Happy Saver hopes to join elite company with a repeat win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup
New York Hot List Staff | Friday, September 3, 2021
Happy Saver, who won the Jockey Club Gold Cup last year as a 3-year-old, will attempt to become the 11th horse to win back-to-back runnings of the Grade 1 stake. Both Tonalist [2014-15] and Curlin [2007-08] won the JCGC as a sophomore and then won the race again the following year.
Happy Saver finished third last out in the 10-furlong Grade 2 Suburban contested on a sloppy and sealed main track on July 3 at Belmont, finishing 2 3/4-lengths behind returning rival Max Player.
“I don’t think he ran that badly on an off-track last time,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “The way the race unfolded going a mile and a quarter at Belmont and drawing the outside is never a good thing. I thought he ran well all things considered. He kept closing and it was his only his second start of the year, so hopefully he moves forward.”
Here are the Hot List picks for the JCGC:
The $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), Saratoga, Saturday, Race 12.
(4) Happy Saver won the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) last year as a 3-year-old and will try to win the race again. The Todd Pletcher runner tasted defeat for the first time in the Suburban (G2) which was run on a sloppy track. Thus, it is fair to think that he did not appreciate the wet track even though typically progeny of Super Saver do. (1) Forza Di Oro is the winner of his last three races for Bill Mott with big speed figures in the two most recent. He ended 2020 with a victory in the Discovery (G3) and then came back to win an allowance race at Saratoga in his 2021 debut. This son of Speightstown certainly has the look of a horse that has a chance to run even better. (2) Max Player was the winner of the Suburban over Happy Saver at odds of 11-1. He was the winner of both of his starts on sloppy tracks and clearly was moved up by the wet track. (5) Night Ops is actually the leading money winner in the field based on a series of seven top 3 finishes in stakes races. His last win came in the 2020 Cornhusker (G3) about a year ago.
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