Northview Stallion Station a Tribute to Northern Dancer’s Legacy
Northview Stallion Station a Tribute to Northern Dancer’s Legacy
Saratoga Bob Seeks Classic Victory
LAUREL, MD – The remarkable Northern Dancer left a tremendous legacy in the state of Maryland, where he took up stallion duties at Windfields Farm in Cecil Country. While Windfields closed its doors in 1988 following Northern Dancer’s retirement from stud duty, the farm’s legacy and great history, including Northern Dancer’s nameplate, continue to impact the Maryland breeding industry in big ways.
Northview Stallion Station, which opened in 1989 on the site of Windfields, has had a huge impact in Maryland breeding and the Jim McKay Maryland Million, which will celebrate its 33rd running Saturday at Laurel Park.
Home to the late Not For Love, the winningest sire on Maryland Million Day with 36 victories, Northview now stands Great Notion, who boasts nine Maryland Million winners, and recently added Grade 1 stakes-placed Irish War Cry to the stallion roster.
“We’re definitely one of the major players for the Maryland breeding industry,” said David Wade, General Manager of Northview Stallion Station. “One of our goals is to always stay at the top of the breeding industry.”
Analyst and host Acacia Courtney recently visited Northview and Wade, who said there is still great interest in the legacy of Northern Dancer.
Video link: click here to view.
“Everyone around here still has a great appreciation for Northern Dancer and they do across the country, actually, and internationally,” said David Wade, general manager of Northview. “We still have people who come and they’ll see the plaque on his stall door.”
Saratoga Bob Seeks Classic Victory
After finding trouble early in each of his past three races, Saratoga Bob is favored to find himself back in the winner’s circle for the biggest race of his career, Saturday’s $150,000 Maryland Million Classic at Laurel Park.
The 1 1/8-mile Classic for 3-year-olds and up is the richest and last of seven stakes and four starter stakes that help comprise the 33rd Jim McKay Maryland Million Day program. Post time for the first of 12 races is noon. The Classic is the 11th race on the program.
Trained by Katy Voss, bred by Voss and her longtime companion Bob Manfuso, and co-owned by the couple and Wayne Harrison, Saratoga Bob is listed at 3-1 on the morning line, the top choice of 10 Maryland Million-certified horses. Defending Classic champion Bonus Points is the 7-5 program favorite as one of three Maryland-bred also-eligibles that are not expected to draw into the race.
Saratoga Bob, named for Manfuso, is a 4-year-old son of Friesan Fire that didn’t make his debut until last December, finishing second against older horses in a six-furlong maiden special weight. He has run seven times this year with two wins, two seconds and two thirds at distances ranging from six furlongs to 1 1/16 miles.
“He’s honest,” Voss said. “He goes out there and it doesn’t matter if he’s going short, long, dirt or turf. He just plods along.”
The Classic will be Saratoga Bob’s second attempt at stakes company after finishing fifth in an off-the-turf edition of the Find Sept. 29, contested at one mile. He got bumped at the start and raced near the back early and finished fifth behind multiple stakes winners Sonny Inspired and John Jones – the only time he has run worse than third.
“Last time he broke maybe a quarter of a step slow and got bumped around a little bit. He did his share of bumping, too, but it just put him too far out of it,” Voss said. “He had trouble with the heat this summer so I had given him some time off. The Find was a pretty stiff spot but he had to run then to be ready for Saturday. He seems to have come out of it fine.”
The Classic will be the longest Saratoga Bob has run, though he did finish in a restricted allowance on the Laurel turf May 3. Both of his wins have come sprinting.
“We may not get the mile and an eighth. We’ll find out. He ran well the only time he went two turns going a mile and a sixteenth on the grass,” Voss said. “He just keeps plodding and this is an easier bunch than what he ran against last time, and he needed that race. He really did.”
Saratoga Bob will have the services of Edgar Prado, tied with fellow Hall of Famer Ramon Dominguez for the most Maryland Million victories at 17. Prado has been aboard Saratoga Bob six time, including both wins. The 4-year-old breaks from the No. 7 post and carries 119 pounds.
“I’d have rather been closer in, but I’m not eight, nine or 10,” Voss said. “It’s up to Edgar. He’s going to have to figure his way around there. There’s not a lot of speed in the race, so hopefully he can get a position up close. He could even be on the lead. It just depends on how he breaks and what everybody else does. I don’t think it matters to him.”
Voss, who trained Maryland Thoroughbred Hall of Famer Twixt, has won three previous Maryland Million races including the 1986 Oaks with Smart ‘n Quick in the event’s debut. She also won the 1992 Turf with Wood Fox and 2015 Nursery with Corvus.
“I’d just as soon not be [the favorite], but it’s a good thing,” Voss said. “If all those smart guys think that we’re the best horse in the race then at least we have a chance.”
