Saratoga Snacks whets appetite for the future

Trainer Gary Sciacca expressed excitement Sunday morning about what the

future might have in store for Saratoga Snacks, a three-year-old who on Saturday

finished second, beaten 1 1/4 lengths by five-year-old Lunar Victory, in the

Empire Classic.

"He's a rookie, and we got beat by a veteran," Sciacca said. "An old war

horse beat him. It was the first time he's gone a mile and an eighth, and he

gave a hell of a performance. It wasn't like anybody was coming to get him for

second. With that under his belt, he's going to be really, really tough,

wherever we go with him."

Sciacca said Saratoga Snacks emerged from the grueling effort in excellent

shape and that he and owner Bill Parcells will talk before they determine the

sophomore's next objective.

"(Jockey Ramon) Dominguez said he ran super," Sciacca said. "He ran hard. He

loves his job. He'll come back from training now and he'll be easy, no problem.

When the race comes up and we start tightening the screws on him, we have a pony

to bring him back, somebody walking him back. He knows when it's getting to be

time for him to run. He enjoys it."

While Sciacca was proud of Saratoga Snacks, he also expressed disappointment

over the loss and said he thinks the outcome of the race might have been

different if the ridgling hadn't been pressed early by Haldane and Saxophone

Len.

"He did all of the dirty work," Sciacca said. "The horses than ran with him,

(Saxophone Len) was eased up and (Haldane) finished second to last. When the

challenge (from Lunar Victory) came, he was there. If he didn't have to do the

dirty work, it probably would have been a little easier for him. It was amazing,

he dug in so hard when (Lunar Victory) came to him. They just took off from the

rest of the field like they weren't even in the race."

In another wrap-up from Saturday's Showcase Day card, trainer Mike Hushion is

looking forward to continuing Mine Over Matter's career as a sprinter.

When Hushion first got Mine Over Matter late last year, the son of Mineshaft

had spent much of 2011 competing in races 1 1/16 miles or longer. Shortened up

by Hushion, the five-year-old showed a new dimension as a come-from-behind

sprinter, and on Saturday, Mine Over Matter notched his second stakes win of the

year when he rallied from midpack to win the six-furlong Hudson.

"The first couple of races I had him, as a come-from-behind sprinter, he

showed that might be just what he could do," Hushion said of Chester and Mary

Broman's homebred, who earned a career-best 107 BRIS Speed figure for the

victory.

"His only bad race was when the rider decided to send him. Now, I see no

reason to change him."

With that in mind, the trainer said that Mine Over Matter, now 2-1-2 from

seven starts this year, will continue to do what he's been doing when racing

moves to Aqueduct next month.

"He'll run in the New York-bred races," he said. "Hopefully, Saginaw will be

somewhere else."

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