Booked Faces Promising Maiden Winners in Hopeful

The $300,000 Hopeful Stakes (G1) is always one of the more fittingly-named races on the calendar, as connections are hopeful their young 2-year-olds are destined for greatness. Those in this year's edition, held Sept. 6 at Saratoga Race Course, have extra reason to be hopeful, as all but one of the winners since 2020 have returned to win at least one more grade 1 race in their career. Jackpot Farm, Alvin Fults, Jason Itkin, and Michael Smith's Booked towers over the field in terms of experience, having already raced four times with three runs over the Saratoga track. He has progressively stepped up in distance each time and does so again going from 6 1/2 furlongs in the Aug. 1 Saratoga Special Stakes (G2) to 7 furlongs Sunday. Winner of the Sanford Stakes (G3) by 6 lengths in July for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, the son of Yaupon was off poorly in the Saratoga Special, as he broke last in the six horse field before rushing up to press eventual winner Twinkle Town through quick fractions. He was unable to keep with that one down the lane, but was well clear of the rest while finishing second. Twinkle Town, who will miss the Hopeful after not coming out of his final breeze to Kenny McPeek's satisfaction, the trainer told Daily Racing Form, had entered the Saratoga Special off his debut win like several of Booked's competitors Sunday. Chief among them is The Good Life, a son of Life Is Good who won by a comfortable 3 1/2 lengths in his debut July 18 at Saratoga over a field of highly-hyped maidens. "I expected him to run well," trainer Brad Cox said of the debut. "I thought it was a good maiden (field), but he's a nice colt and he's one that's been really solid every week and gave the confidence to start thinking early on with him that this could be a Saratoga horse, and he was." Bred by WinStar Farm, who co-own with CHC and First Go Racing, the bay colt returned to Cox's Churchill Downs base in Kentucky following the win and has continued to progress in his training. "I think he's improved," Cox said. "He stays on his gallop outs awfully well, and he definitely physically developed since he won up here first time. He's a good colt." The same trio of owners also have WinStar homebred Lifesong, another Life Is Good colt, trained by Will Walden entering off his 6-furlong debut win July 26 at Ellis Park. He sat just off the pace that day and grinded out a victory by three-quarters of a length. Also exiting a debut win is Elena Racing's Constant Force, a son of McKinzie trained by Juan Avila who closed from 10 lengths back to win a 6-furlong maiden race by 2 1/2 lengths Aug. 7 at Saratoga. Robert and Lawana Low's homebred High Official is the unique runner cutting back in distance following a July 26 debut win over 1 1/16 miles over Saratoga's turf course for Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher. The colt is cross-entered in the Sept. 5 With Anticipation Stakes (G3T) also at the Spa. After running third on debut at Churchill Downs in June, Double Down Horse Racing's Midnight Still moved to Saratoga and broke his maiden impressively by 6 1/4 lengths July 11 over 5 1/2 furlongs. With those two starts a month apart, trainer Kinnon LaRose decided to give the son of Curlin a little more time ahead of his next run, and said he's taken a step forward coming into this deeper class test. "He's been on a good, steady work pattern and he's been doing well," LaRose said. "Taking a step up to a grade 1 after a maiden race is certainly a difficult task, but we think he's up to it and we're excited for Sunday. "I think he's shown us (his quality) since Day 1, since he came in. He's very forward. He's the first 2-year-old that we ran out of all the 2-year-olds that came in, and he ran a good race first time out and learned a lot, then put it together second start. Being by Curlin, we think 7/8ths shouldn't be a problem for him. He's been working well and we think he fits." Meanwhile, LSU Stables' Flight Command has already tasted stakes company in the Saratoga Special, and just about everything that trainer Rudy Rodriguez imagined could go wrong did. Favored off an eye-popping, pacesetting debut win by 10 lengths, he stumbled out of the gate and never made it to the lead and, racing wide throughout, he packed it in in the stretch and finished a distant last of six. Seeing that trouble, Rodriguez's confidence in the son of Flightline has not wavered as he chooses to draw a line through the effort. The colt has resumed training no worse for wear, and his trainer will add blinkers while Hall of Famer John Velazquez takes over in the saddle. "He really got eliminated coming out of the gate," Rodriguez said. "He stumbled, and then he got up and the five horse knocked him pretty hard. I think (jockey Flavien) Prat wanted to teach him a little bit and everything went not good. "I believe he's good. I was not disappointed with what happened because everything that could happen to him went bad. I like the way he came out, he didn't miss a day." Rounding out the field is Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Legendary Thoroughbreds, Belmar Racing and Breeding, and Pine Racing Stables' Mystrix, who finished second by a head while debuting over 6 1/2 furlongs Aug. 8 at the Spa. The Danny Gargan-trained colt is cross-entered in a maiden special weight race Saturday.