Overdriven to miss Hopeful Stakes – Champagne at Saratoga still a possibility
The unbeaten 2-year-old colt Overdriven is out of the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes on 5 September, 2011 at Saratoga. It was confirmed by his owner Mike Repole on 23 August, who also owns Uncle Mo.
However, he did not rule out the Champagne Stakes possibility which is to be held at Belmont Park on 8 October, 2011 which the owner landed last year with the help of his 2010 2-year-old champion Uncle Mo.
The decision reached Overdriven getting scratched of the Hopeful Stakes because the 2-year-old colt’s two work out sessions got cancelled in not more than nine days, because trainer Todd Pletcher was unhappy with the colt’s movement and the way he trained
was very peculiar.
With caution, Overdriven went under some tests but they all proved to be negative, and recently just to be on the safe side the colt went through a nuclear scintigraphy which also proved inconclusive.
So, nobody knows what is wrong with Overdriven which makes all these precautions all the more sense.
Overdriven is unbeaten in two starts and he got a 100 Beyer Speed Figure when he contesting in his first maiden stakes, which he was able to break in his first attempt. Uncle Mo achieved a 102 Beyer Speed Figure, and it is not every day that juveniles reach
that speed marker.
Overdriven started off with the distance of five furlongs in his maiden special weight at Belmont Park on dirt, as he shell shocked his opponents when he gained a massive lead way to early and maintained it till the finish to announce his arrival in fine
style.
The maiden stakes were held on 1 July, 2011 and Overdriven completed the distance in 56.42 seconds.
His next assignment was at Saratoga, where he was pointed to run in the Grade 2 Sanford Stakes over a distance of six furlongs on 24 July, 2011. He was up against the likes of Power World and Jack’s in the Deck, and he defeated them with the winning time
of 1 minute and 10.60 seconds.
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