Booked Faces Debut Winners in Saratoga Special

Following a victory in the Sanford Stakes (G3) July 4, Indiana-bred Booked seeks another step toward a sweep of Saratoga Race Course's premier juvenile races when he faces five rivals Aug. 1 in the Saratoga Special Stakes (G2). To do so, he will have to beat several promising debut winners. Booked himself was beaten on debut April 28, although he rallied on at Churchill Downs to finish second over 4 1/2 furlongs. The son of Yaupon raced more forwardly in his next two starts at Saratoga, breaking his maiden by 1 3/4 lengths June 7 over 5 1/2 furlongs before impressively scoring a dominant 6-length victory in the 6-furlong Sanford. Racing for Jackpot Farm, Alvin Fults, Jason Itkin, and Michael Smith, Booked again stretches out to 6 1/2 furlongs Saturday as Ricardo Santana Jr. retains the mount. Booked faces one familiar face in RRR Racing's Rasasi, who was fourth in the Sanford for trainer Antonio Sano. Kevin Rice-owned and -trained Uncle Kef makes three entrants with multiple starts under their belt, as he most recently finished fifth in the Victoria Stakes July 12 at Woodbine. Saturday marks his dirt debut. The remaining three exit their debut wins, and are listed as the second through fourth choices on the morning line behind the 7-5 Booked. Both LSU Stables' Flight Command, 9-5 second choice, and Four G Racing's Twinkle Town, 7-2 third choice, led their respective fields at every point of call on debut. Trained by Kenny McPeek, Twinkle Town's 6 1/4-length win came over 6 furlongs on a sloppy track June 27 at Churchill Downs. The Rudy Rodriguez-trained Flight Command, the first graded starter by 2022 Horse of the Year Flightline, debuted over 5 1/2 furlongs on a fast track June 25 at Aqueduct Racetrack, dominating by 10 lengths. READ: Flightline Has First Graded Runner in Flight Command Rodriguez did not feel the colt was 100% cranked for that effort, hoping it would prepare him for the deeper waters of Saratoga. Since the debut win, Rodriguez has seen improvement in Flight Command's training as he's starting to figure things out. "When I breezed him two weeks ago with (jockey Flavien) Prat, he said he gave him a little hard time changing leads," Rodriguez said. "But the other day (during a 5-furlong breeze in 1:00.12 July 24 at Saratoga), he changed like clockwork. I guess he already knows what to expect. I think he's getting smarter." The pace could be quick, which is great news for Gold Square's How's Al Today. The son of Munnings closed from 5 1/2 lengths back in his 5 1/2-furlong debut June 4 at Churchill Downs to win by 1 3/4 lengths. "He was in behind the first flight of horses and took a bunch of dirt and then weaved his way out and ran them down the last eighth of a mile," trainer Riley Mott said. "I thought he was professional, and generally you'd like to think they keep improving with race experience." Mott said the colt has been ready to return for several weeks as he opted to skip the Sanford in favor of the Saratoga Special. Given the adversity the horse overcame in his debut, Mott said it builds confidence in the one-time starter stepping into stakes company. "He's been doing well the whole time since his maiden win and has put together a really consistent group of workouts," Mott said. "He's coming into it well. How he ran the first time going 5 1/2, I'm curious to see him going 6 1/2, I think it might be to his benefit."