Twelve Square Off in Amsterdam Stakes

There's no gray area when it comes to the career of Gold Square's Wendell Fong.

At six furlongs, the 3-year-old son of Flat Out  is 3-for-3 with a stakes win. At every other distance he's tried in his short five-race career, he's winless, losing at seven furlongs and a mile.

In trainer Jeremiah Englehart's mind, there's no reason why his colt will not be successful down the road at races beyond three-quarters of a mile. Yet, for now, it's time for a small step forward as the $200,000 Amsterdam Stakes (G2) at Saratoga Race Course promises to answer questions about how much an additional half-furlong will matter for the winner of the Gold Fever Stakes who will face 11 rivals July 28 in the 6 1/2-furlong test for 3-year-olds.

Wendell Fong comes into the Amsterdam off a loss after he pressed demanding fractions of :21.92 and :44.53 in the seven-furlong Woody Stephens Stakes (G1) June 8 at Belmont Park before dropping back in the stretch and finishing fifth, 2 3/4 lengths behind the victorious Hog Creek Hustle in a race that has taken shape as an important barometer for Sunday's stakes.

Prior to that, Wendell Fong posted a 2 1/2-length victory in the May 12 Gold Fever in which he was clocked in 1:10.06 over a sloppy track at Belmont Park. His prior start was another victory at six furlongs, taking an allowance optional claimer at Laurel Park by three-quarters of a length.

Bred in Kentucky by Nicholas M. Lotz, Wendell Fong recorded a debut victory in a six-furlong maiden race at Laurel, which led to a fourth-place finish in the Miracle Wood Stakes Feb. 16 when he wore blinkers for the first and only time.

"He's been doing real well since the Woody Stephens," Englehart said of the colt, who was bought by owner Al Gold for $160,000 at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale from the Shawhan Place consignment. Paris Racing Circle grabbed him for $47,000 from the same consignor's offerings at the 2016 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. "He came out of it great. He ran a really nice race there. He's been pretty straightforward and consistent, so hopefully he follows up that performance with the same speed figures."

The Amsterdam also features the runner-up in the Woody Stephens, Winchell Thoroughbreds and Stonestreet Stables' Nitrous, a son of Tapit  who rallied from 11th and last to fall short by a neck.

Bred in Kentucky by Winchell Thoroughbreds, Nitrous came into the Woody Stephens off a 1 3/4-length score in Oaklawn Park's Bachelor Stakes.

Another top contender exiting the Woody Stephens is John C. Oxley's Strike Silver, a son of Violence  who set the pace for trainer Mark Casse and led by a half-length at the eighth pole before settling for fourth, 1 1/2 lengths behind the winner.

Also cutting back in distance is Juddmonte Farms' Honest Mischief, who finished sixth in the Woody Stephens as the 2-1 favorite. The homebred Into Mischief  colt broke his maiden by eight lengths at Keeneland in the start before that one.

While that foursome is fresh from tackling stakes company, three of the main contenders were last seen in a June 21 allowance optional claiming race at Churchill Downs won by a second Amsterdam starter for Oxley and Casse.

Oxley's homebred Super Comet captured that 6 1/2-furlong race by a length, bringing his record to 2-for-2. He took his June 2 debut at Churchill Downs by 4 3/4 lengths.

David Bernsen, Susan Moulton, and Magdalena Racing's Lemniscate was second to Super Comet in the allowance race while making his first start since an 11th-place finish in the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) March 23 and will get another crack at the son of Super Saver .

Valene Farms' Classy John, who set the early pace in the June 21 Churchill allowance test and wound up third, is also entered the Amsterdam.

Also coming into the race from Churchill Downs is Bourbon Lane Stable and Six Column Stables' Bourbon Calling, who won a June 29 allowance optional claimer at the Louisville track for trainer Ian Wilkes.

"His last race was impressive, and we decided to take a shot," Wilkes said. "There's been a solid group of 3-year-olds at Churchill Downs."

Also in the field of 12 is Ivan Rodriguez and Albert and Michelle Crawford's Shancelot who is 2-for-2 for trainer Jorge Navarro, including a 6 1/4-length optional claiming win at Monmouth Park June 23.