Moon Colony Cuts Back to a Mile in Hall of Fame Stakes

John Oxley's Moon Colony will cut back in distance for the $200,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes (G2T), run at a mile on the inner turf Aug. 2 at Saratoga Race Course. The Penn Mile Stakes (G2T) winner will face seven other 3-year-olds as he looks to rebound from an off-the-board finish in the 1 1/4-mile Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T).

Moon Colony's first two starts came at Saratoga last August, with his second outing on the turf. He is 2-for-2 at the Hall of Fame's distance and has won on soft, yielding, and firm going. The Uncle Mo  colt's breakout performance came with a rallying effort in the June 1 Penn Mile when he posted a 1 1/4-length victory over Casa Creed at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course.

Trainer Mark Casse stretched Moon Colony an extra quarter of a mile for the July 6 Belmont Derby, where the bay found himself on the lead early, pressed by Blenheim Palace, and weakened late to ninth.

"I think the cutback to a mile will be good for him," Casse said. "Unfortunately, in his last start, he got hooked up with the Aidan O'Brien horse that was next to him yelling and screaming. That hurt his chances last time, but he's already well proven at a mile, so I think that the Hall of Fame suits him quite nicely."

Julien Leparoux will ride Moon Colony, his sixth trip on the colt, and they'll break from the outside as the 124-pound highweight.

Also coming back from the Belmont Derby is Calumet Farm's English Bee, who finished one spot behind Moon Colony. The English Channel  colt recorded his first stakes win May 18 when he swung three wide and drove to a half-length victory in the one-mile James W. Murphy Stakes on Pimlico Race Course's turf.

"I'm pretty happy with him," trainer Graham Motion said. "I think perhaps he just didn't really want to go that far in the Belmont Derby. I think shortening him back up to a mile will help him."

Live Oak Plantation homebred Global Access will race at Saratoga for the first time. He was third, beaten a half-length, at this distance in the June 29 Charlie Barley Stakes on the Woodbine turf, which followed a victory in the Marine Stakes (G3) on Woodbine's Tapeta May 25. Michael Trombetta has trained the Giant's Causeway colt to five straight top-three stakes finishes.

Both English Bee and Global Access will carry 122 pounds.

Casa Creed and Award Winner enter the Hall of Fame off close stakes finishes. The former won the Kitten's Joy Stakes in his season debut and placed in three other stakes this year, most recently finishing third by a half-length in the Manila Stakes. Award Winner was the even-money favorite in his stakes debut, the July 6 Kent Stakes (G3T), and led almost every step before he was beaten a neck at the wire.

Sombeyay, winner of the 2018 Sanford Stakes (G3) on Saratoga's main track, will make his second start on turf, and Limonite, third in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) last fall, is scheduled for his grass debut.

Swamp Rat, a head behind Global Access in Tampa Bay Downs' DRF Bets Sophomore Turf Stakes, completes the field.

Entries: National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame S. (G2T)

Saratoga Race Course, Friday, August 02, 2019, Race 7

• Grade II
• 1m
• Inner turf
• $200,000
• 3 yo
• 4:39 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Sombeyay (KY)	Luis Saez	118	Todd A. Pletcher	15/1
2	2Swamp Rat (FL)	Dylan Davis	118	Philip A. Gleaves	10/1
3	3English Bee (KY)	Javier Castellano	122	H. Graham Motion	9/2
4	4Award Winner (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	118	Brian A. Lynch	7/2
5	5Casa Creed (KY)	Junior Alvarado	118	William I. Mott	3/1
6	6Limonite (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	118	Steven M. Asmussen	8/1
7	7Global Access (FL)	John R. Velazquez	122	Michael J. Trombetta	6/1
8	8Moon Colony (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	124	Mark E. Casse	7/2