As it often does, the G1 Whitney Stakes on August 7 at Saratoga is shaping up to be one of the top races of the year.
It has a reputation for making Champion Older Males and Horses of the Year. In fact, in 2015 the top three finishers in the race were also the three finalists for the Champion Older Male Eclipse Award - Honor Code, Liam’s Map and Tonalist.
Todd Pletcher, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame next week, has two possible Champion Older Males in his barn who could be targeted at the race, with G1 Hollywood Gold Cup winner Country Grammer, back under his supervision after a 2-race sojourn to Bob Baffert’s barn, and 2020 Jockey Club Gold Cup scorer Happy Saver.
Pletcher has raced his horses against each other before, but not usually in big spots.
Happy Saver already has a win at Saratoga to his name at the Whitney Stakes distance of nine furlongs, though in a 3-year old allowance race last year. While that may not seem too special on its face, he ran a career-high Equibase speed figure of 116, which was equaled by Improbable in the Whitney a week later.
Similarly, Country Grammer won the G3 Peter Pan Stakes at Saratoga with Pletcher before running fifth in the Travers Stakes behind Tiz The Law.
Earlier this year, Country Grammer was transferred by owner WinStar Farm to Baffert. In his first race, he was runner-up to Royal Ship in the G2 California Stakes, losing by a neck. But the son of Tonalist turned the tables on his West Coast rival in the Gold Cup at Santa Anita, winning by a head.
In his most recent race, Happy Saver, a son of Pletcher’s 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, lost his undefeated status in the G2 Suburban Handicap, where he finished third, almost three lengths behind winner Max Player, a son of the aforementioned Honor Code.
The Whitney is a definite consideration, according to Pletcher, who said, “We’ll see how he bounces out of it and consider the Whitney and the Jockey Club and play it by ear.” Last year, the Wertheimer Brothers’ colt also won the listed Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park as a prep for the Jockey Club Gold Cup.
The historic value of the Whitney is rarely underestimated. In the last 25 years, it has accounted for two Horses of the Year - Gun Runner (2017) and Invasor (2006) - and ten Champion Older Males, including Improbable (2020), Honor Code, Blame (2010), Lawyer Ron (2007), Saint Liam (2005), Left Bank (2002), Lemon Drop Kid (2000) and Victory Gallop (1999). The race winners have also captured the Breeders’ Cup Classic in the same year on five occasions during that time span, with Gun Runner, Blame, Invasor, Fort Larned (2012) and Awesome Again (1998).
Other horses pointing to the race include:
By My Standards
Goldencents - A Jealous Woman (Muqtarib)
Last year’s Whitney runner-up, By My Standards returns to Saratoga still searching for that elusive G1 win. Last out, he finished a length behind fellow 2021 contender Silver State in the Metropolitan Handicap. He had been on course for the G2 Stephen Foster until his connections called an audible once Charlatan was no longer eligible to run in that. Owned by Allied Racing and Spendthrift Farm, he finished two lengths behind Older Male Champion Improbable in last year’s Whitney running a career-high Equibase speed figure, 113.
Knicks Go
Paynter - Cosmo’s Buddy (Outflanker)
Korea Racing Authority Stud Farm’s horse has been on a rollercoaster this year. He continued his winning streak after capturing the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile last year with a victory in the Pegasus World Cup, becoming the third Breeders’ Cup champion to capture the event, along with 2016 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Arrogate, and 2018 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner City of Light. He then finished a disappointing fourth behind Mishriff in the the Saudi Cup after tangling with the eventual second, the now retired Charlatan, on the front end of the race.
Like By My Standards, Knicks Go was destined for the Stephen Foster only for plans to change when Charlatan was unable to run in the Metropolitan Handicap. Knicks Go again finished fourth. Trainer Brad Cox decided to give him a class break and send him to the G3 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap in Iowa, where he returned to winning form, blowing out the field by more than ten lengths and running a career best and the top Beyer figure of the year, 113.
Maxfield
Street Sense - Velvety (Bernardini)
A lot has been expected of this Godolphin trainee since he won the G1 Breeders Futurity at Keeneland in 2019. As a 4-year old, his fragility issues, which saw him miss the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and need additional time off after an impressive run in the G3 Matt Winn Stakes, seem to have been cured. Before 2021, he had run in only four races. This year, he has matched his career total starts and appears to be in the best form ever, having run his two highest Beyer figures - 105 and 103 - in his last two starts. Now training for Brendan Walsh at Saratoga, he has a chance in the Whitney to finally fulfil his promise against the stiffest competition he has ever faced.
Silver State
Hard Spun - Supreme (Empire Maker)
On a 5-race win streak, Silver State stepped up in class for the first time in the Metropolitan Handicap and proved worthy of trainer Steve Asmussen’s confidence, taking the streak to six. This year, he has also chalked up wins in the G2 Oaklawn Handicap, where he ran a career-high Equibase of 113, and two listed stakes. Silver State, owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing, is the only top older male racing this year who remains undefeated. Asmussen’s only win in the race was in 2017 with Gun Runner.
Swiss Skydiver
Daredevil - Expo Gold (Johannesburg)
Trainer Kenny McPeek had to make a drastic change of plans after trainer Jorge Abreu, who shares a barn with him, had one of his horses contract equine herpesvirus. The result of the positive test was the quarantining for 21 days of all horses in the barn, which included G3 Lexington Stakes winner King Fury, Crazy Beautiful, G1 winner Simply Ravishing and Three-Year Old Filly Champion Swiss Skydiver, who had been pointing to the G3 Shuvee Stakes on July 24. McPeek and owner Peter J Callahan decided the Whitney was the best fit in her schedule. As a result, the 2020 Preakness winner will take on males for the third time in her career, joining the likes of Hall of Famers Gallorette (1948), Lady Secret (1986) and Personal Ensign (1989), who not only entered, but won the race.
Swiss Skydiver’s defeat of eventual Horse of the Year and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Authentic is evidence that she belongs here despite a record of 1-1 this year.
The Whitney Stakes has its first defection from the potential field. Code of Honor, Shug McGaughey’s talented son of Noble Mission, is not be ready for the race according to the trainer. He made an inauspicious beginning in his first start this year, Code of Honor finished fifth in the Pegasus World Cup behind winner Knicks Go. Lanes End’s five-year old was then sent to Niall Brennan Stables in Ocala for a freshening where he has been for the past several months in preparation for a summer and fall campaign. Shug McGaughey was bullish on him hoping to restart his campaign where he had his most impressive victory, a three-length romp in the 2019 Travers Stakes. He had his first work over the Oklahoma Training Track at Saratoga on July 14th. However, recently McGaughey has said they will wait for a later race
If either Pletcher horse misses the race, they will likely go for the Jockey Club Gold Cup on September 4. If Pletcher or McGaughey win the race, it would be their fourth Whitney.
This looks a strong edition with seven G1-winning potential entries and a multiple G1-placed horse.
Todd Sidor, an attorney by trade, has helped produce equine law seminars and has been a member of racing partnerships for a number of years. His more than two decades' passion and respect for the sport of horseracing will always make him, first and foremost, a racing enthusiast with a penchant for racing history.