SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Handicappers may feel they are trying to compare apples to oranges when eight maiden winners from eight different tracks converge here Saturday to take on locally stakes-placed Touchy in the $200,000 Saratoga Special. The Grade 2 dash is the final major local prep for the Grade 1 Hopeful on Sept. 2.
The eight maiden winners earned their diplomas at venues from New York to South Florida and various stops in between – Evangeline Downs (Smoken Wicked), Aqueduct (Showcase), Gulfstream Park (Global Legend), Ellis Park (First Resort), Laurel Park (Ace It), Monmouth Park (Noble Force), Presque Isle Downs (Good Directions), and Churchill Downs (Keep It Easy).
But it is Touchy, the only maiden in the lineup, who may ultimately be favored coming off a second-place finish behind the more experienced, stretch-running Studlydoright, when launching his career against winners in the Tremont Stakes here June 6.
Touchy, a son of Nyquist, is a half-brother to Grade 3 winner Royal Approval. And like his older sister, he is owned and bred by Three Chimneys Farm and trained by Wesley Ward. Touchy was backed to 4-5 despite facing more experienced and accomplished rivals at first asking and earned a 77 Beyer Speed Figure after setting the pace to late stretch in the Tremont.
Ward will remove the blinkers he wore that day for the 6 1/2-furlong Saratoga Special.
“The plan was to hopefully take him back off the pace in his first start,” Ward explained. “He’s a big, big horse but naturally fast and he kind of got away from Joel [Rosario] a little bit that day. I thought taking the blinkers off might help him to settle a little bit, especially now that he’s got a race into him.
“I always thought he was an extra special colt, which is why I chose to run him against winners the first time and again on Saturday. With the good spacing between the races and several nice works since that first start, there should be no excuses now.”
Trained by Dale Romans, Keep It Easy was the most impressive of all the maiden winners in the field. He improved dramatically after beating just one horse in his debut when leading gate to wire en route to a four-length maiden win three weeks later at Churchill. The son of Hard Spun received a 79 Beyer for that performance, highest among the nine 2-year-olds in the Saratoga Special.
“I thought he would win that first race, I don’t know why he ran so flat, then he woke up and ran like we expected him to the second time,” Romans said. “I think he’s a special horse and I’m expecting him to move forward off his maiden win.
“He should have no trouble stretching out the added distance, and the outside draw is a good spot to be. He can either stalk the other speed inside him or go to the lead if they decide to take back. That would be fine too.”
Showcase, trained by Todd Pletcher, is sure to garner plenty of support for his modestly graded but visually impressive and very popular 7 1/2-length debut win on July 6 at Aqueduct. Showcase, by Uncle Mo, is the younger brother of four-time stakes-placed Bourbon Bash.
First Resort earned high marks winning at first asking over a muddy strip July 5 at Ellis Park. He withstood early pace pressure before edging away to a 3 1/2-length triumph for trainer Eoin Harty. The Godolphin homebred, a son of Uncle Mo, earned a 72 Beyer for the effort.
First Resort is one of three members of the lineup to have won their maidens over wet tracks, along with Smoken Wicked and Global Legend. They could be the beneficiaries of a weather forecast that is calling for the possibility of heavy rains here Friday and perhaps into Saturday as well.
Global Legend led at every call to win a 4 1/2-furlong maiden special weight restricted to Florida-breds on June 8 at Gulfstream, a race from which both the second- and third-place finishers, Candycrumbs and Joey Muscles, returned to capture their next starts. Candycrumbs did so against winners in the Hickory Tree Stakes at Colonial Downs.
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