James Marvin in the limelight on the opening day of 143rd Saratoga season with Aikenite and Here Comes Ben among its deep cast
Saratoga's opening day creates a lot of buzz because of the $75,000 James Marvin Stakes on 22 July, which draws a serious line-up of graded stakes winners. James Marvin is run at seven furlongs and it is for older male sprinters.
The traditional opening day meet at Saratoga is the $100,000 Schuylerville Stakes for two-year-old fillies, but it is somewhat losing its value over James Marvin Stakes which is yet to get a graded stakes' status, despite the deep cast it draws every year.
As the 40 day Saratoga meet gets underway, the focus will certainly be on the James Marvin Stakes and the 11 horse field that it has reeled in.
The horses participating in the stakes race have combined to win 34 stakes altogether, so the experience is massive. No wonder it draws so much attention.
James Marvin Stakes has elevated its status to a degree that the Grade 1 $250,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt run at 6 furlongs is not a prep race for the Grade 1 $250,000 Forego Handicap main event, but James Marvin is.
Todd Pletcher is among those trainers who have entered their graded stakes' winners in the James Marvin, introducing Aikenite and Caixa Eletronica in the James Marvin Stakes.
Pletcher believes that it is one of the most popular race at the entry box, and organizers should purse it up to give it a graded stakes' race's status.
With all the buzz and hype, it just might get the graded status pretty soon.
The four-year-old Yes it’s True colt, Aikenite, won the Churchill Downs Stakes at Churchill Downs under jockey J Velazquez on 7 May this year.
Failed to capture the Grade 1 Metropolitan H (Met Mile) at Belmont Park where he finished fourth with jockey J Velazquez on 30 May, Pletcher’s goal for Aikenite is to run the Grade 1 Forego, which is why the colt is running the James Marvin Stakes.
The five-year-old Here Comes Ben, who won the Grade 1 Forego last year is among the 11 horse field for James Marvin. The Charles Lopresti trained horse will give another crack at the Forego this year.
Here Comes Ben was slightly off this season as he is coming off a win which broke a three race losing streak with a win in the Kelly’s Landing at Churchill Downs under J Court on 24 June.
In 2010, Here Comes Ben was sent off as a favourite to win the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, but finished 11th of 12. This year his ultimate goal is to enter and run the race and atone for his defeat last year.
It is going to be an amazing dash to see, with older graded stakes sprinters digging it out to claim their prize and prepare for the big one, the Grade 1 Forego Handicap.
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