one another, but you also have to manage each horse's career for what is best for each horse.”

If it is decided that Mindframe won't run in the Whitney, Pletcher said Plan B would be for the colt to compete in the $1-million GI Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga on Aug. 31.

 

Sovereignty Gearing Up For Return In Jim Dandy

It's time for Sovereignty (Into Mischief) to get busy again. The GI Kentucky Derby and GI Belmont Stakes champ is back on the work tab for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. Last Friday, Sovereignty had his first work since the Belmont as Mott allowed his stable star to stretch his legs on the Oklahoma Training Track (four furlongs in :50.85).

Sovereignty on the track in Saratoga | Sarah Andrew

The next goal is the Jim Dandy at 1 1/8 miles on July 26. That would be the only race Mott would target for Sovereignty, whose summer end game goal is the GI Travers on Aug. 23.

Sovereignty, owned by Godolphin, has won three of four starts this year. In the Kentucky Derby and Belmont, he defeated the favored Journalism, who was favored in both races.

Mott, standing outside his office at the Oklahoma Training Track, said there would also be the option of training Sovereignty up to the Travers, but that would only happen if the horse could not make the Jim Dandy.

“Anything can happen,” Mott said. “You never know. He could get a fever, he could get a skin rash, he could grab a quarter. It's day to day. It is always day to day. We are going to put him on a regular schedule and see if we can get him to the Jim Dandy.”

Since the Belmont, Mott sees nothing but a healthy horse in Sovereignty. The colt has stamped himself as the best 3-year-old in the country after winning two legs of the Triple Crown.

“We have had high expectations for him for a long time,” Mott said. “But having hopes and dreams and expectations is different from actually doing it. Those things are all in our minds. Right now, his record is his record.”

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