When it rains, it pours at Saratoga Race Course. And horse trainers know this, which is why turf races are often filled with a handful of main-track-only entries. In the case of Ship Cadet though, the Mike Maker trainee had shown a penchant for both surfaces, which is why the connections weren’t overly concerned when the course was a soup of puddles and mud the morning of the Aug. 18 Skidmore Stakes.
“We started off on the grass, went to the dirt, went back to the grass, and went to the dirt. He’s certainly a diversified type of horse,” said co-owner Peter Proscia of Paradise Farms. “We haven’t figured out which one he’s better at. We were contemplating scratching when it came off, so I’m glad we didn’t do that. It worked out really well.”
Following four scratches, including morning-line favorite No Nay Mets , the field was reduced to nine for the $150,000 Skidmore. Already twice stakes-placed, on both the dirt in the Tremont Stakes and on the turf in the July 30 Tyro Stakes at Monmouth Park, Ship Cadet broke as the second betting choice when the gates opened. Sailing to the lead under jockey Manuel Franco, the son of Midshipman floated over the sealed track to an opening quarter-mile in :21.77 and half-mile in :45.47.
Ship Cadet widened his advantage to 3 1/2 lengths at the top of the lane while El Grande O was making a menacing bid from the center of the track and favored Seize the Grey , last throughout, was roaring past horses with every stride.
Weary-legged in the final sixteenth, Ship Cadet dug deep and held off El Grande O by 1 1/4 lengths at the wire. Seize the Grey, rallying relentlessly despite enduring traffic trouble down the stretch, finished third.
“(Mike) Maker never said nothing (to me before the race),” Franco said. “He let me ride the horse however I see it and that’s what I did. I saw when he ran on the dirt he showed speed. I was down there (post 2) and the way the track is, the speed is holding today. So, that was my plan—go forward. And he was there for me the entire way.”
Owned in partnership by Paradise Farms, David Staudacher, Kevin Haynes, and John Huber, Ship Cadet ($6.90) completed the 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:05.30.
Maker said his only concern coming into the Skidmore was the layoff since the colt was entering off a 19-day turnaround. The trainer reported that either the Sept. 10 Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile or Sept. 13 Kentucky Downs Juvenile Sprint were and would remain the goal for Ship Cadet.
Leave feedback about this