Keep It Easy ups the difficulty in G2 Saratoga Special
At 12h47, on August 9, 2024 • By Saratoga Race Course
St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds and CJ Thoroughbreds’ Keep It Easy was strong in his last effort and will up the difficulty in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Saratoga Special, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for juveniles, at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Dale Romans, the Hard Spun dark bay graduated at second asking when drawing off to win a six-furlong sprint by four lengths last-out on June 27 at Churchill Downs. The winning effort earned a career and field-best 79 Beyer Speed Figure, improving greatly upon a 46 earned on debut for a seventh sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs at the same site on June 6.
“I think this is a good spot. He is a good horse,” said Romans. “Physically, he is a big, strong, pretty horse. He was a pretty horse at the yearling sale when we bought him. He just continues to get better. He is a good workhorse and a good horse all around.”
Keep It Easy returned to the work tab on July 20 with a half-mile bullet in 47.85 seconds over the Spa main track, fastest-of-77 workers at the distance. He has since worked twice more, including a breeze over the same course and distance in 49.96 on Sunday.
“He worked this morning and worked very well,” Romans said. “He’s had three good works up here and is ready to go. Today was his third work and it went very well.”
Bred in Kentucky by Mr. and Mrs. William L. Pape, Keep It Easy, out of the stakes-winning English Channel mare Boxwood, was a $435,000 purchase at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Junior Alvarado has the call from the outermost post 9.
