Mott to saddle favorite in New York Showcase Day feature

More than 70 top New York-breds will gather Saturday for the seven stakes

highlighting Belmont Park's annual New York Showcase Day, celebrating the best

of the Empire State.

The centerpiece of the card, which features 10 races restricted to horses

bred in New York is the 36th running of the $250,000 Empire Classic for

three-year-olds and up. A field of nine, including the three-year-old filly

Haldane, will contest the 1 1/8-mile race, in which five-year-old Lunar Victory

is the 8-5 favorite to pick up his fifth win in six 2012 starts for Hall of Fame

trainer Bill Mott.

"He's coming into the race good," said Mott, who will be saddling his first

Empire Classic starter since Sophisticated Man finished sixth in the 1999

edition. "Our horse seems to do quite well at 1 1/8 miles."

Owned by Juddmonte Farms, Lunar Victory came to Mott late last year from

England, where he had one victory in eight starts for trainer John Gosden. The

son of Speightstown finished second over a sloppy Aqueduct track in his American

debut, then reeled off five straight victories, including the Evan Shipman in

July at Saratoga, before stumbling at the start and finishing second in the

Promenade All overnight stakes on September 23 at Belmont.

The second choice at 9-5 is Saratoga Snacks, who is owned by Bill Parcells'

August Dawn Farm and who carries a four-race win streak into the Empire Classic.

"He's got himself together," said trainer Gary Sciacca of the three-year-old

Tale of the Cat colt. "He's a big, good-looking horse...he's hitting everything

right. He's going to be tough. He's going to bring a good race."

Trainer Dominic Galluscio, who won back-to-back editions of the Empire

Classic in 2006 and 2007 with full brothers Organizer and Dr. V's Magic, returns

with their full sister, Haldane, and Johannesburg Smile, third in last year's

running.

"Johannesburg Smile always tries very hard," said Galluscio of the

five-year-old son of Johannesburg, who carries the colors of Francis Paolangeli.

"We've been giving him time off over the winter and he's staying good and sound.

Hopefully he'll run well this year, and maybe we'll be there next year, too."

Haldane, a daughter of Raffie's Majesty, will be making her stakes debut in

the Empire Classic and enters the race with a record of 2-0-1 from four starts.

"Her full brothers won the race, so she gets the 1 1/8 miles," Galluscio

said. "She has two wins lifetime, but I think she's going to come with a good

race."

Also contesting the Empire Classic will be the David Jacobson-trained entry

of Big Business and Fiddlers Afleet; Sailmate, fourth in the Promenade All; 2011

Albany winner Bigger Is Bettor, and supplementary entry Saxophone Len.

Some of New York's most popular turf horses return in the Mohawk and the

Ticonderoga for fillies and mares, both $175,000 races at 1 1/16 miles on the

turf.

Run as race 7, the Ticonderoga features yet another rematch between multiple

stakes winners Hessonite and Gitchee Goomie, who finished first and second in

last year's edition and who are 4-5 and 5-1 on the morning line.

The pair have met on five occasions this year and own two wins apiece, with

Gitchee Goomie finishing fourth in the John Hettinger and Yaddo, both won by

Hessonite, and Hessonite finishing second behind Gitchee Goomie in the Grade 3

Dr. James Penny Memorial and the Mount Vernon.

Lubash has been a pleasant surprise for trainer Christophe Clement this year,

and Saturday he is the 3-1 favorite to extend his winning streak to three when

he faces eleven others in the Mohawk, the final race of the day.

Second in the Kingston to Compliance Officer in his first start for Clement,

the five-year-old son of Freud next was fourth in the Grade 3 Red Bank at

Monmouth Park, and then posted back-to-back wins in the West Point and the

Ashley T. Cole at Belmont.

"He's getting older, and sometimes they get better when they get older," said

Clement of Lubash, who drew post position 4 with Jose Lezcano aboard. "He's been

very consistent -- he races on soft, he races on firm, and that's nice, because

this time of year anything can happen."

Compliance Officer, 1-2-1 in four 2012 starts, drew post position 8 with Alex

Solis named to ride as he defends his title in the Mohawk.

The former claimer's victory in last year's Mohawk capped a five-race win

streak, but the six-year-old Officer gelding has yet to return to the winner's

circle since taking the Kingston in May. Towards that end, trainer Bruce Brown

also will enter the speedy Strong Impact to ensure an honest pace.

"Often times with a rabbit, you think the horse doesn't have a shot," said

Brown of Strong Impact, who drew post 10 under Javier Castellano. "But I think

if no one goes with (Strong Impact), he could possibly settle down and win the

race."

Also expected to attract support in the Mohawk are Street Game, looking to

move forward from a third-place finish in the Ashley T. Cole, and Grade 3

Saranac winner Unbridled Command.

Saginaw, winner of eight of his last nine starts, will cut back in distance

for the $150,000 Hudson at six furlongs.

Owned by Drawing Away Stable and trainer David Jacobson, Saginaw held off

Empire Classic entrant Lunar Victory by a half-length to win the one-mile

Promenade All. The six-year-old was considered for the Empire Classic but

instead will make his first start going six furlongs since a runner-up effort in

a maiden special weight in 2009.

"It's a whole new cast of characters he's running against this time,"

Jacobson said. "He's been running against the same group of horses in his last

couple of races, so we're going to have to look at the form and (jockey) David

(Cohen) and I will come up with a plan. We're down on the inside and not happy

about that; it kind of limits our options. We're going to have to get him off

there. The longer he goes, the more hold (the jockey) has to take. He's a really

strong horse to ride. I have no problem with him going three-quarters, even if

we have to sit and come from behind. He's coming into the race as good as he's

ever come into a race before."

Shrewd One is 3-3-0 in six starts this year and has made three straight

starts against open company at seven furlongs. After finishing second in an

entry-level allowance on June 23 at Belmont, the five-year-old cleared that

condition by two lengths on July 21 and captured a second-level allowance by a

head on August 18 at Saratoga.

"The horses he's going to face in the Hudson are tougher than the horses he's

been facing," trainer Phil Serpe said. "He was two-for-two at Saratoga, and

that's tough for any horse to do. His last race there was a grueling stretch

run, and he showed his worth for sure. He never lets us down, even if he doesn't

win, so we're confident he'll run well."

Fillies and mares will travel seven furlongs in the $150,000 Iroquois, which

will serve as a rematch between Beautiful But Blue and Risky Rachel, the

respective top two finishers in the Fleet Indian on August 1 at Saratoga.

The Fleet Indian was Beautiful Blue Blue's first start against older fillies

and mares, and after the race she has finished third in two races against

sophomores: the Grade 1 Test on August 25 at the Spa and the Charles Town Oaks

on September 22. Her last four starts, including her win in the Bouwerie in June

at Belmont, have come at seven furlongs.

"You've got to run against the older ones sometime," said trainer Tom Bush,

who trains the Chester and Mary Broman homebred. "Going long, she's probably got

a little bit more speed, but going short, she's a good stalker. That's probably

the kind of trip we'll have again in this race. I hope so."

Risky Rachel, who won the 2011 Iroquois for trainer James Bond, will

represent first-year trainer and former Bond assistant Juan "Manny" Coronel in

this year's edition. After finishing second to Beautiful But Blue, the Sanford

Bacon color-bearer won Saratoga's Union Avenue by 3 1/2 lengths on August 20.

"We gave her a little break after her race in Saratoga," Coronel said.

"Perfect. She had three very tough races, one at Belmont and one at Saratoga. I

couldn't be more happy pointing for (the Iroquois). She's coming in a little

fresh, but she loves to be fresh. She needs a little space (between races), and

everything is really, really good. Seven furlongs, I don't mind. She's going to

give a huge race."

Weekend Hideaway is the 5-2 favorite for the $125,000 Bertram F. Bongard for

two-year-olds off his 6 1/4-length win against New York-breds in the David

overnight stakes at Saratoga on August 20 and third in the Grade 2 Futurity on

September 30 at Belmont Park. The Bongard will be his first start at seven

furlongs.

"I thought he ran really well in the Futurity," Serpe said. "It was a lot for

him to do, but I thought he ran a very productive race. For a two-year-old, he's

a real pro. We felt that if he won the Futurity, we were thinking of running in

the Breeders' Cup, but he did not, so this was the other part of the plan. We're

more than happy to be here. He's out of a Wiseman's Ferry mare, so I don't think

(seven furlongs) will be an issue. When he ran in a stakes in Saratoga, he rated

off another horse without much of a problem. He doesn't act like he's

ridiculously headstrong, so we're pretty confident in him."

Unlike the baseball team, Meet the Mets has a chance to post a big win this

October as he is 8-1 for the Bongard. In two career starts, he debuted a

half-length winner on August 22 at Saratoga and missed by 1 1/4 lengths when

second in an allowance on September 27 at Belmont.

"He was a little rank the first part (of the allowance race) and made the

lead a little sooner than he needed, and then didn't really know what to do when

he made the lead," said Bruce Brown, who trains Meet the Mets for Gold Square

LLC. "But he is developing nicely with racing and training, so I expect big

things from him."

Matchmadeinheaven aims for her third stakes win in the $125,000 Joseph A.

Gimma for two-year-old fillies. The Gimma will be her first start away from

Finger Lakes as she won the Lady Finger by a neck on September 3 first time out,

then added a 1 1/4-length score in the Rachel Alexandra on September 29.

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