Blue Devil Racing Stable and Jerold Zaro’s Friend Ofthe Devil looks for back-to-back stakes victories in Thursday’s $150,000 Cab Calloway division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series, a one-mile inner turf route for eligible New York-sired sophomores, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Carlos Martin, Friend Ofthe Devil [post 3, Chris Elliott, 124 pounds], an Honest Mischief bay, enters from back-to-back frontrunning victories topped by a four-length score in the Spectacular Bid division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series going six furlongs on June 21 at Belmont at the Big A.

There, he blitzed to a 21.98 seconds opening quarter-mile as the odds-on-favorite under returning jockey Chris Elliott, who has been aboard for all three career wins. The duo finished under the wire in a final time of 1:07.41 over the firm Big A turf, defeating returning rivals I’m Due and River of Time. The winning effort matched a career-best 88 Beyer Speed Figure for a 3 1/2-length score versus state-bred elders over the same course and distance on April 25 in his seasonal debut.

Friend Ofthe Devil has since worked steadily at Saratoga, including a half-mile breeze in 49.71 on August 6 over the Oklahoma dirt training track, which followed a sharp five-eighths in 59.77 July 25 over the main track.

“He’s doing great,” Martin said. “So far, so good. He had a good, easy maintenance breeze here the other day and he had a pretty fast breeze the week before.”

Martin said his charge should handle stretching out beyond seven furlongs for the first time.

“He’s such a fast horse in the afternoons,” Martin said. “But in the mornings, he’s tractable and adaptable as far as he doesn’t seem like a horse that wants to just blast out of there, even though when sprinting [in the afternoon] he goes 44 seconds. In the mornings he goes 48, 49, 50, so he seems like a horse that if you just get him to relax the way he does in the mornings, it’s good.

“I think with his pedigree also he should be fine,” added Martin. “He’s got that Sovereignty blood in the second dam, Sluice, so I’m optimistic that he’s got the right mindset for it and this competition makes sense.”

Friend Ofthe Devil, a perfect 3-for-3 over the turf, is out of the Bodemeister mare Fabuleux and his second dam is stakes-winner Sluice, the third dam of reigning Grade 1 Kentucky Derby-winner and Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets-victor Sovereignty.

His three dirt starts have all been distant efforts including to familiar foe Buttah at second asking. However, Martin said he is confident the horse is trending in the right direction on the turf and that a good effort Thursday may set up for some stiffer tries down the line.

“It’s great we have this NYSS program to take advantage of, but hopefully he keeps winning and keeps doing it the right way and eventually we are going to have to step up and face better competition. But I want to do it kind of gradually,” Martin explained.

Bred in the New York by Laurel Least, Farview Farm and Robert M. Tugel DVM, Friend Ofthe Devil was a $145,000 purchase at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-bred Yearling Sale. His third dam is multiple Grade 1-winner Lakeway.

Five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown sends out Peter Brant’s lightly-raced homebred George Briggs [post 5, Irad Ortiz, Jr., 120 pounds].

The Fog of War colt faces New York-bred company again after finishing a closing third last out against open company in the Listed Colonel Liam in March at Gulfstream Park. He won his debut against fellow state-breds by 2 1/2 lengths back in November at Belmont at the Big A.

In both starts, he sat back and bided his time before making a late surge for the wire. In the Colonel Liam, with Hall of Famer Joel Rosario up, George Briggs settled in seventh-of-10 for the first half mile and gradually worked his way past foes down the lane after having to check at the three-sixteenths pole. He lost late momentum but still managed to finish a 4 3/4-length third to the victorious multiple stakes-winner Mi Bago and a nose back of Enterdadragon.

Head of Plains Partners’ New York-homebred Coach Case [post 1, Dylan Davis, 120 pounds], by Slumber, looks to add a stakes win to his resume after providing trainer Miguel Clement, son of the late Christophe Clement, with his first career training victory here during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.

The lightly-raced Coach Case returns on the heels of a disappointing fifth in a state-bred allowance versus elders going 1 1/16 miles here in July. He finished a 1 3/4-length second on debut in April at Aqueduct Racetrack after trying to close from seventh of twelve and failing to get up in time behind longshot Alan Turing.

In securing the milestone victory for Clement, he saved ground under regular pilot Dylan Davis before tipping out into the two path at the top of the stretch and repelled a challenge from Sir Oscar late to claim victory. He stopped the clock in a final time of 1:42.09 in the 1 1/16-mile state-bred maiden and earned a 74 Beyer.

Coach Case is out of the Into Mischief mare Into the South and is named after owner Sol Kumin’s son Jax’s lacrosse coach.

Eddie F’s Racing’s Buttah [post 2, Lane Luzzi, 122 pounds], a half-brother to the popular fellow New York-breds Chowda, Lobsta and Oysta, will try to carve his way to the Saratoga winners circle for local owner Eddie Fazzone and part-owner and lifelong horse racing fan John Keller. Both Chowda and Lobsta are stakes winners on this circuit.

Buttah boasts an 11-2-3-1 record, all on dirt, and enters his turf debut from a nine-length fourth in the New York Derby on July 14 at Finger Lakes.

The local owners, along with trainer Gary Sciacca, believe that the surface switch is the best option on the menu given the conditions. Buttah worked a half-mile in 49.92 August 1 over the Oklahoma training turf.

“It’s something that we have always talked about,” Fazzone explained. “Me and ‘JK’ and Gary just feel this is the time to go with it now as not everybody is eligible to run in this race. Friend Ofthe Devil is going to be tough – he’s 3-for-3 on the grass, but in sprints.

“He breezed in 49 and 2 last week and he went real nice over it,” Fazzone added. “He’s got some turf breeding in him on his mother’s side…best time to try it is right now. If not, we will go back to the dirt. If he runs good on the turf, I feel like we hit a home run with him.”

Buttah, who was slightly fractious in the gate in the New York Derby, was outrun by multiple stakes winning Train the Trainer and couldn’t quite find his late kick in his fourth try against stakes company.

The two owners reflected on what it means to have a New York-bred entry in a stakes race at Saratoga.

“We grew up here and I’ve been coming here for over 50 years. I have a business here and most of the partners are local guys, so it’s just special,” said Fazzone, proprietor of Eddie F’s New England Seafood Restaurant.

Part-owner John Keller said he’s enjoyed the journey from racing fan to horse owner.

“Well, it’s fun,” Keller added with a smile. “I grew up in Schenectady, so I grew up going to the track since I was a kid and always was on the betting end of it. I had a chance to join Eddie and become a partner in the stable back in 2020 with Lobsta and had some success – this family has been great to us.”

Buttah was bred in the Empire State by Fedwell Farms and has eclipsed just over $180,000 in purse earnings. He is by the multiple graded stakes-winner Leofric and is out of the Chief Seattle mare Salty Little Sis.

Rounding out the field are multiple stakes-placed I’m Due [post 7, Ricardo Santana, Jr., 120 pounds], who makes his first start for trainer Rob Atras; stakes placed River of Time [post 4, Junior Alvarado, 120 pounds] for trainer Chad Summers; two-time winner Cast a Coin [post 6, Eric Cancel, 124 pounds] for conditioner Jacqueline Falk; and maiden Moe Eighty Eight [post 8, Joel Rosario, 120 pounds], who races with blinkers on for trainer John Ortiz.

The NYSSS Cab Calloway is slated as Race 7 on Thursday’s 10-race card. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.  

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