A field of seven go to the gate in Friday’s $100,000 Quick Call (G3) at Saratoga. (© Cheryl Quigley | Dreamstime.com
A field of seven will head to the gate in the $100,000 Quick Call (G3) at Saratoga on Friday, a 5 ½ furlong sprint that drew the top three finishers of the Sir Cat at Belmont Park on June 19.
The Sir Cat was won by Jack and Noah in a gate to wire score. The colt returns here as the even money favorite on the morning line for trainer Mark Casse with jockey John Velazquez getting the return call.
Sir Cat runner up Turned Aside will be seeking to turn the tables on the favorite, which was his first start off the layoff. Linda Rice will give Jose Lezcano a leg up.
Trainer Jack Sisterton sends out a pair of runners including longshot Flap Jack (12-1) who makes just his second career start on turf. He beat Alw-2 foes at Thistledown in his last outing. The colt won the Arlington Washington Futurity last year.
“He won the Arlington Futurity impressively last year when he was still sort of an immature colt and still learning,” Sisterson said. “When we brought him back in the Gotham, he made a bold move turning for home and just flattened out. We put him in two turns starts and he showed to us in his running that we should cut him back. He was making middle moves and flattening out at the end. It’s a matter of the distance for him, not the surface.”
Doug O’Neill will send out Fore Left (8-1), who was a well beaten ninth in the Belmont Stakes (G1) in his last start. He cuts back from nine furlongs on the main track to a turf sprint. The colt does have two stakes wins in dirt sprints but was a well beaten 10th in his lone trip on turf.
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Let’s head out to Saratoga for Friday’s featured race of the day:
Saratoga Race 9 The Quick Call Post time 5:46 ET
8 Turned Aside 2-1
3 Flap Jack 12-1
2 Jack and Noah 1-1
4 Old Chestnut 6-1
Turned Aside
The Linda Rice trainee returned off a 6 ½ month layoff with a solid effort in a runner up finish in the Sir Cat at Belmont Park going six furlongs. The colt chased the early pace and could not catch Jack and Noah in the stretch, coming up one length short of the top spot. He earned a career top speed fig in the effort. He made five starts last year, breaking his maiden in his third career start and beating Alw-1 foes on yielding ground before hitting the bench. The colt has come back with a couple of sharp works since his last start for Rice who is off to a good start at the meet, winning with 4 of 12 starters. He looks as if he has a chance of turning the tables here.
Flap Jack
One of two sent out by the Jack Sisterton barn. This colt makes just his second career start on turf. His first was at Arlington Park last summer going a mile where he ran second. He then won the Arlington Washington Futurity over the synthetic surface to break his maiden. He came up short in three route tries on the main track in stakes company and bounced back last out when cutting back to a sprint and dropping in class. He drew clear to win by four lengths last out at Thistledown against Alw-2L foes. The barn is adding blinkers to help him focus. He does not have a real strong turf pedigree, by Oxbow out of a stakes placed Tapit mare that was 1 for 4 on turf in her career. She posted two quick drills including a bullet work on turf here on July 19. Worth a look if he goes off near his 12-1 morning line.
Jack and Noah
This colt is going to be a short price here coming off his gate to wire score in the Sir Cat. It was his third win in six career starts. He won the Atlantic Beach last November at Aqueduct in his third career start. He owns the edge in early and mid pace numbers but there are several foes in here that are capable of keeping him honest early. If he gets hooked early that may set things up nicely for our top pick. Casse is off to a slow start at the meeting at 0 for 6.
