Ewing To Stretch Out Following Saratoga Special Victory
D. J. Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds and Kenneth Freirich's Ewing kept a perfect 2-for-2 record intact while besting graded stakes winner Obliteration by one length in Saturday's Saratoga Special (G2) for 2-year-olds at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse, the Knicks Go colt entered the 6 1/2-furlong sprint from an eye-opening 12-length debut romp on July 5 at the Spa.
On Saturday, with returning rider Jose Ortiz up, Ewing broke a step slow and veered in at the start from the inside post while the sharp-starting favorite Obliteration caught a flyer from the gate. Nevertheless, Ortiz and Ewing hustled up the rail and showed the way through splits of 22.26 seconds and 45.41 over the fast main track, angling wide off the turn as Obliteration struggled to corner. Ortiz straightened away Ewing and powered through the wire in a final time of 1:18.03.
'We're really pleased with his performance. He broke a step slow and that was a good horse he beat,' Casse assistant Shane Tripp said. 'It was good race riding and exciting to see. What a day to display him. We're excited for the connections.'
One of the connections amongst a Whitney Day crowd of 42,316 was co-owner Griffin Johnson, a social media influencer involved with West Point Thoroughbreds that is helping to draw attention to horse racing through his stake in Grade 1 winner Sandman and rising star Ewing.
Johnson, who has a significant following on TikTok [9.7 million], Instagram [2.6 million] and X [1.6 million], was captured on video in the Saratoga grandstand loudly cheering home Ewing – a clip generating a lot of 'likes' on social media.
'I was hollering and all these people were staring at us while we were cheering him on,' said Johnson, with a laugh Sunday morning while watching turf works on the Oklahoma training track. 'Whenever I post videos like that, people want to know what's going on and it makes people want to experience it for themselves.'
The hope is that Johnson can direct a percentage of his following to understand and appreciate his interest in horse racing. The influencer's content has portrayed Johnson at the Casse barn helping to bathe and walk horses or simply interacting with the equine athletes like a fan – which he is.
'I always say authenticity is what does it for me,' Johnson said. 'There's getting people to click and getting people to stay, and the reason I think we get people to stay is because I show how I really feel.'
And Saturday was definitely a day to showcase both Ewing and horse racing with the 13-race card generating a Whitney Day record handle of $49,651,341.
'Every day I wake up and I try to give people the real experience -- yesterday was a good one,' Johnson said.
Tripp said that Ewing, who Casse indicated will stretch out in the Iroquois (G3) going one mile in September at Churchill Downs, exited the Saratoga Special in good order.
'He came back great,' Tripp said. 'We're excited about him. He ate everything last night and jogged good on the road.
'The way he gets across the ground, I think he'll relish stretching out and not having to rush him off his feet in these short races,' Tripp added. 'I think you'll see the best of him when he starts going longer.'
This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Aug 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
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