The eagerly awaited return of the dirty champion Nest here.
The chattering 3-year-old champion of 2022 will start her first match in 8 months when she joins the $200,000 Shuvee Stakes (G2) at Racecourse Saratoga July 23. She was last seen finishing fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) at Keeneland in November.
Daughter of make for curly , owned by Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House, made the final adjustment for Shuvee with a four-minute breeze on: 50 July 16 on the Oklahoma Training Track. Riding by gymnast Nora McCormack, Nest is full of energy as she works with a teenager jogging from the Pletcher barn.
“That’s what we expected of her,” Pletcher said after work.
The piece was originally planned for the lead track but Pletcher had to call the sound – a familiar move in recent days. The early morning heavy rains caused the Hall of Fame coach to keep an eye on the weather radar, and he ultimately decided the best course of action was to go to Oklahoma.
“It’s Saratoga and you get used to it,” says Pletcher. “It’s like you have to call every day.”
Pletcher said he thinks the weather will change around 7 a.m., and he’s spoken to Glen Kozak, executive vice president of operations a few times.
“I asked him what his intentions were and he said he would try to harrow (Oklahoma) if it was good,” he said. “I called him after the first break and told him I thought he would be pleased with the form of the track.”
And Nest had a good surface to do her job, and now all the systems are moving to Shuvee, where she’ll meet Stonestreet Stables’ Clairiere winner of her previous two starts, Apple Blossom (G1) April 15 at Oaklawn Park and Ogden Phipps (G1) June 10 at Belmont Park.
Family and friends celebrate Dave Litfin in Saratoga
A celebration of a life lived well was held for renowned national disabled athlete Dave Litfin on July 16 at Saratoga.
Family and friends gathered at the Paddock Suite on the second floor to honor Litfin, who passed away from cancer at the age of 64 on November 17. It was the first time for his wife of 40 years, Robin. , back to the track since the end of last year’s weekend.
Dave insisted they go to the track again. Although he was seriously ill, his disability was overcome, as it had been, many times before.
“He had to put money on his NYRA Bets card,” said Robin. “He bet a cold exact number and it paid back $600. Really?”
Those were the stories that went viral during the celebration, as a wake-up call for Dave, who didn’t want any service when he passed away.
Dave Litfin
The fifth race is named in his honor. In addition to Robin, the speakers at the ceremony included his son Sam, one of his daughters, Addy, and David Grening, a longtime friend and former colleague at Daily Racing Form. Several others spoke as Robin invited anyone who wanted to talk about her husband to step up.
Dave was a handicap athlete in New York for Daily Racing Form from 1991-2016 and later moved to South Florida where he was a chart caller for Equibase. He is also the author of a popular weekly handicap column for BloodHorse titled “Litfin at Large”. In addition, he has written several books on disability during his career.
“He doesn’t care about gossip, he doesn’t care about politics,” said Robin. “It’s family and it’s work. And the work he does is the air he breathes. I think he’ll feel embarrassed and ashamed before today. He never wanted to be. admit it; it was never about him.”
