New Life For Sip Of Saki
Northern California– Attn, bjbandit2! Enquiring minds want to know the secret recipe to whatever tonic you slipped into Sip Of Saki’s feed. The little chestnut colt has quietly found new life on the grass this year and his convincing score in the Grade 2 $200,000 Upper California Derby has the believers lining up.
This is a tale of “three” horses:
1. Precocious Saki
As a dirt-running freshman, Sip Of Saki earned a trip to the 2004 Breeders Bowl Juvenile on the strength of two Grade 3 scores. Fifth that day, the son of Sakhee made up a good deal of ground over the main track — it was an honest performance that placed him near the top of the 2YO rankings.
2. Bittersweet Sip
Unfortunately afterwards, the colt kind of slid. Sip Of Saki didn’t handle the sloppy Movieland Futurity(G1) surface to close out his ’04 campaign. Additionally, he ran pretty even-steven in his 3YO bow, finishing with a steady 95 SP# in the Thousand Islands(G3).
3. Saki Of The Secret Turfy Recipe
Perhaps his trainer wanted to test the colt’s grassy pedigree (Sahkee x Forty Niner x Buckpasser) or maybe just plain turn Saki’s drastic decline around — regardless, Sip Of Saki responded superbly with the switch of surface. Following a listed stakes win and heartbreaking photo loss in the Roys Rogers(G3) over a mile, the little chestnut continued to improve with more distance. He beat up on a short field in the 10-furlong Fernazzle Cup(G3), and, last week, bravely romped as much the best in the Upper California Derby(G2) over 9.5.
The 102 SP# this past Saturday came again over rival Saratoga Storm too (seppy’s highly regarded Storm Cat colt who knocked heads with Horseshoe Bay this past spring).
So, what’s not to like? Sure, he hasn’t tested the best of the best yet…. but, with a 7-from-11 hit rate, this guy’s on a mission for some respect. Mark down Sip Of Saki as a possible challanger to Horseshoe Bay, Niner Connection, Manifest Destiny, Jupiter’s Moons and the rest of the 3YO stars in the Turf Classic & Long Divisions. He’s a “recipe” to watch and the secret’s out.