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Sara Louise looked like another classy addition to the Godolphin stablelate last year thanks to two wins in four starts, a $550,000 yearlingpricetag and boundless potential.

As German filly Salve Germania lunged and plunged around the Saratogapaddock before Saturday’s Ballston Spa Handicap, gasps came from alldirections. And that was nothing compared to Maren Hennig and OlgaHickst. They were really surprised.

Trainer Saeed bin Suroor shook his head slightly and politely said,“No, I will speak after,” when asked if he thought the Godolphin-ownedVineyard Haven, the unofficial winner of the Grade I King’s BishopStakes, would be disqualified.

Richard DePass pulled the golf cart to a stop on the Saratogabackstretch early Thursday morning. Passenger Rajiv Maragh peered tothe right, spotted Godolphin’s Henry Spiller and shouted exuberantly.

Two-time defending champion Good Night Shirt has been diagnosed with a damaged suspensory and will miss the rest of the year. Trained by Jack Fisher, Good Night Shirt ran twice this spring, winning the Carolina Cup and finished second in the Iroquois.

Dave Carroll ducked under the webbing and started talking about Selva in that typical Irish horseman dialect.

Jonathan Sheppard confessed. The Hall of Fame trainer was asked if heworried more about Informed Decision because she’s riding a five-racewin streak.

The Travers always has storylines. This year’s version of the Grade I stakes borders on fiction.

As Dalucci took over from tired pacemaker Slip Away on the final turnof Thursday’s New York Turf Writers Cup steeplechase, jockey BernieDalton looked over and saw Liam McVicar aboard Spy In The Sky.

The day before the New York Turf Writers Cup, Tom Voss and JonathanSheppard, trainers of four of the seven jumpers entered in the $100,000Grade I steeplechase stakes go through their morning routine at theOklahoma Annex.