Ken and Sarah Ramsey's undefeated Hemp Hemp Hurray will look to build on two eye-catching performances with an automatic Breeders' Cup berth on the line in the $200,000 Summer Stakes (G2T) Sept. 17 at Woodbine.
The 2-year-old Artie Schiller colt trained by Wesley Ward most recently trounced a short field by 7 1/4 lengths in the Aug. 6 Tyro Stakes at Monmouth Park, but first showed promise with a four-length debut victory at Belmont Park July 9. Both of those efforts were sprints, but like much of the field, Hemp Hemp Hurray will stretch out to a mile for the first time in the Summer, a Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" event for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) at Del Mar in November.
There are two colts entered, however, who have experience and success at longer distances.
West Point Thoroughbreds' Untamed Domain enters the Summer as the only horse in the field with graded stakes experience. The son of Animal Kingdom trained by Graham Motion finished third last time out in the 1 1/16-mile With Anticipation Stakes (G3T) at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 30, which followed a 1 1/2-length maiden win at the same distance July 22 at the Spa.
Roy Lerman's homebred Empirically also brings experience at 1 1/16 miles, but lacks an official victory. The Point of Entry colt trained by his owner appeared to provide a 25-1 stunner in his debut Aug. 26 at Saratoga, where he closed from eighth to edge Paradise Island by a neck, but he was disqualified and placed second for interference.
The local contingent is represented by a trio of impressive winners on the Woodbine grass. Differential, Admiralty Pier, and Count Alexander all broke their maidens on the Woodbine turf by multiple lengths, but those races were sprints.
Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' El Dulce should get credit for the company he has kept early in his career, following his second-place finish in an off-the-turf edition of the Skidmore Stakes Aug. 18 at Saratoga. The Todd Pletcher-trained Twirling Candy colt won his debut on the Saratoga turf by a neck over the filly Ultima D, who came back in her next start to win the Aug. 6 Exacta Systems Juvenile Fillies Stakes at Kentucky Downs.
Woodbine, Sunday, September 17, 2017, Race 6Entries: Summer S. (G2T)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Untamed Domain (KY) Joe Bravo 122 H. Graham Motion 7/2 2 2Differential (ON) Gary Boulanger 122 Mark E. Casse 15/1 3 3Follow My Lead (KY) Emma-Jayne Wilson 122 Nicholas Nosowenko 20/1 4 4Admiralty Pier (KY) Luis Contreras 122 Barbara J. Minshall 10/1 5 5El Dulce (KY) Jose L. Ortiz 122 Todd A. Pletcher 3/1 6 6Hemp Hemp Hurray (ON) John R. Velazquez 122 Wesley A. Ward 2/1 7 7Count Alexander (KY) Slade Callaghan 122 Mary Lightner 6/1 8 8Empirically (FL) Joel Rosario 122 Roy S. Lerman 8/1
