NEWS
Sensational Slam tries to remain perfect in With Anticipation
Posted: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 1:10 PM
SENSATIONAL SLAM
Michael Burns photo
by Steve Bailey
Two-time stakes winner Sensational Slam will try to remain perfect in his young career as he takes on nine challengers in the $100,000 With Anticipation Stakes (G3) for two-year-olds on Friday at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Todd Pletcher for restaurateur and television personality Bobby Flay, the chestnut Grand Slam colt made his career debut in the Clarendon Stakes on July 7, winning by a neck, and followed that up with a head victory in the Vandal Stakes on July 31, both on the synthetic Polytrack surface at Woodbine (video).
“He’s not eligible to the next Canadian-bred [stakes] and we worked him on the turf here the other day and it seemed like he liked it,” Pletcher said. “You literally have to ride him every step of the way in sprint races, so I think stretching him out would give him an opportunity to sit against the bridle, and he’ll probably appreciate that.”
Sensational Slam was made the 4-to-1 second choice on the morning line, just behind Richlyn Farms’ Powhatan County, who was installed as the 3-to-1 morning-line favorite for trainer George Weaver.
The bay Fusaichi Pegasus colt most recently started in the Continental Mile Stakes on August 14 at Monmouth Park—where he finished fourth and was placed third via disqualification—following a three-quarter-length victory in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight race on the turf on July 29 at Saratoga.
Also proven at the 1 1/16-mile With Anticipation distance is Stuart Janney III’s Air Support, who won his second start at that trip on August 13. The Smart Strike colt finished fifth in his debut in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight race on July 15 on the main track at Belmont Park.
“He had a brother that was good on the turf,” Racing Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey said. “He worked fine on the dirt and I was hoping he’d run better on it, then I brought him up here, worked him on the turf, and it was like night and day.
“One of the things that I liked about his last race was that he was up pretty close to a pretty hot pace and was still able to get up. If the pace is hot [in the With Anticipation], I’d rather he be back a little bit farther.”
Also entered among the rest of the field are maiden winner Kid Curry, who enters off a 3 3/4-length victory in a seven-furlong maiden claiming race on August 25 on the Saratoga main track; and Silver Medallion, a Chad Brown-trained Badge of Silver colt who scored by a nose in a 1 1/16-mile turf race at Saratoga on August 4.
Two-time winner Madman Diaries and maiden winner Running Tap have been entered on the main track only.
Steve Bailey is deputy news editor of Thoroughbred Times
