Baffert Thankful to Gate Crew; Sisterson Riding High

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said the assistant starter and the entire NYRA gate crew were his Most Valuable Players for settling his horse in the gate, allowing Improbable to score a two-length victory in the Aug. 1 Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course.

After rearing up once and acting fractious a second time, Improbable managed to break sharply from post 2 in the five-horse field, which put him in a better position than even-money favorite Tom's d'Etat, who stumbled leaving the outside post.

"You have to thank the gate crew, the guys they had in there with him. It's like being in the gate with a bull sometimes," Baffert said with a laugh. "He could have easily turned over, but they did a tremendous job, so I give them a big assist there because they did a great job.

"As much as he acts up in the gate, he always breaks really well. He breaks like a shot. After that, Irad got him in a nice rhythm. He followed Mr. Buff on the lead and tightened him along there and turned for home. Improbable had been working so well down here at Del Mar. It was a big effort there."

No plans were announced for the 4-year-old son of City Zip as of Sunday morning.

Sisterson Has Red Letter Weekend; Vexatious to Remain at Saratoga

Trainer Jack Sisterson was also on hand Sunday and said he was still riding high from his first grade 1 win in Saturday's Personal Ensign Stakes (G1), which saw an upset victory by Vexatious, who bested Midnight Bisou in a dramatic stretch duel in the 1 1/8-mile event for older fillies and mares.

Vexatious also earned an automatic entry into the Nov. 7 Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) at Keeneland, where Sisterson is primarily based. 

"My assistant Mark O'Dwyer was taking pictures of her once she was back in her stall. Her head was right at the front of the stall, her ears were pricked, so she knew what she did yesterday," Sisterson said. "Mark and the rest of the team (have) done a fantastic job with her, as well as the rest of the horses. That's what we live for, the opportunity to have horses in races like this, let alone win one. 

"Words can't describe the feeling. It just goes to show how good the people behind me are. I have a great staff and great owners. If it weren't for the staff or the owners, I wouldn't be in this position."

Owned by Calumet Farm, the 6-year-old daughter of Giant's Causeway is out of grade 1 winner Dream of Summer, making her a full sister to grade 1-winning millionaire sire Creative Cause  as well as multiple graded stakes winner Destin . 

Sisterson noted how well his mare handles training at Saratoga and said Vexatious will remain at the Spa, where Sisterson keeps a small string of horses. 

"She'll stay at Saratoga for the time being," Sisterson said. "Keeneland is home for her, but she really blossoms up at Saratoga. We didn't want to be tough on her at the beginning of the year, so we ran her in some allowance races. I didn't want to disappoint her too early in the year to ultimately have her peaking at Saratoga midsummer, and that's worked. She did so well here last year. She put on weight, her coat looked good, and she did great." 

Options for Vexatious' next start include the Juddmonte Spinster Stakes (G1) at Keeneland and the Beldame Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park. 

"She'll tell us when she's ready to run back again. I assume it'll be one or the other," Sisterson said.

For Sisterson, the fun did not stop after the Personal Ensign as fellow Calumet Farm color-bearer Everfast picked up a victory against winners in the following race—a seven-furlong allowance event on the main track.

The son of Take Charge Indy will likely point to the Aug. 29 Forego Stakes Presented by America's Best Racing (G1). 

"He never lost his competitive step, so that was great for him. With him winning the way he did, it allows him to step forward into a bigger race now," Sisterson said of the runner-up of last year's Preakness Stakes (G1). 

"He did it well enough yesterday," Sisterson said. "He had a lot in reserve, and Joel (Rosario) rode him perfectly. Mark told him before the race, 'Ride him like he's a Christophe Clement horse,' and those instructions worked out well. It's great to see him back in the winner's circle."

Sisterson came close to scoring his first two grade 1 wins on the same day when Lexitonian finished second to Collusion Illusion in the Bing Crosby Stakes (G1) at Del Mar.

The son of Speightstown  was initially entered in the July 25 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G1) at the Spa but was scratched at the starting gate, which forced Sisterson to call an audible and send the dual stakes winner to the West Coast. 

"He was training very forwardly and showing us signs he would run a big race," Sisterson said. "It was a big step up in class, but he was doing things in the morning that told us that he was ready."

Echo Town to Aim at Pat Day Mile

L and N Racing's Echo Town rallied to a convincing 3 1/2-length win in Saturday's H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes Presented by Runhappy (G1) at Saratoga.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, the Speighstown colt turned the tables on No Parole after finishing behind the speedy Tom Amoss trainee in the June 2 Woody Stephens Presented by Claiborne Farm (G1) at Belmont.

The victory marked the first graded score for L and N Racing, a partnership that includes lawyer Lee Levinson, his sons Andy and Michael, and family friend and prosecutor Don Nelson.

"We watched it at our local simulcast here in Tulsa," Michael Levinson said. "Everybody was going nuts. It was our first graded stakes win, and to do it in a race like that was great."

A $100,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, Echo Town is a half brother to grade 3 winner J Boys Echo. The colt is one of 21 runners currently active in the L and N Racing Stable.

"We just try to stick within our budget and find the best we can for our money, and we've had a couple that worked out, which is really nice," Levinson said. "It's a bit of a numbers game. If you buy 10, you hope that one or two might be like an Echo Town or a Lookin At Lee or even a Rowdy Yates, who is running next week for us in the Ellis Park Derby. You're not going to win every time. At best, you're going to win 15-20% of the time, so when you win it makes it all the more exciting."

Levinson said if all goes well, Echo Town could make his next start on the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) undercard in the Sept. 5 Pat Day Mile Stakes Presented by LG and E and KU (G2) at Churchill Downs.

"We're still trying to gauge what to do next, but we might look at the Pat Day Mile. Steve said he's doing great this morning, maybe just a little tired but he's in perfect shape," Levinson said. "It looks like he wants to go longer, which is good. To have a Speightstown that can win at this level at seven furlongs and a mile would be pretty impressive. It would give him a nice résumé for his next job in life. We want to do all we can with him and then find a good home for him."