Pedigree stars: 2-year-olds clash in the Sanford Stakes

The $175,000 six-furlong
Grade 3 Sanford
Stakes on Saratoga’s opening Saturday is the first of three graded dirt
events for 2-year-olds held during the meet. The others are the Grade 2 Saratoga
Special on Aug. 10 and the Grade 1 Hopeful on Sept. 2.

Only four horses have
swept the series: Regret (1914), Campfire (1916), Dehere (1993) and City Zip
(2000).

Here’s some trivia: Man
O’War suffered his only defeat in the 1919 Sanford to Upset. 

A field of eight colts
and geldings will contest this year’s Sanford Stakes, led by Mentee, a full
brother to last year’s 2-year-old champion Fierceness. First-crop sires Complexity,
Echo Town and King for a Day are represented. The dominance of Uncle Mo’s
bloodlines is on display: three sire sons represent him and he is the damsire
of a fourth.  

The Sanford Stakes is scheduled as race 11 of 12 with a 6:17 p.m. EST post time.

1. Mentee, 6-5, City of
Light – Nonna Bella, by Stay Thirsty

In his debut at Belmont
at the Big A, Mentee dazzled with a new track record of 56.97 seconds for five furlongs on the dirt, eclipsing the 57.0
record set in 1963 by Bazaar. The Todd
Pletcher trainee got his final furlong in a sharp 12.17 seconds and earned an 81 Brisnet speed rating.

Although he opened up by five
lengths, Mentee was a touch green; he noticeably slowed, getting tired, but
also waited on horses and held on to graduate by a nose. Mentee is an athletic colt; he cut the
corner around the far turn and showed the same skill during morning works.  

Mentee had two post-race
breezes in company at Saratoga. He settled comfortably on the rail, then during
the gallop out, was asked to pass his mate and did so willingly, so he doesn’t
give the impression of a need-the-lead type.  

Pedigree: A Repole
Stable homebred, Mentee is a full brother to last year’s 2-year-old Champ,
Fierceness. His grade 1-placed dam is a half to Grade 1 winner and sire
Outwork. Mentee’s second dam, multiple stakes placed Nonna Mia, is a 3/4 sister to graded-stakes winner and sire Cairo Prince.

2. Mr. Squeaky
Wheels, 15-1, Gormley – Follow the Lite, by Lite the Fuse

Mr. Squeaky Wheels was
mostly professional in his Presque Isle Downs debut. He settled three-wide
while pressing the pace, targeted the green leaders and opened up down the
stretch. He drifted a little but was all business, stopping the clock in 51.46 seconds
for 4 1/2 furlongs and earning a 74 speed rating.

Four rivals of Mr.
Squeaky Wheels returned, to hit the board in their next start.

The Keven Rice trainee
had a post-race breeze at Keeneland and another at Ellis Park, and he’ll be
shipping, moving up in class and distance while facing winners, a challenging
feat for a 2-year-old.

Pedigree: By
Malibu Moon’s son Gormley, Mr. Squeaky Wheels is a member of a hardy,
competitive family who are capable over all surfaces. Plus, there are listed
blacktype earners throughout his pedigree. All eight half-siblings are winners,
including stakes winner Miss Scatalicious and stakes-placed Flat Out Gittin It.
Their dam is a multiple stakes-winning sprinter over turf and mud.

3. Baby Dukes, 12-1, Maximus
Mischief – Flatter’s Secret, by Flatter

Baby Dukes took command
shortly after the start of a 4 1/2-furlong maiden event at Parx and drew off by four
lengths. The Butch Reid trainee was professional, switched leads
correctly and kept a straight path down the lane. Baby Dukes stopped the clock
in 54.18 seconds, recording a 74 speed rating, and was never asked for his best.

Pedigree: By fifth-ranked second-crop
sire and Remsen Stakes hero Maximus Mischief (Into Mischief), Baby Dukes is the
second foal out of his dam. Class in his distaff line skips to the third
generation and includes two listed winning milers. 

4. Soontobeking, 20-1, King for a Day – Swayed, by Freud

Soontobeking graduated in
his second start at Belmont at the Big A, completing 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:05.53
with a final half-furlong in 6.60 seconds. His speed rating rose four points from his debut, to a 78. That race produced a
next-out winner at the state-bred level.

The George Weaver trainee
had minor trouble exiting the gate in both starts. However, he has the skill to
close from off the pace, target, and pass other horses. His gait isn’t pretty:
he has high knee action and paddles with his right foreleg but gets the job
done.

Soontobeking posted a
trio of post-race works at Saratoga, including two moderate five-furlong breezes.
We may see him head to the turf in the future: he kept pace with older
stakes winner Please Advise in a four-furlong spin around the turf and Soontobeking
looked more comfortable than that stablemate.

Pedigree: Soontobeking
is the first winner for his first-crop sire King For a Day (Uncle Mo) and his
dam, Swayed. He’s bred on the same Uncle Mo/Freud cross as multiple
stakes-winning sprinter Clipthecouponannie.

Class in Soontobeking’s distaff
line skips to the third generation and includes multiple restricted winning
sprinter Risky Rachel, plus his third dan, the multiple graded winning
sprinter-miler Dancin Renee, whose half-brother, the well-loved fan favorite
Say Florida Sandy, earned six New-York-bred championships including two
New York horse-of-the-year awards.   

5. Three Echoes, 4-1, Echo Town – Bayou Miss, by Dixie Union

Three Echoes showed grit
in his Churchill debut. The Steve Asmussen trainee tailgated the early pace,
slipped past the tiring pacesetter through a keyhole on the rail and
persevered by 3/4 length.

Then Three Echoes faced Studlydoright
in Saratoga’s 5 1/2-furlong Tremont Stakes. Three Echoes chased the early
pacesetter Touchy and was taken wide around the far turn by the same horse. Flavien
Prat guided Three Echoes to the rail, and Joel Rosario on Touchy followed,
keeping Three Echoes pinned to the rail. While this was going on, Studlydoright
galloped by both horses, and Three Echoes settled for third place, 2 1/4 lengths
behind the winner and a half-length behind Touchy.

Three Echoes showed
determination throughout and earned an 85 speed rating. He returned with a trio
of works, including one with Schuylerville Stakes entrant Aoraki, who outworked
him.

Pedigree: By tenth-ranked first-crop sire and Grade 1-winning sprinter Echo Town (Speightstown), Three
Echoes is his immediate family’s seventh foal and first blacktype earner. The
Speightstown/Dixie Union cross has produced Dogwood Stakes (G3) heroine
Caribbean Caper.

Three Echoes has plenty
of blacktype sprinkled through the second generation of his distaff line, including
multiple graded-stakes placed Imperial Counsel, Skidmore Stakes hero Oxymore and his
second dam, stakes winner Jaramar Rain.

6. Studlydoright, 7-2, Nyquist – Peach of a Gal, by Curlin

Studlydoright has done
all right, winning both starts, including the Tremont Stakes. Although he’s
showing early precocity, the John Robb trainee has a route horse’s pedigree,
conformation, gait and running style.

Studlydoright closed from
off the pace and cut the far corner in both starts. He slowed slightly in the
stretch in the Tremont but got back into gear when he spotted dueling rivals in
front. Studlydoright completed 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:04.22 with a 6.39-second final
half-furlong. His Brisnet speed rating jumped seven points to 89, and his 96
late pace figure is the highest in the Sanford Stakes field.

John Robb gave Studlydoright
a pair of post-race five-furlong breezes at Laurel Park. The last was in 1:01.0, fourth-best of 14.

Pedigree: By Uncle
Mo’s son, Kentucky Derby hero Nyquist, Studlydoright is the first competitor
and stakes winner out of the stakes winner and Grade 3-placed turf router Peach
of a Gal. She’s a half to veteran handicap horse Concealed Identity. Peach
of a Gal’s half-sister bore multiple graded winning turf miler, Ruby Nell. Studlydoright’s
second dam Richetta was a three-time stakes winner as a 2-year-old.

7. War Tax, 15-1, Outwork – Transaction Tax, by Gemologist

After graduating in his Belmont At The Big A
debut by two lengths, War Tax shipped to Churchill for the Bashford Manor
Stakes. It didn’t go well, as he was mugged by two rivals at the start and
squeezed back. Then he had a wide trip and tired to eighth place, bested 21 1/4
lengths.

The Carlos Martin trainee
earned an 80 speed rating in his debut. I’m drawing a line through his Bashford
Manor performance, as he was wiped out at the start and the race isn’t
indicative of his best. War Tax returned to the work tab with a slow five-furlong
move in 1:02.65.

Pedigree: By Uncle
Mo’s son Outwork, War Tax is the second foal and winner in his immediate
family. There’s little black type in his distaff line; the one highlight is
Group 3-winning turf miler Archbishop in the third generation.

8. Mo Plex, 6-1, Complexity
– Mo Joy, by Uncle Mo

Mo Plex lived up to his
even-money odds in his 5 1/2-furlong debut at Belmont At The Big A against
state-bred maidens, galloping home a 10-length winner and stopping the clock in
1:05, with a 6.73 half-furlong.

The Jeremiah Englehart
trainee earned an 81 speed rating and returned to the worktab with two moderate four-furlong breezes.

Pedigree: By
second-ranked second-crop sire Complexity (Maclean’s Music), Mo Plex is the first
foal out of an unraced half-sister to the multiple stakes-winning miler Little
Daddy. Mo Plex’s third dam is Florida Oaks (G3) winner and Grade 1-placed
Anklet.

Analysis

Ten of the last twelve
Sanford Stakes heroes won their previous start, and all except one hit the top
three in their last start. That includes the 2015 disqualified winner Magna
Light, and the official winner, Uncle Vinny.

Favorites don’t fare well
in the Sanford; six won, the last in 2021, and two placed.

Pace pressers were most
successful, three closed and only one pacesetter prevailed.

Typical of early juvenile
races, most of the field flashed early speed in their previous race. Two, Studlydoright
and Soontobeking, closed.

All eyes will be on
Fierceness’ little bro Mentee except mine. There’s no doubt that Mentee is
brilliant, but how much did breaking the track record take out of him? Here’s a
Race Lens statistic for you: in the last five years, Todd Pletcher’s sole
stakes winner out of 14 last out 2-year-old maiden winners was 2021 Sanford
hero Wit. One placed and five were third.

Studlydoright caught my
eye, and not just because of his name. I mean, the name’s cool, but so’s the
colt. He’s built like a route horse but showed speed when passing other horses.
I like how he spotted rivals in front of him in the Tremont and increased his
speed to pass.

Three Echoes is a
fighter. He was bothered in the Tremont but kept fighting, and he should be
stronger for the Sanford Stakes.

Mo Plex couldn’t have won
his debut any easier, and Jeremiah Englehart has two stakes winners and two
runners-up from eight last-out 2-year-old maiden winners. Mo Plex may be
hampered by a far outside post.

Selections

6. Studlydoright (7-2)

5. Three Echoes (4-1)

1. Mentee (6-5)

8. Mo Plex (6-1)