No Parole Seeks Second Grade 1 in Allen Jerkens

Blowout victories from fast horses can often frighten away the opposition, but that rule doesn't apply to No Parole and a large cast facing him in the $300,000 H. Allen Jerkens Stakes Presented by Runhappy (G1) Aug. 1 at Saratoga Race Course.

Despite a 3 3/4-length win in the Woody Stephens Stakes Presented by Claiborne Farm (G1) June 20 at Belmont Park—in which No Parole led throughout, zipping seven furlongs in 1:21.41—few were left running scared. Three foes immediately behind him in the Woody Stephens—Echo Town, Shoplifted, and Mischevious Alex—compete in the Allen Jerkens, as do seven others, including stakes-winning Eight Rings and Tap It to Win, the fifth-place finisher in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1).

Their presence is due to at least three factors: a rich purse, the prestige of a grade 1 restricted to 3-year-olds, and the lure of Saratoga.

"This looks like a different-type race than the other one," said co-owner Maggi Moss, who has raced No Parole in partnership with Greg Tramontin since March. "More horses, more variety, a bigger field. That's sort of what we expect at Saratoga for the Allen Jerkens, meaning you are going to have a lot of new shooters."

Whether the depth of the field changes the outcome is another story. No Parole, a Louisiana-bred 3-year-old colt by Violence , has racked up a 5-for-6 record by daring the field to catch him. Only in this spring's Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park, when he was rated and raced 1 1/16 miles in the slop, did he yield, finishing far back.

"I think what you're seeing is just a typical development of a talented horse, if you take away the experiment of going two turns," said his trainer, Tom Amoss.

Having seen what happened in the Woody Stephens after he cleared the field, at least some rival jockeys on the 10 other entrants in the Allen Jerkens may try to apply more early pressure with their mounts—if they can. No Parole is a horse who has twice run sub :22 opening quarter-miles, and both times he sustained that speed to whip allowance-level runners.

He registered a bullet half-mile breeze July 24 at Saratoga in :46.42 in his final morning tuneup.

"He's happy, healthy, and like horses do, he's thriving at Saratoga," Moss said. "When I look at it, quite frankly, he has far exceeded any expectations I had—from the first (telephone) call that this was no usual Louisiana-bred, to a lot of big offers, to finding a great partner, to oh my gosh, he won a grade 1."

Luis Saez, who won the Allen Jerkens in 2018 on Promises Fulfilled, has been named to ride No Parole, who carries the top weight of 124 pounds.

Tap It to Win, a Live Oak Plantation homebred who faded to lose by 14 lengths in the 1 1/8-mile Belmont after going to the early lead, may benefit from a cutback in distance to seven furlongs. Two of his three wins have come sprinting, including a maiden race at Saratoga, and prior to the Belmont, the Mark Casse trainee captured a one-turn, 1 1/16-mile dirt race at Belmont over a group that included eventual Peter Pan Stakes (G3) winner Country Grammer, who finished third.

"We're excited to get him back out there in the Jerkens," Casse said. "His one race at Saratoga was extremely good in a sprint. We're hoping that going back there, he shows what he did last year."

The Tapit  ridgling receives a six-pound weight break from No Parole under the race conditions. He carries 118 pounds and Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, a four-time winner of this race, including last year aboard Mind Control.

Along with No Parole, Eight Rings is the other grade 1 winner in the field. Last fall, he won the American Pharoah Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park, an effort that made him one of the favorites for the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1). He underachieved and finished sixth, and followed it with another lackluster fifth-place finish in the Bachelor Stakes April 25 at Oaklawn. 

"I probably shouldn't have brought him back in that last one," said his trainer, Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. "That might have been a trainer error there. But he's doing good, and we're taking a shot."

The son of Empire Maker  owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Fred Hertrich III, John Fielding, Golconda Stables, and Coolmore Stud has recorded a recent series of fast works. The last of those was a five-furlong drill in :59 1/5 at Del Mar July 26.

Baffert, who won this race in 2016 with Drefong and in 1999 with Forestry when the race was called the King's Bishop Stakes, has given the riding assignment to Joel Rosario. The colt carries 122 pounds.

The Allen Jerkens is the 10th race on a 12-race card. Post time is 6:18 p.m. ET, a little more than a half-hour after the featured Whitney Stakes (G1).

Entries: H. Allen Jerkens S. Presented by Runhappy (G1)

Saratoga Race Course, Saturday, August 01, 2020, Race 10

• Grade I
• 7f
• Dirt
• $300,000
• 3 yo
• 6:18 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Hopeful Treasure (KY)	Manuel Franco	118	Michael V. Pino	50/1
2	2Eight Rings (KY)	Joel Rosario	122	Bob Baffert	8/1
3	3Sonneman (KY)	Jose Lezcano	118	Steven M. Asmussen	50/1
4	4Echo Town (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	118	Steven M. Asmussen	9/2
5	5Mischevious Alex (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	120	John C. Servis	8/1
6	6No Parole (LA)	Luis Saez	124	Thomas M. Amoss	9/5
7	7Shoplifted (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	118	Steven M. Asmussen	12/1
8	8Three Technique (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	118	Jeremiah C. Englehart	6/1
9	9Liam's Pride (KY)	Dylan Davis	118	Doug F. O'Neill	20/1
10	10Captain Bombastic (NY)	Javier Castellano	118	Jeremiah C. Englehart	15/1
11	11Tap It to Win (FL)	John R. Velazquez	118	Mark E. Casse	5/1