SARATOGA SPRINGS – Bobby Frankel continued to have an outstanding Saratoga meet as Squirtle Squirt led every step of the way to win the Grade 1, $200,000 King’s Bishop Stakes by 3 1/4 lengths yesterday.
Illusioned closed well to finish second, 1 1/4 lengths in front of Saratoga-loving City Zip, who came in third. The final time for the seven furlongs was 1:21.97.
Squirtle Squirt, a 3-year-old colt by Marquetry, has a high turn of speed and he showed it from the start as he went the first quarter in :22.03.
“Since he was the fastest of the fast horses in the race, I thought I would let him show his speed,” said his jockey, Jerry Bailey. “It wasn’t the first quarter that was going to kill him because he has shown he can go :21 and change. My concern was the second quarter and the last eighth of a mile.”
The half-mile was run in :44.32, then on the far turn he was facing a challenge from City Zip, who had been undefeated in four starts here. Bailey wasn’t worried. “Since I was able to give him a breather at those points, I had enough at the end,” he said.
Trainer John Kimmel, whose stable was ice cold through most of this meet, also held a hot hand this weekend at the Old Spa. Friday, his filly Pompeii won the Personal Ensign, and yesterday he saddled Dr. Kashnikow to upset the Grade 2, $200,000 Fourstardave Handicap over the Mellon turf course.
The pace was rapid as Where’s Taylor rushed to a daylight lead through suicidal fractions of :22 for the first quarter-mile and :45 for the half. But after six furlongs in sprinting time of 1:09, Where’s Taylor began backing up like a Lizziemobile down the stretch as the rest of the field charged by.
Ridden for the first time by John Velazquez, Dr. Kashnikow came knifing through horses in midstretch and exploded the final half-furlong, winning by a length over longshot Tubrok.
He ran the mile and a sixteenth in 1:39.1, just two ticks off the course record set by the Spa’s most famous horse-for-the-course, Fourstardave himself, in whose honor this race was named.
Dr. Kashnikow paid $15.40 and topped a $346 exacta.