With the conclusion of racing this weekend, the 40 day 2022 Saratoga Race Meet has reached the halfway point. After running third with Inventing (Repole Stable and Woodford Racing) and third with Mr. Connecticut (Weintraub, Bouchey and Dorsman) earlier in the Meet, we (West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing) made it to the Winner’s Circle with our 2 year old colt Battle of Normandy!
Battle of Normandy
In what was a very professional debut, Battle of Normandy won by 2 1/2 lengths going a mile and a sixteenth on the Saratoga turf. Trainer Shug McGaughey’s riding instructions to jockey Kendrick Carmouche were to break alertly from the starting gate with Battle of Normandy, keep him covered up behind horses and swing him out at the top of the stretch. Carmouche rode to the instructions and Battle of Normandy delivered!
Kendrick Carmouche
Later in the day our (Woodford Racing, Lanes End Racing, Phipps Stable, Ken Langone and Joe Hudson) 2 year old colt Perform finished fourth at Saratoga going seven furlongs on the dirt. Perform came into the race off a second place finish at Belmont Park on July 3 in the first race of his career. While finishing fourth wasn’t the outcome we hoped for, Perform led for most of the race until deep stretch before tiring.
Perform
Watch Perform Race Replay Here
As the crowd at Saratoga Racetrack was heading home, our (Hronis Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing) 2 year old colt Hawker began his career at Del Mar in California. Trained by John Sadler, Hawker ran second in a five furlong (5/8th’s of a mile) sprint race on the dirt. Considering Hawker is bred to run longer distances and raced wide the entire race, losing by a head was very impressive!
Hopefully we can build on these early successes during the remainder of the Saratoga and Del Mar Meets!