Quality Road wins the Woodward Stakes
Quality Road put himself back in the picture for the Breeders’ Cup when he won the Grade One Woodward Stakes at Saratoga.
Four weeks previously Quality Road had just lost out to Blame in a tight finish to the Grade One Whitney Handicap, giving the winner 5lbs, and he was the heavy market leader this time against a field in which Convocation - trained by Jimmy Jerkens, who had previously had Quality Road in his barn - was regarded as the best shot at an upset.
Todd Pletcher had said that he would prefer not to have Quality Road making the pace this time and John Velazquez was happy to let Arcodoro take the lead into the first turn, with Mythical Power and Mine That Bird tracking the pair. Down the back stretch Mine That Bird, the 2009 Kentucky Derby winner, had was closer to the pace than he has been in Whitney. It was this desire to have the gelding more involved in the early part of the race that made connections drop Calvin Borel from the saddle in favour of Rajiv Maragh. But Mine That Bird still finished out of the money, so perhaps Borel was not that much to blame in the first place.
Velazquez made his move with about three furlongs to run and Quality Road came clear down the homestretch, under no more than being kept up to his work by his rider, to win by four-and-three-quarter lengths with Mythical Power and Tranquil Manner taking the places.
“I think he’d actually be better if he had someone to follow a little longer than he did today,” Pletcher said. “He made the lead pretty early in the race. I think as an older horse he’s a little smarter and a little wiser and he tends to wait a little bit when he does make the lead. He was well enough clear today that he could kind of coast in.”
Whether Quality Road is worth a place in the Breeders’ Cup Class field, from which he was scratched at the gate last year after refusing to enter the stalls, is open to debate as he is not proven at 10 furlongs, with the pick of his other victories this year coming in the Donn and Metropolitan Handicaps over nine furlongs and a mile respectively. But he may well be given the chance to prove it at Churchill Downs in November.
Godolphin’s America barn has been quiet this year, after the nine Grade One winners in 2009, but they were expected to finally get off the mark in the Forego Stakes. Saeed bin Suroor ran both Girolamo and Vineyard Haven who, with favoured jockey Alan Garcia in the saddle, was seen as the lead horse for the stable.
As it turned out neither was in with a real shout at the end. Checklist set the early fractions and then Big Drama made the move on the home turn, flanked either side by the Godolphin runners. But neither could make a real impression and it was Here Comes Ben, trained by Charles Lopresti, who came between horses under Alex Solis, pictured, to claim Big Drama in the final 100 yards with Vineyard Haven sticking on for third.
The win was a welcome one for Solis who, having moved to the east coast racing scene from California, was taking his first Grade One victory of the year.
However, there was also an upside in the victory of Here Comes Ben for Sheikh Mohammed, the driving force behind Godolphin, because the winner was sired by Darley stallion Street Cry.
Like every other trainer Pletcher is already looking for the next generation of champions and he has more than half the field for the Grade One Spinaway Stakes, the highlight of Sunday’s card.
Pletcher’s barn was hardly coming up short in the juvenile division and then he was handed another one when Valiant Passion was bought by Team Valor International, in a private deal, and sent to him.
The filly’s debut run in a maiden at Saratoga last month for previous trainer Ralph Nicks was impressive enough, as she won by nine-and-a-quarter lengths, but she did not get the smoothest of trips and could be even better than the bare result suggests. As Pletcher noted: “She was obviously loaded up for a long time before she was able to get clear. And once she got clear she ran away impressively. We’re thankful to have the opportunity.”
Julien Leparoux keeps the ride of Valiant Passion with the rest of the Pletcher team being R Heat Lightning (Garrett Gomez), Sky Hosoya (Javier Castellano) and Stopspendingmaria (John Velazquez).
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