Casa Creed Again Shortens Up for Troy Stakes

After winning a pair of stakes races on the grass at Belmont Park this spring going seven furlongs and then six furlongs, Casa Creed  will cut back in distance again for the $200,000 Troy Stakes Presented by Horse Racing Ireland (G3T) Aug. 6 at Saratoga Race Course.

A 5-year-old son of Jimmy Creed  , Casa Creed has thrived since trainer Bill Mott reduced his distance assignments. After 13 straight starts of one mile or longer, Casa Creed tried the seven-furlong Elusive Quality Stakes April 24 on the turf at Belmont where he rallied from seventh to post a narrow victory over Front Run the Fed , who also is among the 12 horses entered in Friday's 5 1/2-furlong test.

Entered in the six-furlong Jackpocket Jaipur Stakes (G1T) June 5 on Belmont's inner turf, Casa Creed delivered again. In the Jaipur he rallied from eighth to post a two-length victory over stablemate Chewing Gum , who also is entered Friday. While LRE Racing and JEH Racing Stable's Casa Creed had fared well at longer distances, winning the one-mile National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes (G2T) in 2019 at Saratoga, the Jaipur is his first grade 1 win.

"I usually try to get horses to run a mile if they can, which he does. It's pretty obvious he doesn't get beyond a mile that well," Mott said. "He was a length, a length and a quarter behind some of the best. He's run well and makes that run and has just been touched off a couple of times. Something slightly less than a mile is good for him. Of course, when you're going shorter you need some luck and have to get the right trip."

Mott notes that 5 1/2 furlongs on the Mellon Turf Course at Saratoga plays a little differently than six furlongs at Belmont, where Casa Creed was so impressive. Casa Creed and jockey Junior Alvarado will have the added challenge of starting from the field's outside post.

"We backed him up to six furlongs and that was OK. Five and a half is a bit of a different race on a different type of course," Mott said. "It's a tighter course here so we'll have to see how he negotiates that."

Besides Casa Creed and Chewing Gum, the Jaipur's third-place finisher, Bound for Nowhere , and sixth-place Fast Boat  are entered in the Troy. Both of those runners have registered stakes wins in Kentucky this season at the 5 1/2-furlong distance. Brad Grady's Fast Boat won the Twin Spires Turf Sprint Stakes Presented by Sysco (G2T) April 30 at Churchill Downs, while Wesley Ward's Bound for Nowhere overcame an awkward start to rally to victory in the April 3 Shakertown Stakes (G2T) at Keeneland.

Friday's card also will feature this year's National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes as well as the Alydar Stakes, which is restricted to older horses that have not won a stakes in 2021 other than for state-breds. 

The $120,000 Alydar at 1 1/8 miles has drawn grade 1 winner Math Wizard , who returns for the first time since an off-the-board finish in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1), as well as last year's Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2) winner Art Collector .

Entries: Troy S. presented by Horse Racing Ireland (G3T)

Saratoga Race Course, Friday, August 06, 2021, Race 9

• Grade IIIT
• 5 1/2f
• Turf
• $200,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 5:39 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Fast Boat (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	124	Joe Sharp	-
2	Chewing Gum (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	118	William I. Mott	-
3	Classy John (LA)	John R. Velazquez	122	Dallas Stewart	-
4	Backtohisroots (KY)	Manuel Franco	118	John P. Terranova II	-
5	Front Run the Fed (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	118	Caio Caramori	-
6	Gear Jockey (KY)	Jose Lezcano	120	George R. Arnold, II	-
7	Imprimis (FL)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	124	Joseph F. Orseno	-
8	Carotari (KY)	Javier Castellano	122	Brian A. Lynch	-
9	Chateau (KY)	Dylan Davis	124	Rob Atras	-
10	Lazuli (IRE)	Luis Saez	122	Charles Appleby	-
11	Bound for Nowhere (KY)	Joel Rosario	124	Wesley A. Ward	-
12	Casa Creed (KY)	Junior Alvarado	124	William I. Mott	-

Entries: Alydar S.

Saratoga Race Course, Friday, August 06, 2021, Race 8

• STK
• 1 1/8m
• Dirt
• $120,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 5:05 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Prioritize (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	118	H. James Bond	-
2	Limonite (KY)	Joel Rosario	120	Gustavo Rodriguez	-
3	Core Beliefs (KY)	Javier Castellano	118	Brian A. Lynch	-
4	Art Collector (KY)	Luis Saez	124	William I. Mott	-
5	Math Wizard (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	118	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	-
6	Bourbon War (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	118	Ian R. Wilkes	-
7	Jesus' Team (KY)	Junior Alvarado	118	Jose Francisco D'Angelo	-
8	Night Ops (KY)	Manuel Franco	124	Brad H. Cox	-