Graeme Hall holds off Curule to take the Jim Dandy Stakes, Personal First wins the Amsterdam Stakes, Bourbon Belle and Debby d'Or handle wet tracks to win divisions of the Honorable Miss Handicap, Millie's Quest triumphs in the Lake George Stakes, and a report on the Whitney Handicap

In a driving rainstorm on August 6, Jeanne Vance's Lemon Drop Kid seized control of the 73rd running of the $1,042,000 Whitney Handicap (G1) at the head of the Saratoga Race Course stretch and stamped himself as the best older horse in the country with an authoritative, two-length victory over Cat Thief.

Whitney H. (G1)
Saratoga Race Course, August 6, $1,042,000, 11/8 miles, good, 1:48.30
1-LEMON DROP KID, c. 4, Kingmambo-Charming Lassie, by Seattle Slew.
2-Cat Thief, c. 4, Storm Cat-Train Robbery, by Alydar.
3-Behrens, h. 6, Pleasant Colony-Hot Novel, by Mari's Book.

"To me, he's proved what I thought: that he's the best horse in America," said Scotty Schulhofer, Lemon Drop Kid's 74-year-old Racing Hall of Fame trainer.

Behrens, who clipped heels with Golden Missile soon after the start, finished another 4 1/4 lengths farther back in third, followed by Running Stag, Golden Missile, and David.

Ridden flawlessly by Edgar Prado over a deteriorating track labeled good, Lemon Drop Kid clinched the NTRA Champions on Fox Series, earned $230,000 in bonus money, and rewarded his many backers in a crowd of 44,303 who had sent him off as a narrow 2.05-to-1 favorite. Behrens, ridden by Jerry Bailey, was the 2.20-to-1 second choice, while Golden Missile, seeking his third straight victory, was 2.30-to-1 in the field of six that had accumulated more than $14.2-million in career earnings.

Lemon Drop Kid, who won last year's Belmont Stakes (G1) and Travers Stakes (G1), was also seeking his third consecutive win with blinkers, a change in equipment Schulhofer made after Lemon Drop Kid finished third by two lengths to winner Golden Missile in the Pimlico Special Handicap (G1) on May 13. Equipped with blinkers, Lemon Drop Kid won both the June 11 Brooklyn (G2) and July 4 Suburban (G2) Handicaps.

"After Edgar rode him at Pimlico, and told me Lemon Drop Kid saw the gate out of the corner of his eye when he turned for home and lost his momentum, I figured, well, I better put them on him," Schulhofer said.

Schulhofer could not change the weather, though, which turned nasty an hour before post time when a light drizzle eventually turned into a downpour. Lemon Drop Kid had raced five times on wet tracks and won once, only to be disqualified.

"Naturally, you're worried (about the weather)," Schulhofer said. "He's not at his best in the slop."

Lemon Drop Kid was unaffected by the wet track in the Whitney, a race that was roughly run as Running Stag was forced to check at least twice. Longshot David took the early lead as Jorge Chavez, riding Cat Thief for the first time, moved his colt into second. Golden Missile, ridden by Kent Desormeaux, made an aggressive early move into contention on the first turn, a strategy that backfired.

Prado eased Lemon Drop Kid off the rail on the backstretch, waited while inside of Behrens, found room and angled out three-wide heading into the far turn around Cat Thief. Lemon Drop Kid quickly surged to the front and maintained a clear lead from there.

"He's such a nice horse," said Prado, who replaced Jose Santos as Lemon Drop Kid's rider heading into the Pimlico Special.

In the winner's circle after the race, Schulhofer was struggling to open an umbrella. Cat Thief's trainer, D. Wayne Lukas, said, "Don't worry about that umbrella, Scotty. You can afford to buy a new suit after this one."

Graeme Hall is Dandy

It took all of 24 hours to remind Jerry Bailey and Todd Pletcher, the leading jockey and trainer, respectively, of the Saratoga meet of the vagaries of racing Thoroughbreds for a living.

Jim Dandy S. (G2)
Saratoga Race Course, August 5, $400,000, 11/8 miles, fast, 1:48.95
1-GRAEME HALL, c. 3, Dehere-Win Crafty Lady, by Crafty Prospector.
2-Curule, c. 3, Go for Gin-Reservation, by Cryptoclearance.
3-Unshaded, g. 3, Unbridled-Shade the Flame, by Caucasus.

On August 4, they teamed up with Trippi, who finished a disappointing third as the 1-to-2 favorite in the $110,000 Amsterdam Stakes (G3). The next afternoon, Bailey and Pletcher were smiling in the winner's circle after Eugene and Laura Melnyk's Arkansas Derby (G2) winner Graeme Hall added the 37th running of the $400,000 Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) to his resume with a 1 3/4-length victory over Curule.

"That's this game," said Bailey, Graeme Hall's seventh different rider in just his 11th career start. "When you expect to win, you don't always. And when you don't expect it, sometimes you come through. And that's what makes it good, and that's what makes it tough at times."

Pletcher put it another way: "Chicken today; feathers tomorrow. Enjoy the chicken. It's a pretty up-and-down game. You've got to stay on an even keel." Graeme Hall has done his part with only two poor performances in his career. Unfortunately, they could not have been higher-profile. He was 12th in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) and was eased in this year's Kentucky Derby (G1). "I think the Derby was a throw-out," Pletcher said. "He displaced his palate."

Pletcher gave the son of Dehere time to recover and brought him back in the Long Branch Breeders' Cup Stakes at Monmouth Park on July 16, where he finished second to Thistyranthasclass.

In the Jim Dandy, the traditional prep for the $1-million Travers Stakes (G1) on August 26, Graeme Hall was only one of seven contenders. The favorite at 2.05-to-1 was Unshaded, idle since running third in the Belmont Stakes (G1). Albert the Great, who had won four consecutive races including the Dwyer Stakes (G2) on July 9 in his previous start, since trainer Nick Zito added blinkers, was second-choice at 5-to-2.

Richard Migliore sent Albert the Great four-wide going into the first turn of the 11Ú8-mile race to make the lead, and he met resistance from Brave Quest and Graeme Hall. Bailey backed off with Graeme Hall during quick fractions of :23.04 and :46.11, let Albert the Great put away Brave Quest, and then went after the leader on the far turn. "He would have taken Albert the Great earlier if I had let him," Bailey said.

Graeme Hall, the 5.90-to-1 fourth choice, took over readily as Albert the Great retired to last and as Curule and Unshaded tried to rally. Curule got within 11Ú2 lengths of Graeme Hall but no closer. "He had to work; there's no doubt about it," Bailey said. "His legs were pretty rubbery at the end." Curule, ridden by Mike Smith-who was subbing for John Velazquez after he fractured his collarbone in a spill earlier on the card-held second safe by 21Ú4 lengths over Unshaded, while Postponed was another 5 1/2 lengths back in fourth. All top four finishers could wind up in the Travers. "You take this race, build on it, and go on to the next one," Unshaded's trainer, Carl Nafzger, said. Out of the Crafty Prospector mare Win Crafty Lady, Graeme Hall, who broke his maiden at Saratoga exactly 11 months earlier in his second career start, is 4-4-1 in 11 starts with earnings of $731,518.

Personal First upsets Trippi

Dogwood Stable's Trippi emerged as the top sprinter on the East Coast with five victories in seven starts, including an easy victory against older horses in the Tom Fool Handicap (G2) at Belmont Park on July 2. Taking on three-year-olds in the eighth running of the six-furlong Amsterdam Stakes (G3), he looked every bit the part of a 1-to-2 favorite.

Amsterdam S. (G3)
Saratoga Race Course, August 4, $110,000, 6 furlongs, fast, 1:09.33
1-PERSONAL FIRST, c. 3, Personal Hope-Rekindling, by Affirmed.
2-Disco Rico, c. 3, Citidancer-Round It Off, by Apalachee.
3-Trippi, c. 3, End Sweep-Jealous Appeal, by Valid Appeal.

But Diane Waldron, Leah Killingsworth, and William Shively's Personal First, who had been fifth to Trippi in the Swale Stakes (G3) on March 11 at Gulfstream Park, scored by three lengths under Pat Day to give trainer Dave Paulus a graded stakes victory with his very first Saratoga starter. Sent off at 11-to-1, Personal First was timed in 1:09.33. Disco Rico was second, 2 3/4 lengths in front of Trippi.

Personal First won his last start, an allowance race at Ellis Park, by 7 1/2 lengths, snapping a five-race losing streak. That included a last-place finish in the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G1) when Paulus tried stretching out the Personal Hope colt to get on the Kentucky Derby trail.

"I guess that's everybody's dream-to have a Derby horse," Paulus said. "We had to let him do what he wanted to do."

He may get a chance to do what he wants again, Paulus said, in the seven-furlong, $200,000 King's Bishop Stakes (G1) on Travers day. The race will probably also attract Trippi, who came out of the Amsterdam with a bruised left front foot.

Out of the Affirmed mare Rekindling, Personal First has won 5-of-15 career starts for earnings of $285,932.

Belle of the ball again Bourbon Belle continued her dominant form at Saratoga on August 2, splashing home a 7 1/2-length winner over Cassidy in the second division of the six-furlong Honorable Miss Handicap (G3).

Honorable Miss H. (2nd Div.) (G3)
Saratoga Race Course, August 2, $109,750, 6 furlongs, sloppy, 1:08.93
1-BOURBON BELLE, m. 5, Storm Boot-Timeless Girl, by Whitesburg.
2-Cassidy, m. 5, Jolie's Halo-Hop a Jet, by Riva Ridge.
3-Go to the Ink, f. 4, Crafty Prospector-Pas Who, by Pas Seul.

The five-year-old Storm Boot mare, owned by George and Kay Hofmeister, Susan Bunning, and Donna Salmen, won last year's Honorable Miss and was then beaten just a nose by Furlough in the Ballerina Handicap (G1). Trainer Peter Salmen Jr. said Bourbon Belle will get another crack at the Ballerina on August 20. "Absolutely; that's why I came back here," Salmen said. In this edition of the Honorable Miss, Bourbon Belle was timed in a blazing 1:08.93 over a sloppy track under Willie Martinez. "She's freewheeling in the slop," Martinez said. The victory was her 15th in 37 career starts and boosted her earnings to $1,072,788.

Albert Lobrillo's Debby d'Or won the first division by 1 1/4 lengths over Tropical Punch in 1:10.11. It was the fourth consecutive victory, and tenth in 20 career starts, for the five-year-old Tour d'Or mare, who now sports earnings of $303,938.

Honorable Miss H. (1st Div.) (G3)
Saratoga Race Course, August 2, $110,750, 6 furlongs, muddy, 1:10.11
1-DEBBY D'OR, m. 5, Tour d'Or-Nasema, by Encino.
2-Tropical Punch, f. 4, Two Punch-Abovehawaii, by Great Above.
3-Katz Me If You Can, f. 3, Storm Cat-Cuddles, by Mr. Prospector.

SPA NOTEBOOK-Velazquez was injured on August 5 when his mount in the fifth race, Repute, clipped heels with Stogie Two, ridden by Mike Luzzi, and went down. Two other horses were pulled up as a result of the spill. Stogie Two won the race but was disqualified and placed last ... Five days earlier, Velazquez gave 3 Plus U Stable's Millie's Quest a perfect trip to win the $116,800 Lake George Stakes (G3) by a length over Shopping for Love on a soft Mellon Turf Course. It was the first stakes victory for the three-year-old Quest for Fame (GB) filly, who began her career in France. É Gregory Hawkins's Campanile made it two straight in the $81,925 A. P. Smithwick Memorial Steeple-chase Stakes, winning by 2 3/4 lengths over Golden Rule (GB) on August 3. Blythe Miller rode the winner for trainer Janet Elliot. É Katherine Smith, known as "Saint Katherine" for her work finding homes for unwanted Thoroughbreds in Ocala, Florida, was presented the Dogwood Dominion Award and a cash award of $5,000 on August 2.