BY BROCK SHERIDAN
The Sunshine State will be well represented in the $500,000 Forego (Grade 1) at Saratoga Race Course Saturday as recent stakes-winners Cagliostro and Baby Yoda are among the eight older horses entered in the seven-furlong contest. Both Florida-breds have won two of their last three races with Cagliostro taking the $279,000 Hanshin at Churchill Downs on June 30 while Baby Yoda won the Grade 2 True North at Saratoga on June 8.
Trained by Cherie DeVaux for Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani’s Wathnan Racing, 4-year-old Cagliostro took the one-mile Hanshin by a length last out for his first career stakes victory after being graded stakes placed several times. He started the year winning a mile-and-a-sixteenth allowance race at Keeneland in April then finished second to Highland Falls in the Grade 3 Blame going nine furlongs at Churchill on June 1.
Last year, his only victory in seven starts came in a maiden special weight at Fair Grounds in January but was later second to Il Miracolo in the Grade 3 Smarty Jones at Parx in August and third in the Grade 3 Indiana Derby won by Verifying at Horseshoe Indianapolis in July.
Cagliostro sports a career record of three wins, four seconds and a third in 11 starts with earnings of $436,668. DeVaux purchased him for $385,000 at the 2022 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Spring Sale where he was consigned by Two Oaks Equine.
He is by Upstart out of A Rosefor Isabelle, by Hard Spun and was bred in Florida by Lance Colwell and Janice Clark.
Jose Ortiz will ride Cagliostro from post eight and they are 9-2 on the morning line.
Baby Yoda was most recently fourth in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt won by Nakatomi at Saratoga on July 27 after taking the True North by six lengths two starts back. The Bill Mott-trained son of Prospective has won two of five this year including a wire-to-wire tally against allowance horses going six furlongs during the Belmont at Big A meet in May.
The 6-year-old gelding has been assigned 12-1 morning line odds but should not be discounted at Saratoga where the 6-year-old gelding has won four of seven starts.
Baby Yoda is owned by Pantofel Stable LLC, Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber and Jerold L. Zaro and has a career record of nine wins, four seconds and four thirds in 26 starts. With lifetime earnings of $858,200, a victory in the Forego would push him past the $1 million mark.
Baby Yoda is out of More Than Speed, by More Than Ready and was bred in Florida by Kathleen Amaya, Alexandro Centofanti and Raffaele Centofanti.
He will be ridden by Tyler Gaffalione from post four.
Mullikin will try for his second consecutive graded stakes victory after winning the seven-furlong John A. Nerud (G2) by a length-and-a-half on July 6 during the Belmont at Big A meet.
That was the third win in as many starts this year for the 4-year-old colt, who won allowance races at Keeneland and Churchill Downs in April and June respectively.
Mullikin is trained by Rodolphe Brisset for Siena Farm LLC and WinStar Farm LLC, for whom his has earned $398,612. He has four wins and three seconds in eight career starts with his only finish out of the top two coming when fourth behind winner Lark’s Mischief in an Ellis Park allowance in July of last year.
Mullikin is the 8-5 morning line favorite and will be ridden from post six by Flavien Prat.
Rounding out the field are Gun Pilot and jockey Cristian Torres, Twisted Ride with Kendrick Carmouche aboard, Dylan Davis rides Full Screen, Run Classic with pilot Javier Castellano and Angkor will have Irad Ortiz Jr. in the saddle.
