Seek Again, a 4-year-old Speightstown colt, notched his second career graded stakes win in superb fashion Saturday at Saratoga, taking the $500,000 Fourstardave S. in course-record time after having to alter course drastically in mid-stretch.
Taking a spot along the rail going into the first bend, Seek Again settled some six lengths off the pace set by Silver Mix. Joel Rosario was content to sit back with Seek Again as the pacesetter blew through a half-mile in :46.18 seconds.
The race tightened up on the turn, with Silver Max engaged by Sayaad and Grand Arch, while Seek Again was tucked in behind that group. With no where to run Seek Again was bottled up as the wire got closer. With about a furlong to go, Rosario found a narrow seam on the rail and shot through, holding off Grand Arch by a neck in 1:33.25 seconds over firm ground.
“I was thinking it could be over at the eighth pole, when I saw he had to alter course two different times,” his Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said. “I thought, well, we could be in trouble because it’s awful late in the game to have to stop your momentum and go a different direction.”
“At first, there wasn’t a lot of room (along the rail),” echoed Rosario. “I had to stay there because he likes to run a lot that way; that’s his style. He’s a good horse; he fires all the time.”
Winner of last year’s Hollywood Derby (G1), Seek Again narrowly missed beating two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan in the Woodford Classic (G1) on Derby Day at Churchill Downs this spring. With Saturday’s win the Juddmonte Farms homebred is now 5-2-1 in nine starts, earning $718,284.
Speightstown now has eight stakes winners and an even 100 winners this year overall. His progeny have earned just shy of $5.7 million, third-most of all North American stallions in 2014.
