When GIII Sanford Stakes morning-line choice Mentee (City of Light) was scratched Saturday morning, it might have been assumed the race had lost some of its luster, but apparently no one told Mo Plex (c, 2, Complexity–Mo Joy, by Uncle Mo), who was featured in TDN‘s Saratoga Notebook Friday. The New York-bred Jeremiah Englehart trainee went gate to wire to stay undefeated and give his freshman sire (by Maclean’s Music) his first graded win. Studlydoright (Nyquist) and Three Echos (Echo Town) each suffered bumps at the break, but kicked on well for second- and third-place honors, respectively.
“I was 0-for-70 in my first 70 starts at Saratoga,” said Englehart, “so I was humbled very quick, and I learned winning any race at Saratoga is amazing. I set up shop here year-round from April to November with the young horses, and when you can showcase them here and they’ve done what he’s done, it’s special.”
Sent hard from his outside post position and hustled straight to the front, Mo Plex cleared the field and relaxed despite swift :22.51 and :45.92 first quarters. Winning rider Irad Ortiz, Jr. keep busy on him in the stretch and the colt dug in to hold his advantage as Studlydoright revved up from the rear with a late charge to his outside.
“We broke on top, he broke sharp today, a lot more sharp than last time,” said Ortiz. “I tried to keep him together, he was looking around a little bit and playing around, I think. He is a young horse, so I tried to keep him focused all the way to the wire. When we turned for home, I asked him, and he responded well. I had to keep him busy to keep his attention to get the job done. He is a really nice horse, he has talent.”
JCE Racing and Legion Bloodstock purchased Mo Plex for $45,000 at the OBS April Sale after the bay worked a quarter in :21 1/5. Englehart immediately brought him to Saratoga for R and H Stable–the nom de course of Howard Read and Rick Higgins–and put him to work over the Oklahoma track. Mo Plex has been on a steady worktab since May 2, debuting June 20 in a state-bred 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight at Aqueduct. He won by 10 lengths that day and stayed undefeated with the Sanford victory.
Howard Read, Rick Higgins, and Jeremiah Englehart | Sarah Andrew
Pedigree Notes:
Mo Plex is the first black-type winner for Airdrie Stud’s first-crop sire Complexity, who also had debut winner Tough Catch on Saratoga’s Saturday card. Remarkably, 12 of Complexity‘s 16 juvenile starters are winners, with the winning French Horn also a stakes performer after a third-place finish in the June 6 Astoria Stakes. Complexity le
ads all freshman sires of 2024 by both winners and earnings.
The unraced Mo Joy, a granddaughter of 1997 GIII Florida Oaks winner and GI Ashland Stakes runner-up Anklet, has also produced a yearling colt by Maximus Mischief and a Mar. 13 colt by Improbable. Mo Joy is a daughter of Uncle Mo, whose 21 stakes winners as a broodmare sire include 2024 MGISW Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna).
Saturday, Saratoga
SANFORD S.-GIII, $175,000, Saratoga, 7-13, 2yo, 6f, 1:11.72, ft.
1–MO PLEX, 120, c, 2, by Complexity
1st Dam: Mo Joy, by Uncle Mo
2nd Dam: Gold Anklet, by Lemon Drop Kid
3rd Dam: Anklet, by Wild Again
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($27,000 RNA Ylg ’23 SARAUG; $45,000 2yo ’24 OBSAPR). O-R and H Stable; B-Everythings Cricket Racing (NY); T-Jeremiah C Englehart; J-Irad Ortiz Jr. $96,250. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $137,500. *First stakes winner for freshman sire (by Maclean’s Music). Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Studlydoright, 122, c, 2, Nyquist–Peach of a Gal, by Curlin.
1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($185,000 RNA Ylg ’23 FTSAUG; $110,000 Ylg ’23 EASOCT). O-David R Hughes; B-Glenangus Farm LLC (MD); T-John J Robb. $35,000.
3–Three Echoes, 120, c, 2, Echo Town–Bayou Miss, by Dixie Union. 1ST GRADED BLACK-TYPE. ($37,000 Wlg ’22 KEENOV; $40,000 Ylg ’23 FTKJUL; $130,000 2yo ’24 OBSMAR). O-L and N Racing LLC; B-Vossfeld Bloodstock LLC (KY); T-Steven M Asmussen. $21,000.
Margins: 1, HF, 1. Odds: 1.85, 1.65, 3.00.
Also Ran: Mr. Squeaky Wheels, Soontobeking, Baby Dukes, War Tax. Scratched: Mentee. Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
