SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – In 2024, Johannes returned from a lengthy layoff caused by bone bruising to have a championship-caliber campaign, one that included five graded stakes wins and a runner-up finish in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
Laid off by bone bruising yet again earlier this year, Johannes makes his seasonal debut in Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Fourstardave Stakes at Saratoga, hoping to attain the same level of success that led to him being an Eclipse Award finalist in the male turf division.
Trainer Tim Yakteen, who will be starting his first horse at Saratoga, was pointing Johannes to last week’s Eddie Read Stakes at Del Mar. But the the Grade 1 status and $750,000 purse of the Fourstardave, plus the fact the winner receives a fees-paid berth into the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar in November, were the enticements to come East. Johannes has 11 workouts dating back to May 19, eight at five furlongs or longer, so fitness shouldn’t be an issue for his first start in eight months.
“He trains like a horse that’s fit,” Yakteen said.
Johannes, drawn in post 3 under Umberto Rispoli, has won from an up-close stalking position or from midpack. This race appears to have ample speed, especially with My Boy Prince and Deterministic in the field.
“The nice thing about Johannes is he’s a very handy horse. He can be on the pace or come from off the pace,” Yakteen said. “I think the race looks like it’s going to have a legit pace to it. I like our draw. It’s a trip race. The horse that’s going to get a good trip [wins] and I think he has the [tactical speed] to get that and hopefully I have him fit.”
After success sprinting, Think Big made his first start going a mile a winning one when he captured the Grade 3 Kelso here on July 5. Think Big steadied slightly when Donegal Momentum, who was pressing the pace, stumbled going into the far turn. Think Big rallied inside of Intellect in the stretch to beat that horse by one length.
“The most impressive thing that I saw was he had the same turn of foot going a mile that he did sprinting. You don’t see that very often,” trainer Mike Stidham said.
Since he was originally pointing to a race at Kentucky Downs, Stidham had to make a jockey change to Luis Saez as Jose Ortiz, who was aboard Think Big in the Kelso, took a call on My Boy Prince for Mark Casse.
Trainer Chad Brown sends out Intellect and Spirit of St Louis in the Fourstardave. Brown said he felt Intellect was too close to the pace too soon in the Kelso under Flavien Prat.
“It was a heavy speed bias that day and I think we as a team – me and [jockey] Flavien [Prat] – we were concerned about the course and we probably overrode a little bit and Flavien agrees with me,” Brown said. “We’re going to hopefully readjust. If there’s more pace and the course isn’t so speed-favoring we can get back to his preferred style.”
Spirit of St Louis has already won two Grade 1 stakes this year. He may not have cared for the moisture in the turf when finishing sixth, seven lengths behind Deterministic, in the Grade 1 Manhattan, which was shortened to 1 1/8 miles this year.
Deterministic is back for the Fourstardave but he may not be able to make the early lead so easily with My Boy Prince in the field.
“That position is going to be taken,” Casse said. “My Boy Prince will have that position.”
Casse said his other entrant Win for the Money, third in the Kelso, also figures to be close.
Neat, fourth in the Kelso, was the horse most adversely affected when Donegal Momentum stumbled severely going into the turn. Yet Neat rallied to finish fourth, beaten only 2 1/4 lengths. He won the Hall of Fame Stakes here last year.
Lagynos was beaten a neck by Neat in the Hall of Fame Stakes and is coming into this off three narrow defeats in Churchill Downs turf stakes. Trainer Steve Asmussen said he likes getting Lagynos back to a turf course over which he ran so well last year.
Cugino, trained by Shug McGaughey, has won his last two starts, albeit six months apart, and makes his Grade 1 debut in the Fourstardave.
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