Wise Dan Takes Fourstardave for Second Year

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Wise Dan surges to the front in the Fourstardave Handicap on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. (Photo courtesy of Horsephotos.com)
By Tom Pedulla, America’s Best Racing
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Charles LoPresti recommended that Wise Dan be tested in the Whitney Invitational Handicap last Saturday to allow him to display his ability on dirt against top older horses.
Owner Morton Fink thought it made more sense to keep the reigning Horse of the Year on turf, a surface he relishes, by competing in the $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap.
As is typically the case, the owner wins the debate. And there is no second-guessing him.
“I’m just glad we did what we did. We got the win and I’m not looking back,” LoPresti said after Wise Dan rallied past front-running King Kreesa by 1 ¼ lengths in the Fourstardave on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. His crackling time for the mile was 1:34, three-fifths of a second off the track record, on a surface rated “good.”
Wise Dan stretched his winning streak to eight consecutive races; he owns 11 victories in his last 12 starts. His last defeat occurred June 16, 2012, when Ron the Greek edged him by a head. That loss was marked by a troubled trip in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap on the dirt at Churchill Downs.
“I just want to keep him undefeated,” LoPresti said. “That’s the sigh of relief I have.”
Wise Dan’s previous start, in the Grade 2 Firecracker Handicap at Churchill Downs on June 29, was a wild ride compared with the Fourstardave. In that one, he and jockey John Velazquez were bumped and brushed the hedge in a desperate charge past Lea to the finish line.
The Fourstardave, another Grade 2 contest in which Wise Dan toted 129 pounds, was uneventful in comparison.
“Perfect trip,” Velazquez said as he hurried off to prepare for the next race. “Broke well, was in the right place following the speed in the race. After that, it was pretty easy.”
Wise Dan sat comfortably behind King Kreesa and Skyring through an opening quarter of a mile in :24.24 and an initial half-mile in :47.48. Velazquez tipped him outside approaching the turn for home and they collared the pacesetter entering the stretch.
“I knew at the time I pulled out it was going to be a fight down the lane and I know my horse is a fighter,” Velazquez said. “It was awesome.”
New York-bred King Kreesa, for all of his grit, is no Wise Dan. He was coming off a victory in the Grade 3 Poker Stakes at Belmont Park on July 4.
“With 129 pounds, (Wise Dan) still had the heart to run him down,” said Jeremiah Englehart, the trainer of the runner-up. “It takes a real nice horse, and he is a champion.”
The attendance of 31,894 spectators spoke to Wise Dan’s surging popularity. So did the number of fans who stopped by to see him during the week.
“I can’t tell you the number of people stopping by the barn who came to see Wise Dan,” LoPresti said. “This is what racing is all about. This is what we do it for. To have a horse like that is a neat feeling.”
LoPresti said the 6-year-old son of Wiseman’s Ferry probably will make his next start at Woodbine or at Keeneland on a path expected to lead to his much-anticipated title defense in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita Park in November.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
WISE DAN IN FOURSTARDAVE WINNER'S CIRCLE

Photo courtesy of Horsephotos.com