Trainer Dallas Stewart is now looking ahead to the August 23 Travers S. (G1)
after his colt MACHO AGAIN (Macho Uno) made a powerful stretch run to win
Sunday’s Jim Dandy S. (G2) over the favorite PYRO (Pulpit).
“It’s amazing,” Stewart said about earning his first stakes win at Saratoga
after 11 years of being on his own. “I’ve been knocking at the door for a while.
Now, we’re looking ahead at the Travers. Physically, he looks great. Mentally,
he looks good. He rested well last night.”
Since the spring, Stewart has watched the gray develop to win the Derby Trial
S., finish second to Big Brown (Boundary) in the Preakness S. (G1) and run fifth
in the Belmont S. (G1).
“(The Jim Dandy) was no easy spot for Macho Again,” Stewart said. “This was a
giant step for him. He beat a lot of nice horses in this race.”
When Pyro came up a half-length short to Macho Again in the Jim Dandy, it was
the third second-place finish in a stakes for trainer Steve Asmussen over the
weekend. He sent out Copper State (Jump Start) to a runner-up finish behind
champion Ginger Punch (Awesome Again) in Saturday’s Go for Wand H. (G1), then
earned place honors one race later when Student Council (Kingmambo) chased
Commentator (Distorted Humor) in the Whitney H. (G1).
“That’s three seconds in very nice races this week, which is kind of the
theme of it,” Asmussen said. “I’m disappointed Pyro didn’t win. He ran hard. It
could have unfolded for him a lot differently. He was shuffled back further than
he wanted to be early and it’s so hard to make up ground here. The track was
playing pretty funny right then. Had it rained more, or not rained at all, it
might have been a little more favorable. With that being said, he ran second to
a nice horse and he needs to run back better.”
“The Travers is definitely there, it’s on the calendar,” he added. “It would
be nice if it came around and he was doing good for it.”
Despite disappointing performances in the Jim Dandy, Hall of Fame trainer
Nick Zito said both DA’ TARA (Tiznow) and ANAK NAKAL (Victory Gallop) would
continue to be pointed toward the Travers.
“If they have a good month, we’ll just regroup,” Zito said. “You know me.”
In analyzing Belmont winner Da’ Tara’s last-place finish behind Macho Again,
Zito said he felt the early speed duel with Mint Lane (Maria’s Mon) could have
been avoided.
“(Da’ Tara) doesn’t need to be on the lead, if you look at his races,” Zito
said. “He likes to be there and he likes to mix it up. That was a little
disappointing. What Alan (Garcia) should have done, and I love Alan, but he
should have let (Eibar) Coa go and sit off him, instead of having Coa sitting
off him. It was a terrible situation. My horse can run a distance of ground, he
proved it, but you can’t run (:46 4/5) and run a distance of ground.”
Zito said he expected a better finish from Anak Nakal, who was fifth,
considering the way the race unfolded.
“He should have been right there,” he said. “Maybe he was slipping and
sliding. You know, when you seal the track and then unseal it — and I’m happy
they opened it up — on the other hand, maybe that particular horse, he didn’t
like it.”
Zito will be sending out two other three-year-olds — COOL COAL MAN
(Mineshaft) and TRUTH RULES (Vindication) — against Kentucky Derby and
Preakness winner Big Brown in Sunday’s Haskell Invitational (G1) at Monmouth
Park, and did not rule out a start in the Travers for either.
“It’s 20 days between — let’s see what happens,” he said.
In the race before the Jim Dandy on Sunday, MAMBO IN SEATTLE (Kingmambo) won
the nine-furlong Henry Walton S. for three-year-olds who had never won a graded
race this year. Mambo in Seattle spotted the field as much as eight lengths
early in the race before making a rally and fighting off You and I Forever (A.P.
Indy) to win by a neck.
“We have a lot of optimism about him,” winning trainer Neil Howard said. “We
got a little bit of a late start on him, but he has kept moving forward. We were
glad to get this next step up in him without going into the Jim Dandy. I’ll have
to talk to (owner) Mr. (Will) Farish (about the Travers).”