Saratoga Maidens Presented By Keeneland: Attfield Guns Down Schwarzenegger In Saratoga Maiden

[Wandering Eyes]

A sixteenth of a mile into Friday's seventh race at Saratoga, the race looked to be over. The hot first-time starter Schwarzenegger (Not This Time) broke like a rocket and immediately extended his lead down the backstretch. He opened up by six and was still well in front at the eighth-pole. But the first-time starter Attfield (Vekoma) was closing fast on the rail and ran down Schwarzenegger by a neck under Dylan Davis. It was not what the bettors expected as Attfield went off at 23-1 and Schwarzenegger was pounded down to 3-5.

“He was very professional today,” trainer Tom Morley said. “He put his head in a hole that was maybe half a hole. When he got through that hole and Dylan gave him a crack left-handed, it was just a matter of whether he would have enough ground to get there in time. He was fantastic.”

It was an emotional win for Morley and his stable as Attfield was named after Morley's former assistant John Attfield, who died suddenly last year.

“This is not an easy interview to do because he was named after John, our assistant,” Morley said. “He died last year very, very suddenly. Thank you to the owners, Rainbow's End Racing Stable and West Paces, for being kind enough to name a horse for John. For this horse to do what he did in his debut at Saratoga, someone was looking down from above. It was a tremendous shock to all of us when John died last year. He had a huge, huge love for his backstretch family. This was hugely emotional and it's hard to get it together.”

Though Schwarzenegger did not win, it was hardly a bad showing by the Wesley Ward-trained colt who had been touted all over the racetrack. He set a torrid pace in the 5 1/2-furlong grass race, leading through fractions of :21 2/5 and :44 4/5, which could explain why get got a little leg weary inside the sixteenth pole.

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