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Sacrosanct unbeaten entering $500K NYSSS Great White Way

by Christian Abdo

Lady Sheila Stable, Net Birdie and Schwing Thoroughbreds’ Sacrosanct is 3-for-3 with two stakes wins and seeks his biggest prize to date in Saturday’s $500,000 Great White Way division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series, a seven-furlong sprint for eligible state-sired juveniles, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by dual Eclipse Award-winner Brad Cox, the New York-bred Honest Mischief bay was dominant in his one effort at seven furlongs two starts back in the local state-bred Bertram F. Bongard on September 22. He led narrowly early under Manny Franco before extending to a 6 3/4-length advantage at the stretch call and winning by 12 widening lengths, earning a career-best 85 Beyer Speed Figure in victory.

Sacrosanct’s next effort was a bit tighter when a prominent 1 1/2-length victor over graded stakes-winner and Grade 1-placed Mo Plex in the state-bred Sleepy Hollow going a one-turn mile on October 27 here.

“He is doing well. We’ve been pointing him to this race since he broke his maiden. He had a good run at seven-eighths then one mile,” Cox said. “We are cutting him back from one mile to seven-eighths, so we know he can handle it. If he gets a good set up, he should be tough.”

Cox said the lucrative purse was another reason to return to Saturday’s sprint distance.

“With the cutback here, there are 500,000 reasons to cut him back to seven-eighths,” said Cox, with a laugh. “After that, we will see how he does and go from there. We will give him an opportunity to go long and stretch out, but obviously cut back here.”

Cox said that Sacrosanct [post 2, Manny Franco], who also bested state-breds sprinting six-furlongs in his August 21 debut at Saratoga Race Course, looks like a future candidate for open company.

“You never know until you try. At some point we will give him the opportunity, if everything goes well on Saturday,” Cox said.

Bred in the Empire State by Burleson Farms, Mckenzie Bloodstock and Sequel Thoroughbreds, Sacrosanct, out of the Unbridled’s Song mare Vibrato, was a $260,000 purchase at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. His second dam is dual stakes-winner Cuff Me.

Fortune Farm’s stakes-winning New York homebred Bold Fortune [post 5, Dylan Davis] enters from a 7 3/4-length victory in the state-bred New York Breeders’ Futurity on October 21 at Finger Lakes Racetrack.

Trained by George Weaver, the Central Banker gelding earned a field-best 89 Beyer for the pacesetting score at six furlongs, improving upon an 84 at that distance in a second-out graduation versus fellow state-breds on September 22 here. He was third defeated 6 3/4 lengths by Sacrosanct in his six-furlong August debut at the Spa.

Out of the dual stakes-placed Posse mare Might Be, Bold Fortune is a full-brother to sophomore filly Walk With Me, who was second in last year’s $500,000 NYSSS Fifth Avenue division for trainer David Duggan.

Weaver will also send out multiple stakes-placed Soontobeking [post 10, Javier Castellano], who has been ultra-consistent during his rookie campaign. The King for a Day bay has hit the board in four consecutive state-bred stakes at distances ranging from 5 1/2 furlongs to one mile.

Soontobeking, while not yet able to break through for a stakes win in five attempts, earned a career-best 80 Beyer last out when third in the local six-furlong Notebook on November 16. He has banked $167,878 through a 7-1-2-3 record for owners Our Blue Streaks Stable, SGV Thoroughbreds and Weaver.

Bred in New York by co-owners Our Blue Streaks Stable and SGV Thoroughbreds, Soontobeking, out of the winning Freud mare Swayed, was an $80,000 purchase at the 2024 OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. His third dam is the 14-for-21 New York-bred and graded stakes-winner Dancin Renee.

Blue Devil Racing Stable and Jerold Zaro’s Friend Ofthe Devil [post 1, Christopher Elliott] was a last-out winner sprinting six furlongs on turf versus fellow state-breds to graduate at third asking in his first try on grass.

Trained by Carlos Martin, the Honest Mischief bay previously led in the turn of a seven-furlong main track maiden on September 2 at Saratoga under Irad Ortiz, Jr., but pulled up around the five-sixteenths pole as returning rival Buttah went on to win.

“Something happened that day. It wasn’t a physical thing, it was a mental thing,” said Martin. “Irad said he was in hand, but trying to get out a little bit. I’m not sure if he saw something and it spooked him, so I said, let me start from scratch, I took his blinkers off and started from scratch.”

Martin said that Friend Ofthe Devil deserves another chance on dirt. His second dam Sluice produced a Grade 1-winner on the main track, Mushka.

“The money is so good here for a New York-bred if you can run on the dirt in the winter. It is hard to put him away for four or five months right when he seems to be coming around,” said Martin. “I know everyone is kind of in the same boat, thinking that if Brad Cox goes with his undefeated horse then we are all running for second or third money, which may well be the case, but we’ll see.”

Bred in New York by Laurel Least, Farview Farm and Robert M. Tugel DVM, Friend Ofthe Devil, out of the Bodemeister mare Fabuleux, was a $145,000 purchase at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-bred Yearling Sale.

R. A. Hill Stable, Adelphi Racing Club and trainer Danny Gargan’s Man in Finance [post 7, Luis Rivera, Jr.] looks to rebound off a fourth in the Notebook to filly Shoot It True. There, the Central Banker gelding did not run back to a 7 3/4-length debut win over the same course and distance on September 21.

The debut performance under returning jockey Luis Rivera, Jr. earned a career-best 82 Beyer. Man in Finance traveled one length off the pace in second position early in both career efforts.

Bred in the Empire State by Larry F. Botting, Man in Finance is out of the multiple stakes-placed Eltish mare Nicole’s Miss El, who produced stakes-placed Unique Unions. He was a $62,000 purchase at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-bred Yearling Sale.

Gargan will also saddle Reeves Thoroughbred Racing’s National Identity [post 9, Kendrick Carmouche] off a second-out 3 3/4-length graduation in a seven-furlong state-bred maiden on November 2 here. The Solomini chestnut attended the pace under returning rider Kendrick Carmouche before drawing clear around the turn.

Bred by Hunter Valley Farm, National Identity, out of the Indian Charlie mare Cheyenne Autumn, was a $150,000 purchase at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-bred Yearling Sale. His third dam is Grade 1-winner Missed the Storm.

Rounding out the field are stakes-placed Buttah [post 8, Lane Luzzi] for conditioner Gary Sciacca; maiden-winners Smilensaycheese [post 4, Ruben Silvera] for trainer Mike Maker and Missing Rocks [post 6, Jose Lezcano] for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen; and maiden Twohonestmischief [post 3, Katie Davis] for trainer James Ferraro.

The Great White Way is slated as Race 8 on Saturday’s 10-race card that also features the $500,000 NYSSS Fifth Avenue division in Race 9. First post is 11:40 a.m. Eastern.

America’s Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Aqueduct Racetrack fall meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule/.

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