BY BROCK SHERIDAN
On a day when America celebrated Independence Day, Florida-bred Bring Theband Home convincingly separated himself with a four-and-a-quarter-length victory while nearly setting a course record in the $150,000 Harvey Pack at Saratoga Race Course. With Javier Castellano aboard, the Live Oak Plantation homebred dominated 10 other 4-year-olds and older, finishing five-and-a-half furlongs on the Mellon turf course in :59.90. It just .10 seconds off the course record of :59.80 set by Cogburn in last year’s Grade 1 Jaipur Stakes.
A 5-year-old gelding trained by Mark Casse, Bring Theband Home darted from post nine and rapidly had a length-and-a-half margin on longshot American Monarch and Outlaw Kid together in second. Bring Theband Home effortlessly sprinted through splits of :21.51 and :43.52 then detached himself from any potential challenge to win his first stakes with ease. Works All Week made a late run to finish three-quarters of a length head of third-place finisher Outlaw Kid. Mischievous Angel, Witty, Our Shot, Axthelm, American Monarch, Felix, Florida-bred Mattingly and Surveillance finished in that order. Antonio of Venice was scratched as a main track only entrant.
Now undefeated in three starts at Saratoga after breaking his maiden in July of 2022 under Dylan Davis and winning second level, $62,500 optional claiming in August of last year with Castellano up, both on dirt, Bring Theband Home paid $9.30 to win.
“I didn’t give any [instructions],” Casse said. “Javier knows him good. That was amazing. He loves this place. That was impressive.
“Early on, I thought this was a really, really good horse. Like a Breeders’ Cup horse, and he kind of let me down. But he’s had some little issues. But today we saw what I had expected of him for a long time. Now, we just have to keep him this way.”
Castellano, who also rode Bring Theband Home to victory in a first level, $25,000 optional claiming on Gulfstream Park turf in January of 2024, said he enjoys the gelding’s ability to start fast.
“It was really good. He’s a very fast horse. He breaks pretty quick out of the gate and is a very unique horse and I liked the way he did it,” Castellano said. “He’s a front-runner and broke good out of the gate, never take anything away that comes easy and he did it the easy way. I know the fractions went in twenty-one seconds but the way he does it, he’s a speed horse and he carried it all the way to the wire.
“I had a lot of confidence before the race because he likes firm ground,” Castellano added. “Turf, firm and he likes it here. He won last year the same way, and he is very capable to do that and I am very satisfied with the way he did it today.”
Casse added Bring Theband Home is now likely to target the $300,000 Troy (G2) at Saratoga on Aug. 3.
The Harvey Pack was his first start since May 1 when second, a neck shy of Florida-bred Extendo in upper-level allowance race on the Gulfstream Park turf. His only other start against stakes horses he was eighth in the Grade 2 Neartic presented by TAA won by Patches O’Houlihan going six furlongs at Woodbine in October.
By Into Mischief, Bring Theband Home improved his career record to five wins, three seconds and a third in 12 starts. He has earned $341,764.
He is the first foal out of the Street Cry (Ire) mare Tizatude, who was purchased by Live Oak Stud for $800,000 at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton November Sale while carrying Bring Theband Home. Tizatude has an unraced 2-year-old gelding, Souper Power Tapit, by Tapit; and a yearling filly, Souper Taylor, by Constitution, both bred in Florida by Live Oak Stud. Tizatude was bred to Tapit in the 2024.
Tizatude is out of the Cee’s Tizzy mare Tizso, a full sister to Hall of Famer Tiznow; multiple graded stakes-winner Budroyale; graded stakes-winner Tizdubai and graded stakes-placed Tizbud. Tizatude is a half-sister to Grade 1-winner Paynter, stakes-winners Tiz West and Tizakitty and stakes-placed Tizalovelylady.
Bring Theband Home is the third Florida-bred winner of the Harvey Pack and second for Live Oak Plantation. They won the race with We Deer You when it was named the Lucky Coin Stakes in 2017. Extravagant Kid won the 2018 Lucky Coin.
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