Fans will have to wait until October 2 to see Majesticperfection
on the racetrack again. Trainer Steve
Asmussen said the Gr. 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt winner will remain inactive until
probably the Gr. 1 Vosburgh. The long-range goal for the uber speedy son of
Harlan's Holiday, of course, is the Gr. 1
Breeders' Cup Sprint this November 6. Some horseplayers, specifically the few
that aren't convinced he won't wilt when he's looked in the eye, are eager for
another chance at beating him.
It was Shaun Bridgmohan's job to hang on and not fall
off. His younger brother, Jermaine Bridgmohan,
was cleared to ride Sunday after being kicked in the chest by Cincinnati Kid
before the third race on Saturday. Obviously,
the trauma of such an event and an unscheduled visit to Albany Medical
Center were not enough to
distract Shaun from the job at hand an iota.
Majesticperfection shot from the gate as if he was shot from
a firearm. By the time Satish Sanan's streaking bullet hit the stretch he was
three lengths clear and flying. There was no doubt among the interested parties
remaining in the spinner's day crowd of 43,505 that he wouldn't be caught. The
time of his six furlongs was 1:08.63.
Secret Gypsy won the other stakes, the Gr. 2 Honorable Miss.
It was her third win at Saratoga,
the seventh in an admirable career. Jamie Theriot was so certain that he'd win
with the 5-year-old mare that he came to Saratoga
from Kentucky
just to ride her. Ronny Werner put the saddle
on and gave the jock a leg up. Before racing began, local hero Funny Cide
paraded the paddock. Leading rider John Velazquez rode four winners before
everything ended.
On the backside, there's a small, but insistent, group that
believes the fuzz has it out for them.
Earlier in the week, Linda Rice, who became the first female to top the Saratoga trainer
standings, was given a ticket for driving her golf cart in traffic. Later in the week, veterinarian Nancy Brennan
was cited when her truck was smashed by an oncoming Mercedes-Benz in the Oklahoma to main track
crossing.
According to Captain Michael Chowske of the Saratoga Springs
Police Department, NYRA operatives blew the trainer in for disobeying their
wishes; his men never went after her for breaking the law. As for Brennan, the
vet drove her rig into the intersection before the Pinkerton said she could,
and she shouldn't have.
