(Mo Strike wins the G3 Sanford Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga / Photo by Joe Labozzetta & Courtesy of NYRA)

From the NYRA Media Team:

Nasser Bin Omairah’s Mo Strike attended a strong pace but had plenty of stamina to spare en route to an impressive score in Saturday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Sanford, a six-furlong sprint for juveniles at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Brad Cox, the Uncle Mo bay entered from a prominent three-quarter length debut win in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight on June 19 at Churchill Downs.
Trainer Brad Cox — Mo Strike (1st):
Cox said he was pleased with how Mo Strike put away the impressive debut winner Andiamo a Firenze, a three-quarter brother to Grade 1-winner Firenze Fire.
“He definitely showed some ability and fought off a very good horse at the eighth-pole,” said Cox. “That horse ran a big figure in his race at Belmont, I believe, and when Florent really asked him at the eighth-pole, he was able to get away.”
Cox said the debut score engineered from the outermost post 10 proved beneficial for Mo Strike against a double-digit Sanford field.
“He did run against a larger group at Churchill, he broke from the outside and did get a good trip that day, but obviously had to fight off some horses that day as well. It worked out well and he got a lot of experience and overcame some things.” Cox said.
Cox said he will now consider giving Mo Strike a potential start in the Grade 2, $200,000 Saratoga Special on August 13, but noted the Grade 1, $300,000 Hopeful on September 5 is more likely.
“We’ll watch him – it would probably be a lot to ask him [to race] in the Special and the Hopeful, but we’ll let him determine our plans, and once again how he comes out of it, and go from there,” Cox said. “I think the Hopeful is more likely being he’s an Uncle Mo, it’s a Grade 1, and it would take a lot of pressure off. He’s a nice colt.”
Jockey Florent Geroux — Mo Strike:
Geroux said he felt comfortable being forwardly placed to the outside of Curly Jack and to the inside of Andiamo a Firenze.
“He broke super sharp. From there, I was in the clear right from the beginning,” Geroux said. “I let the inside horse go. I kept an eye on the nine [Andiamo a Firenze]. We were able to slow it down a little bit the second quarter and when the horse came to me down the lane, my horse was able to give me another gear and fight all the way to the wire. I was very pleased with his effort. The last eighth of a mile, I felt the race was pretty much over and he was just keeping along nicely. If someone else was going to attack me, I felt I had another gear to fight them down.”
Live racing resumes on Sunday at Saratoga with a 10-race card, featuring the Grade 3, $175,000 Quick Call presented by the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation in Race 8. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.