Trainer Tom Amoss won two races from seven starters during the first week of the Saratoga meet, but the best is likely yet to come.
Amoss ended the Churchill Downs meet by sending out the 2-year-old colt Dazzle d’Oro to a smart-looking three-length victory in a field off 11. He showed good speed from the gate, turned back an upper-stretch challenge from Blackout Time, and drew away from that one, who finished 7 3/4 lengths clear of the third-place finisher.
Dazzle d’Oro covered the six furlongs in 1:08.65 and earned an 84 Beyer Speed Figure.
“I thought that field was a talented group,” Amoss said. “The times at Churchill were very, very fast this year, so I’m not going to brag on him about his time, but I thought he was very professional.”
Amoss is pointing Dazzle d’Oro to the Grade 2, $200,000 Saratoga Special on Aug. 2. On Sunday, Dazzle d’Oro worked a solid half-mile in 47.20 seconds, the fourth-fastest of 155 works at the distance.
“It was designed to be an easy half, but he was full of energy,” Amoss said. “He went around there comfortably, but he went fast.”
Amoss’s two winners last week were Spa Prospector, a 2-year-old daughter of Authentic, who won a maiden 2-year-old filly race in the slop, and Low Key, a 3-year-old filly who won a $100,000 claiming race.
Amoss said he was not likely to point Spa Prospector to the Adirondack for 2-year-old fillies on Aug. 3.
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