Stephanie Van Minos/Tom Cooley
Anstu Stables homebred Wired Bryan, winner of the Grade 2 Sanford Stakes this summer at Saratoga for trainer Michael Dilger, was the gate-to-wire winner of Saturday’s $237,457 New York Breeders’ Futurity for New York-bred 2-year-olds, the richest race of the Finger Lakes stakes program.
Bet down to 3-5 favoritism, the grey son of Stormy Atlantic was hustled out of the gate from post one by jockey Jaime Rodriguez and took command in the opening strides. Aspirant winner Fox Rox pressed in second applying some early pressure and Ogermeister tracked in third three lengths back.
While clocking a quarter-mile in 22.49 and half in a red-hot 45.10, Wired Bryan progressively shook free of Fox Rox and, once he hit the head of the stretch, began to widen his margin at will, hitting the wire a seven-length winner in a final time of 1:10.50. Ogermeister finished well to edge Fox Rox out of second by a half-length. Completing the order of finish were Free Mugatu, Sidearm and Blue Collar Cat.
“We didn’t want to make it complicated, he was in the one post,” said trainer Mike Dilger. “He always breaks sharp and just needed to go on with it.”
Stephanie Van Minos/Tom Cooley
After breaking his maiden by 7 1/2 lengths in state-bred company at Belmont on June 19, Wired Bryan re-rallied to win the Grade 2 Sanford at Saratoga by 5 1/4 lengths on July 21. Returning in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special on August 11, and stretching out a half-furlong to 6 1/2, the grey fell short of victory by a nose after valiantly trying to run down pacesetter Corfu. He closed out a three-race Saratoga campaign with an off-the-board finish in the muddy Grade 1 Hopeful on Labor Day.
From three victories and a second-place finish in five career starts, Wired Bryan has earned $447,474, which includes the $100,000 bonus for winning a graded stakes at NYRA after breaking his maiden at Belmont in the spring.
Stephanie Van Minos/Tom Cooley
Wired Bryan is one of six winners from six foals to start out of Red Melody a stakes-placed Kentucky-bred daughter of Runaway Groom campaigned by Anstu Stables, who was an $180,000 2-year-old purchase in 1998 ($92,543).
Red Melody’s winners include Run Red Run (Afternoon Deelites), whose four stakes placings include a third-place finish in the 2007 Empire Classic ($198,628), six-figure earner Jumping Jack Louie by Louis Quatorze ($116,619) and multiple winner Thescreenisred by Van Nistelrooy ($103,250).
Red Melody has a yearling colt by Bernstein, a weanling colt by Tale of the Cat and was bred this spring to Dublin.
