Wise Dan goes after Fourstardave repeat

Saratoga Springs, NY (Sports Network) – Horse of the Year Wise Dan returns Saturday to defend his 2012 victory in the $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap at Saratoga Race Course.

Owned by Morton Fink and trained by Charles LoPresti, Wise Dan will again be riddden by Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez in the mile turf event. The 6- year-old gelding and rider will start from the inside post in the seven-horse field.

Wise Dan won the Firecracker Handicap at Churchill Downs on June 29. He began 2013 with wins in the Maker’s 46 Mile and Woodford Reserve Turf Classic. The gelding initiated his current seven-race win streak by capturing last year’s Fourstardave by five-lengths.

The winner of last year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile has posted 16 wins in 23 lifetime starts for $4,149,631.

Firecracker runner-up Lea will break from the opposite end of the starting from Wise Dan with Joel Rosario getting the ride. Rosario rode the 4-year-old chestnut colt last year at Saratoga.

Trained by Al Stall Jr. for Claiborne Farm and Adele Dischneider, Lea was beaten in the Firecracker by two lengths in just his second start of the year.

“We ran in a couple races before coming to New York, and unfortunately Wise Dan is running at this level,” Stall said. “We’d sure like to get a firm turf course like he caught last year (here), just because of how well he ran. We were doing a little bobbing ourselves over that course at Churchill Downs. It wasn’t the course’s fault; it was the weather.”

Lea had an allowance win on June 1 at Churchill Downs in his first start after closing 2012 with a victory in the Commonwealth Turf Stakes on Nov. 17 at the Louisville track. In his first stakes try, the colt was third on the grass in the Hawthorne Derby last October.

Unraced as a 2-year-old, Lea was second in his racing debut at Churchill then posted consecutive wins over Saratoga’s turf course. He has earned $268,618 with four wins in seven career starts.

Here is the complete field for the Fourstardave from the rail out: Wise Dan, John Velazquez; Skyring, Junior Alvarado; Za Approval, Jose Lezcano; Mr. Commons, Edgar Prado; Willyconker, Jose Ortiz; King Kreesa, Irad Ortiz Jr. and Lea, Joel Rosario.

Post-time for the race will be approximately 5:45 p.m. (ET).

Categorized in: Horses