Sea Strike stretches out successfully in Listed Curlin presented by Casamigos

 

Flanagan Racing and trainer Chad Brown teamed up Sunday to win the Listed $150,000 Curlin presented by Casamigos for the second consecutive year as Sea Strike followed in the footsteps of Chancer McPatrick with a powerful victory, at Saratoga Race Course.

 

The nine-furlong test for sophomores who have not won a graded stakes was originally slated for Wednesday, July 29, but was rescheduled after that card was canceled due to torrential rain.

 

Last year, Chancer McPatrick put his head in front at the wire for a narrow win, but there were no anxious moments on Sunday as Sea Strike romped by 8 1/4-lengths under Flavien Prat.

 

“[I wasn’t expecting] that margin of victory, but I was feeling pretty good the horse would have at least a chance to win,” Brown said. “He’s just the best training horse I have, and he has been all year. And sometimes it doesn’t correlate to meaning that you’re the best racehorse, but when he breezes, he breezes freaky good.”

 

Gulfy was hustled to the front by Kendrick Carmouche to show the way through splits of 23.62 seconds and 47.77 over the fast main track with Sea Strike to his outside while Mount Vernon saved ground in third position to the inside of favored Kentucky Derby alumnus Chief Wallabee under Junior Alvarado.

 

Sea Strike advanced with purpose through the turn, feeling the pressure of the oncoming Chief Wallabee while easily overtaking Gulfy. Sea Strike continued to find more at the top of the lane and pulled away from Chief Wallabee with ease to score in a final time of 1:48.94. 

 

Chief Wallabee completed the exacta by five lengths over Gulfy with Minorinconvenience, Blackout Time, Tiernanogue and Mount Vernon rounding out the order of finish. Fulmine was scratched.

 

The lightly-raced Sea Strike, a son of Midshipman, entered with just a pair of sprint races on his ledger, overcoming a slow start to graduate at first asking over subsequent back-to-back winner Tab At Zanzibar in April at Aqueduct Racetrack. He entered from a rallying 5 3/4-length fifth in a 6 1/2-furlong allowance versus elders which third-place Local Knowledge exited to win the Grade 2 Amsterdam here on Friday.

 

“Well this horse, he always acted like he wanted to have a clean face in his races, and he grabs the bridle nicely and just clicks along as long as you want him to go,” Brown said. “That’s how I work the horse. He got left at the gate in his first start and was able to get up against maidens but against better horses last time he got that dirt in his face and really resented it. 

 

“The further I was going to run him, I thought he’d be very forward with a clean face, and he just gave me that feel he didn’t really want the dirt,” Brown added. “Sure enough, when he turned for home, I still saw him just sitting there, I was pretty confident.”

 

Prat, aboard for all three of Sea Strike’s starts, echoed Brown’s sentiments.

 

“We were going into a bit of an unknown. He ran very well first time out. I thought he showed a lot of class that day,” Prat said. “When we came back here in a big field, I think he showed us he wants to go a little further. 

 

“Obviously, [the Curlin’s distance] was a question mark, but he was able to get himself in the race today,” Prat continued. “I was traveling well all the way around. I was pleased with the way he was going. After that, he gave me a good run.”

 

The Hall of Famer Bill Mott-trained Chief Wallabee hit the board in a pair of graded races at Gulfstream Park earlier this year when second, by a neck, in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth ahead of a half-length third in the Grade 1 Florida Derby. He closed to finish a three-length fourth in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby in May and was a distant fourth in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets here in June.

 

Alvarado said Chief Wallabee might appreciate a cut back in distance.

 

“By the five-sixteenths, I even took a peek back, thinking like I didn’t want to move too soon, thinking I had the horses in front,” Alvarado said. “When I asked him, he did give me a kick. It was probably just a good sixteenth-of-a-mile kick from the quarter pole to the three-sixteenths. That was it. That’s not enough if you are going two turns. You have to keep carrying that. Period. Too far. It doesn’t matter the company. I just think it’s too far for him.”

 

Brown, a five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer, indicated Sea Strike could potentially step up in class and distance again next out to face dual Classic-winner Golden Tempo and Saturday’s Grade 2 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun victor Renegade in the 10-furlong Grade 1, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers on August 29 here.

 

“This horse is freaky good in the morning. Now he’s playing catch-up here,” Brown said. “That was a really good race yesterday, the Jim Dandy, so I don’t say that lightly, but I don’t know, he ran pretty good today and looked like he had more in the tank. 

 

“I’m not saying a step up against those other horses he’d do the same, and he’s likely to have some company in that final turn against better horses,” Brown added. “We’ll just see how he comes out of it and go from there, but I wouldn’t take it off the table.”

 

Sea Strike, a $650,000 purchase from the 2025 OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, is out of the Line of David mare Meetmeonline, a half-sister to Grade 2-winner Bucchero, who stands in New York at Ironhorse Stallions and sired reigning Champion Male Sprinter Book'em Danno.

 

Bred in Kentucky by Lesley Campion and River Oak Farm, Sea Strike banked $82,500 in victory while improving his record to 3-2-0-0. He returned $13.62 for a $2 win bet.

 

Live racing resumes Wednesday at Saratoga with a 10-race card, featuring the Grade 1, $150,000 A.P. Smithwick Memorial steeplechase in Race 1 and the state-bred $200,000 Johnstone in Race 9. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern. 

 

Saratoga Live presents daily coverage and analysis of the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule/.

 

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the summer meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.