#SpaStars: City Zip
Ch. colt, 1998-present, Carson City – Baby Zip, by Relaunch
The two-year-old program at Saratoga is the stuff of legends. It is highlighted by a trio of stakes races, the Sanford, Saratoga Special, and Hopeful. In the summer of 2000, City Zip became just the fourth horse in history to sweep all three. The first two came rather easily, by a combined 5 ¾ lengths. The third was a thriller. With thunder and lightning providing an ominous setting, City Zip didn’t have an easy trip. The colt that trainer Linda Rice described as, “never show[ing] any quit down the lane,” came running anyway, and the $9,000 auction purchase caught the $1.9 million Yonaguska on the line. It was a dead heat. He came back the following summer to run his Spa streak to four, defeating Speightstown, Snow Ridge, and others in a terrific rendition of the Amsterdam. City Zip was finally bested in the King’s Bishop but his influence is still felt at Saratoga. Though he now stands in Kentucky, City Zip entered stud in New York, and his offspring are a frequently found in the Spa winners’ circle.
Breeder: Adena Springs
Owner: Charles R. Thompson, Carl Bowling, Becky Thomas, Lewis Lakin
Trainer: Linda Rice
Jockey: Jose Santos (2), Jorge Chavez (3)
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