Prospect Watch: Saratoga, Del Mar close with nod to the future – Horse Racing Nation

It’s a bittersweet moment — the final week of the 2019 summer race meets at Del Mar and Saratoga. Time flies, and it’s hard to believe the action wraps up on Labor Day.

On the bright side, both tracks have scheduled fantastic juvenile maiden races for Saturday, and horsemen have responded by entering some of their most exciting prospects. Let’s go big for our final Prospect Watch of the summer season and review ten promising 2-year-olds to keep an eye on Saturday.

Saratoga Race 1: Maiden Special Weight (1 1/16 miles, turf)

#3 Scanno

There’s plenty of stamina in Scanno’s pedigree — his sire, the champion Bernardini, won the Preakness Stakes, while his dam — the Montjeu mare Sarah Lynx — beat males by four lengths in the 1 ½-mile Canadian International (G1). Conditioned by Tom Albertrani for Don Alberto Stable, Scanno is bred to improve with maturity, but should at least relish the distance of this maiden test.

#4 Structor

Trainer Chad Brown is set to debut an expensive youngster in this two-turn grass heat. Structor wasn’t in high demand as a yearling, selling for a solid but unremarkable $160,000, but after breezing a quarter-mile in :21 1/5 at the OBS March sale of 2-year-olds in training, the stoutly-bred colt went for $850,000. As a son of Belmont Stakes winner Palace Malice out of the More Than Ready mare Miss Always Ready (a maiden winner going a mile), Structor should have no trouble handling the 1 1/16-mile distance of Saturday’s race and figures to receive plenty of wagering support.

Saratoga Race 5: Maiden Special Weight (7 furlongs)

#4 Risk Profile

Chad Brown will saddle this son of Into Mischief for one of his top clients, Klaravich Stables. A $260,000 yearling purchase, Risk Profile has been training steadily at Saratoga since June and appears well-spotted for his debut. Jockey Javier Castellano, winning at a 23% rate this meet, will have the mount.

Saratoga Race 7: Maiden Special Weight (7 furlongs)

#3 Three Technique

Trained by Jeremiah Englehart (who has gone 7-for-27 with juveniles at Saratoga this summer), Three Technique will likely be a clear favorite in this seven-furlong sprint. After all, he fired off a big effort when finishing second in a six-furlong maiden race at Saratoga last month, beaten just 1 ¼ lengths by Basin in one of the strongest juvenile races of the meet. Eclipse Award-winning jockey Jose Ortiz retains the mount on this son of Mr. Speaker.

#5 Wayne O

Favored to win his debut over this same track and distance on August 3, Wayne O pressed the pace before fading to finish eighth in a disappointing effort. But perhaps this $750,000 yearling purchase deserves a second chance for trainer Steve Asmussen, who wins at a 23% rate with second-time starters. You’ll get better odds this time around, and with the benefit of a race under his belt, Wayne O might live up to his big purchase price.

#10 Tapage

A first-time starter trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, this Godolphin homebred boasts a top-class pedigree. A son of three-time leading sire Tapit, Tapage’s dam is Hystericalady, a seven-time graded stakes winner who has already produced the Grade 2 winner Lady Montdore. Both Tapit and Hystericalady were graded stakes-winning route runners and their descendants have likewise thrived going a mile or farther, so expect Tapage to show his best later when stretching out in distance.

Del Mar Race 8: Maiden Special Weight (5 ½ furlongs)

#2 Thunder Code

Although trainer John Shirreffs is 0-for-3 with juvenile first-time starters at Del Mar this meet, all three of his runners cracked the trifecta, and Thunder Code has the pedigree to do the same. Owned by Jerry Moss of Zenyatta fame, Thunder Code is a son of champion Honor Code out of the 2005 Santa Margarita Handicap (G1) winner Tarlow, whose previous foals include the stakes-placed Katie’s Garden and the Grade 1 competitor Honey Ride. Popular jockey Victor Espinoza has the riding assignment.

#3 Backshot

Conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, Backshot sold for $350,000 as a 2-year-old in training at Santa Anita in June, a hefty price considering his sire — Tapiture — stands for a mere $7,500. But Tapiture is the leading first-crop sire of winners in 2019 with 10 so far, and Backshot’s dam Awesomekaylee has already produced the two-time stakes-winning sprinter The Money Monster. So Backshot’s pedigree is more promising than it appears at first glance. In addition, Backshot has been posting seriously fast workouts since July and will have Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith in the saddle. You know he’ll receive plenty of support at the betting windows.

#4 Honor Among Men

Yet another well-bred youngster in this deep and competitive field, Honor Among Men is a son of Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Bayern out of the Curlin mare Sweet Destiny, a half-sister to Donn Handicap (G1) winner Graydar. With this classy pedigree, it’s easy to see why Qatar Racing purchased Honor Among Men for $435,000 as a yearling. Conditioned by Simon Callaghan, who generally fares well with juveniles during the Del Mar summer meet, Honor Among Men brings a decent work tab to his debut, but might benefit from stretching out in distance down the road.

#5 American Theorem

As a half-brother to the juvenile stakes winners Cyclogenisis, Mighty Caroline, and Renee’s Queen, this son of hot young sire American Pharoah is bred to be an early maturing sort. Certainly his sharp workouts at Del Mar suggest he’s ready for a big effort on debut — on Monday, he blazed a half-mile from the starting gate in a bullet :47 1/5, one week after working five furlongs in :59 4/5. He won’t be racing for the highest-profile connections, as George Papaprodromou trains and Tiago Pereira will ride, but judging from his pedigree and workouts, American Theorem could have a live chance to win at a price.