Wow, Saturday's sixth race at Saratoga Race Course will be intense. For each entry, an argument might be made. It wasn't easy to choose just one horse to highlight in this article out of the entire field. Full Moon Madness is not just for the young. Multiple Grade 1 champion By the Moon won her first race at Saratoga. Balsa is a brand-new starting from the Brad Cox stable whose maternal grandmother is a multi-graded stakes-winning full-sister to Grade 1 victor and influential sire Wildcat Heir. You have Chad Brown, a $1 million rookie starter.
Summonyourcourage, a Todd Pletcher youngster who came in second only three-quarters of a length behind Mo Strike last Saturday and went on to win the Grade 3 Sanford Stakes, is also a contender.
Again, there are numerous routes one can take in this race. No outcome would be unexpected. The #5 Powerful, who will be making his debut for Steve Asmussen with Tyler Gaffalione in the irons, is the horse I ultimately chose to concentrate on. Do you believe connections would use such a trophy-fit name on a horse who hasn't proven himself worthy, to put it very simply? My guess is no.
But seriously, Powerful struck my eye because of his pedigree, and it's clear that others did too because he cost $525,000 to buy at the Keeneland September yearling auction in 2021.
The fact that he is a son of Nyquist (who, like his own sire, Uncle Mo, was an Eclipse Award winner at 2) and out of a Pulpit mare is what initially caught my attention. Even though Nyquist's first scion won't be born until 2020, we have already noticed what seems to be an affinity with this cross.
Vequist, the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies champion and 2-year-old filly, and Gretzky the Great, the Canadian champion 2-year-old colt and winner of the 2020 Sovereign Award are both by Nyquist and descended from mares by Mineshaft and Bernardini, two sons of Hall of Famer A.P. Indy. Turnerloose, the current top performer on Nyquist, is descended from A.P. Indy's daughter.
This brings us to Pulpit, the son of A.P. Indy.
Antiquity, Powerful's mother, is the daughter of Pulpit. She won her six-furlong start at Del Mar on the synthetic main track by 2 1/2 lengths. Of the six foals bred on this particular Nyquist-Pulpit cross that has begun, there have been four winners, including Lady Lilly, therefore, it is true that the sample size is tiny. Before a disappointing showing in the Grade 1 Spinaway Stakes in 2020, which the aforementioned Vequist won, she won her maiden race at Saratoga.
One of the runners who have yet to claim their first victory, Hedy Lamarr, came in second to Consumer Spending in her inaugural race despite still attempting to get her picture taken. Consumer Spending is now a graded-stakes winner. Even though she was only two years old and the race was on the grass at Saratoga, the information is still worth noting.
When these puzzle pieces are put together with what looks to be affinity—genes Nyquist's interacting favorably with mares by A.P. Indy or his sons—Powerful becomes even more intriguing, assuming the odds are in his favor.
Login To Leave a Comment