A Saratoga Race Course allowance hurdle attracted 16 entries, and it will be run in two $65,000 divisions, one on Wednesday and the second on Thursday.
The Mrs. Ogden Phipps Stakes, which had been scheduled for Thursday, will not be run because of insufficient entries.
The allowance hurdle, open to horses who have won their maiden victories over fences, attracted competitive fields.
Irv Naylor and Gil Johnston are engaged in a seesaw battle atop this year’s steeplechase owner standings, and they will be represented by contenders in Wednesday’s race.
Naylor, the reigning champion owner, seized the advantage last week when his Gimme Five won a Saratoga optional allowance hurdle for trainer Cyril Murphy.
Another Naylor trainer, Kevin Tobin, will saddle Tubal in Wednesday’s 2 1/16-mile race over National Fences. Carol-Ann Sloan again will be aboard the Shakespeare five-year-old, who won impressively at the Virginia Gold Cup on May 2 and was a good second in a tough Ratings Handicap at the Fair Hill Races three weeks later.
Mrs. Johnston has two hurdlers in the year’s top 10 earners, Syros and Mr. Hot Stuff, and the Chattanooga resident will be represented by Dye Fore in Wednesday’s race. A four-year-old by Giant’s Causeway, Dye Fore collected his maiden hurdle victory at Monmouth Park on June 19. Trained by Jack Fisher, Dye Fore will be ridden by Sean McDermott.
Trainer Arch Kingsley Jr. will put blinkers on Dogwood Stable’s Street Fight, who finished fourth in Saratoga’s first 2015 steeplechase race on July 29. Reigning champion jockey Willie McCarthy has a return call.
Elizabeth Voss will saddle Merriefield Farm’s Alwaary, who won his maiden hurdle victory by 13 lengths at the Radnor Hunt Races on May 16 after finishing second to Tubal at the Virginia Gold Cup two weeks earlier. Jack Doyle will ride the nine-year-old Dynaformer gelding, who was Group 2-placed in England in 2009.
Making his American debut will be Ballybristol Farm’s French-bred Andi’amu, a maiden winner in England last fall. He joined trainer Leslie Young’s stable after two third-place finishes this year, and will be ridden by current leading jockey Paddy Young.
Here is the field for Wednesday’s $65,000 allowance hurdle:
Ginobi. 2009 b. m., Go for Gin–Glittering Marie, by Marine Brass. Owners: William Marlow Jr. and Andre Siemsen. Trainer: Jazz Napravnik. Jockey: Mark Watts. Breeder: Bonita Farm (Md.). 2015 NSA record: 3-1-1-0, $15,600. 2014 record: No starts. Set all the pace in a Queen’s Cup maiden claiming hurdle and won by 2 1/4 lengths before being pulled up in Iroquois Steeplechase’s Margaret Currey Henley Stakes for fillies and mares. Faded late to finish second in a Carolina Cup maiden hurdle for fillies and mares.
Dye Fore. 2011 dk. b. or br. g., Giant’s Causeway—Homebound, by Dixie Union. Owner: Gil Johnston. Trainer: Jack Fisher. Jockey: Sean McDermott. Breeder: Joseph Allen (Ky.) Four-year-old by top flat sire Giant’s Causeway won maiden over fences at Monmouth Park on June 19 after two unplaced finishes. Maiden stakes winner in France.
Alwaary. 2004 b. g., Dynaformer—Tabrir (Ire), by Unfuwain. Owner: Merriefield Farm. Trainer: Elizabeth Voss. Jockey: Jack Doyle. Breeder: Shadwell Farm (Ky.) 2015 record: 3-1-2-0, $29,700. Easily won maiden hurdle at Radnor Hunt Races in Pennsylvania on May 16 and then finished second to Eclipse champion Demonstrative in a Parx flat race for hurdlers on July 12. Scratched from similar race on July 29.
Andi’amu (Fr). 2010 b. g., Walk In The Park—Sainte Parfaite, by Septieme Ciel. Owner: Ballybristol Farm. Trainer: Leslie Young. Jockey: Paddy Young. Breeder: Therese Bouche (Fr). 2015 NSA record: No starts. Making first U.S. start after modestly successful career over hurdles in England. Won maiden victory at Market Rasen last November and had two thirds at second-level tracks this year.
Verne. 2009 gr. or ro. g., Unbridled’s Song—Somethinaboutbetty, by Forestry. Owner: Armata Stables. Trainer: Todd Wyatt. Jockey: Ross Geraghty. Breeder: Sienna Farms (Ky.) 2015 record: 1-0-0-0, $0. 2014 record: No starts. Stopped in Parx flat race for hurdlers on July 12 and finished ninth. Missed the entire 2014 racing season after being pulled up in a Montpelier optional allowance hurdle in November 2013. Won maiden victory at Shawan Downs in Maryland that fall. Scratched from Saratoga allowance hurdle on July 29.
Plated. 2009 b. g., Tiznow—Imaginary Gold, by Mr. Prospector. Owner: Magalen O. Bryant. Trainer: Jimmy Day. Jockey: Bernie Dalton. Breeder: Overbrook Farm (Ky.) 2015 NSA record: 3-0-1-2, $14,100. 2014 record: 2-1-0-1, $20,000. Finished third in tough Fair Hill Ratings Handicap Hurdle on May 23. Won maiden victory last fall at International Gold Cup.
Tubal. 2010 b. g., Shakespeare—Lady Nadine, by Alzao. Owner: Irv Naylor. Trainer: Kevin Tobin. Jockey: Carol-Ann Sloan. 2015 record: 3-1-1-1, $40,500. Claimed for $5,000 out of Delaware Park flat race last year and has proved adept over fences. Won a Virginia Gold Cup maiden hurdle by five on May 2 and then was good second in Fair Hill Ratings Handicap Hurdle on May 23.
Street Fight. 2009 b. g., Street Sense–Reportedly, by Silver Deputy. Owner: Dogwood Stable. Trainer: Arch Kingsley Jr. Jockey: Willie McCarthy. Breeder: Kinghaven Farms (Ont.) 2015 record: 4-0-1-1, $21,500. 2014 record: 1-0-1-0, $9,000. Gets blinkers after fourth in Saratoga allowance hurdle on July 29. Finished fourth to a rising star in Monmouth optional allowance hurdle. Started 2015 with a repeat second-place finish in Aiken Spring’s Budweiser Imperial Cup (Gr. 3), then finished third in the Queen’s Cup MPC ’Chase for novices on April 25. Ran a powerful race to win maiden debut over fences at Aiken Fall in 2013.