Listing Wins the Quick Call Stakes (G3) at Saratoga

Listing picked up his first-ever career graded win at the 10th running of the $100,000 Quick Call Stakes (G3) at Saratoga on Thursday. The race ran on a yielding turf course after occasional rain showers.

The 7-5 favored horse broke from Post 3 with jockey Joel Rosario, who has three wins on the opening day card. At the start of the race, he bumped with Elektronic and Call Paul, which left him near the back. He stayed on the inside as Abyssinian, the only filly in the race, took the early lead with Call Paul pressuring her.

Listing eventually ran up the middle and split between two horses to challenge the leader, Neverland Rock. Rosario and his horse then waited for the straight shot to go for the front, and they were able to win 1/2 length ahead after starting second-to-last.

Jockey Joel Rosario spoke on the horse’s performance after the race.

“He has speed and he broke sharp and it looked for a second that he wanted to be where he was…I just wanted to hold him together and try to move at the right time, and he did. I got in between horses and he kicked home, and that was good. The turf is soft but he was handling it fine. I rode him once on the dirt in California and he went to the grass after and won easy. It was on the grass again today, so that was a good performance.”

The Remaining Field
Elektronic, trained and owned by Linda Rice, was able to make it into second place with Neverland Rock finishing third. Neverland Rock is trained by the renowned Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen. Sombeyay, the winner of the Sanford Stakes (G3) last year and with odds at 5-1, was able to come in fourth.

The last three horses were Abyssinian, Fully Loaded, and Call Paul. Some scratches included Gladiator King, Mount Travers, Dunph, and Releasethethunder.

Elektronic’s jockey, Jose Lezcano, commented on the race.

“We broke well but the first quarter, he didn’t handle the soft turf too good…I struggled a little bit to put him back on the bridle, but finally, when I did, he gave me a good kick. He’s a nice horse.”

Listing’s Record
Listing has won his last two races, and he has a career total of four wins out of nine career starts. All of the victories were against stakes company. He has won in the I’m Smokin in August at Del Mar, the California Cup Turf Sprint at Santa Anita in January, and the Deser Code on June 9 at Santa Anita.

The horse’s record now sits at 9-4-1-1, and his earnings are at $280,400.

This was Listing’s debut at Saratoga, and it was trainer Ben Cecil’s first graded stakes win in seven years. Some of his graded stakes wins were the 2012 Royal Heroine Mile (G2) with Quiet Oasis and the Wilshire Handicap (G3) with the same horse.

Listing returned $4.80 to win, $3.20 to place, and $2.60 to show on a $2 wager.

The Quick Call Stakes at Saratoga was first held in 2008 and named after the horse that won multiple graded stakes. Half of his career victories were won at Saratoga. He is also part of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation’s Second Chances Program in Wallkill, N.Y.

Live racing will start again at Saratoga on July 12th with a 10-race card, the races include the Grade 3, $150,000 Forbidden Apple. The first post is at 1 p.m.