Saratoga Springs, NY - Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense will be making his first start in more than two months on Sunday in the $500,000 Jim
Dandy Stakes at Saratoga Race Track. The 1 1/8 mile event for three-year-olds is a major prep race for the Travers Stakes on August 25.
Graffiti wall reports that Street Sense will take on five rivals as he returns to the races after resting since a second place finish to Curlin in the Preakness Stakes. The colt has been training under the watchful eyes of trainer Carl Nafzger and his staff.
Owned by James Tafel, Street Sense has four starts this year with two wins and two second place results. Along with his win in the Run for the Roses, Street Sense captured the Tampa Bay Derby and was the runner-up in the Blue Grass Stakes.
In the Jim Dandy the 2006 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile champ will again be ridden by Calvin Borel from post three. Street Sense is expected to go off as the prohibitive favorite on Sunday.
Overall, Street Sense has won four of his nine starts for more than $3.1 million. Borel has been the only rider to ever pilot the Eclipse Award winner.
Steve Asmussen, trainer of Preakness champ Curlin, has the lightly raced, but highly regarded Tiz Wonderful entered. He will be making his three-year-old debut in the Jim Dandy after an undefeated 2006 season.
Tiz Wonderful won all three starts last year with wins in the Iroquois and Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes. He has $228,792 in earnings. John Velazquez has the mount and will start from post five.
Breaking from the inside post will be Peter Pan Stakes winner Sightseeing. The colt will be ridden by Edgar Prado for the Ogden Phipps Stable and trainer Shug McGaughey.
Sightseeing is coming off a third place finish in the Dwyer Stakes to Any Given Saturday. He has two wins in 10 career starts for $363,730.
Champion trainer Todd Pletcher has entered Illinois Derby champ Cowtown Cat in the race. The chestnut colt last raced in the Ohio Derby on June 2 when he finished fourth as the 3-5 favorite.
Cowtown Cat will break from post four with Garrett Gomez picking up the mount. The three-year-old has earned $503,463 in nine lifetime starts and four wins.
Completing the field for the Jim Dandy are Flashstorm and C P West.
The Jim Dandy Stakes will be the ninth of 10 races on Sunday with a scheduled post-time of 5:20 p.m. (et).
Meanwhile, after a two day stay at the New Bolton Center in Pennsylvania, Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches is back at the Belmont Park barn of Todd Pletcher.
The filly underwent a thorough physical examination at New Bolton after she was pulled up during a workout on Sunday. Veterinarian Steve Allday gave her a preliminary exam on Monday and recommended she be sent to New Bolton.
“The results of the exam will be reviewed by Dr. Paul Thorpe, the attending veterinarian for owners Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith,” said Pletcher. “Dr. Thorpe will be flying in from Ireland tomorrow to go over the results with us. If everything checks out well she could still make the Alabama.”
The $600,000 Alabama Stakes for three-year-old fillies at Saratoga is scheduled for August 18.
