Copper Bullet Seeks Better Lessons in Saratoga Special

At this point in their development, every on-track outing for a 2-year-old is a chance for them to learn a lesson that will ultimately impact the strength of their foundation. With that in mind, the connections of Copper Bullet are trusting what he gleaned from his first try against graded stakes company is something they have managed to undo in the last several weeks.

"I'm hoping he forgets all about that," David Fiske, manager of co-owner Winchell Thoroughbreds, said of the colt's runner-up finish in the June 30 Bashford Manor Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs. "I'm hoping that is not something that is still in the back of his mind, where he thinks that's the way we want him to perform."

Save for a respectable end result, Copper Bullet's Bashford Manor run was a hair-pulling one for his people to watch, as the son of More Than Ready  rushed up on inside to engage the pacesetter, dropped back approaching the turn, checked up briefly, and then re-rallied to finish 1 1/2 lengths behind Ten City. The gentle term Fiske used for that effort was "frustrating," and it's one his team is hoping the Steve Asmussen trainee can put behind him when Copper Bullet starts in the Saratoga Special Stakes (G2) at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 13.

The discombobulated nature of Copper Bullet's trip in the six-furlong Bashford Manor was aggravating on a couple fronts for Asmussen and owners Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton—mostly because this is a most impressionable time in the colt's career. After he ran second in his debut at Keeneland April 26, Copper Bullet broke his maiden in dazzling fashion when he won by eight lengths, going gate-to-wire over five furlongs at Churchill Downs May 25. 

When the Bashford Manor went awry, Asmussen took his time bringing Copper Bullet back to the workout tab. He sent him out for an easy half-mile breeze in :52 July 24. In his most recent move, the Hall of Fame trainer let his charge get serious in the form of a bullet five-furlong drill in 1:01.45 at Saratoga Aug. 4.

"I think that's part of the reason why he didn't work as quickly as a lot of Steve's horses do after a race. He went up to Saratoga and just kind of loped around and kind of took a few days off, and tried to get him to forget that last race," Fiske said. "(For his last work), the video I saw, he looked pretty awesome. He didn't look like he was too stressed to accomplish that. We just want to get a foundation going, and hopefully he can move forward and his future is around two turns."

Copper Bullet will have a new jockey for the Saratoga Special in Irad Ortiz Jr. He was ridden by Florent Geroux in his first three starts.

Mark Casse trainee Mo Diddley is another who comes into the 6 1/2-furlong Saratoga Special off an adventurous trip at Churchill. In his debut May 18, the son of Uncle Mo  broke from the outside post in the seven-horse field and basically made a right-hand turn out of the gate before he got himself back involved, en route to a head victory.

"He went out of the picture, and then all of a sudden he reappeared and he still won," Casse said. "We were impressed by that, but more importantly (we) have been impressed with how he's trained since. We think he's a good horse."

Albaugh Family Stable's Hollywood Star won his first start for trainer Dale Romans when he captured a six-furlong maiden special weight June 28 at Churchill. The son of Malibu Moon  is out of grade 1 winner Hollywood Story and was a $550,000 purchase at the 2016 Keeneland September yearling sale.

"He's doing good. He's a real racehorse," Romans said. "Horses with that kind of pedigree don't lie to you. He came back and has trained better after the race—and all that put together, I don't think he'll fool me. He trained like a good one from day one. When he shipped up, they said he was the best one."

Entries: Saratoga Special S. Presented by Coors Light (G2)

Saratoga Race Course, Sunday, August 13, 2017, Race 8

• Grade II
• 6 1/2f
• Dirt
• $200,000
• 2 yo
• 5:02 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Bal Harbour (KY)	John R. Velazquez	118	Todd A. Pletcher	12/1
2	2Mo Diddley (NY)	Javier Castellano	118	Mark E. Casse	8/1
3	3Hollywood Star (KY)	Robby Albarado	118	Dale L. Romans	4/1
4	4Barry Lee (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	118	Horacio DePaz	4/1
5	5Crea's Bklyn Law (KY)	Manuel Franco	118	Michael Dilger	20/1
6	6Tempestad (KY)	Joel Rosario	118	Todd A. Pletcher	15/1
7	7Vino (FL)	Paco Lopez	118	Kelly J. Breen	12/1
8	8Diamond Oops (KY)	Luis Saez	122	Patrick L. Biancone	7/2
9	9Copper Bullet (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	118	Steven M. Asmussen	5/2