SARATOGA SPRINGS – Nothing is final yet, but it looks like GI Preakness Stakes winner Napoleon Solo (Liam's Map) will have a new partner in Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez in his next start.Velazquez was on board the grey for the first time and Napoleon Solo sizzled through five furlongs in :58.81 (1/7) on the main track Wednesday morning. Trainer Chad Summers said Napoleon Solo was originally supposed to work in company with a horse from trainer Rudy Rodriguez's barn but ended up going by himself.Kiaran McLaughlin, Velazquez's agent, said there was a “strong chance” that his client would ride Napoleon Solo in his next start, which will be either the GI DK Travers Stakes at Saratoga Aug. 29 or the GI Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Sept. 19.“(Summers) said with the likelihood of him riding him, could (Velazquez) come and work him,” McLaughlin said by phone. “It worked out well, and Johnny liked him.”Napoleon Solo is coming off a second-place finish in the GI Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park July 18. He has been ridden in his last three starts by Paco Lopez.Johnny Velazquez | Sarah AndrewSummers said a final decision on who rides Napoleon Solo and where he runs next will be made after he consults with the ownership group, Espoir USA, Inc. He expects that could come sometime next week.“Like I told Paco, it's up to the ownership group,” Summers said outside his barn on the Saratoga backstretch Wednesday morning. “Paco has done a great job. He won the Preakness, just got beat in the Haskell. Whatever happens–one way or the other–very thankful for the job Paco has done up to this date.”Lopez was suspended 30 days by the New York State Gaming Commission following a four-horse spill on opening day at the Spa. He appealed and has continued to ride and currently leads the jockey standings at Colonial Downs with 35 wins.“If (Napoleon Solo's) next race is in Saratoga, Paco does not have as much experience (as Velazquez) and, obviously, the stewards are on high alert for Paco,” Summers said. “You have to take that under consideration.”Wednesday's work was the second at Saratoga this summer for Napoleon Solo. His previous eight works have been at Belmont Park.“That's him,” Summers said. “He does things that other horses can't do. He needs to show that in the afternoon against the best 3-year-olds of the crop. To me, it looks like he's thriving and peaking, and this is the time of year when you want them to be thriving and peaking.” Counting Stars Impressive Again as Alabama LoomsEveryone assembled at the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse was gushing after Counting Stars (Honor A.P.) tuned up for next Saturday's GI Alabama Stakes with a four-furlong breeze on the main track Wednesday morning.Counting Stars | Sarah AndrewWith exercise rider Reynaldo Dumont up, Counting Stars, the leader of the 3-year-old filly division, impressed with a 48.93 (16/33) clocking while working alone just after 7 a.m.“She is just awesome,” Dumont said.“She continues to amaze me,” Casse said. “I was like, 'slow down, slow down, slow down” the entire time. Then I said, 'ok, you can let her go a little bit.' She took off and I said, 'that's enough!' Ten days out (from the Alabama). She's ready.”Counting Stars has won three of six starts this year, including her last two, a pair of Grade Is at Saratoga. On July 25 she won the Coaching Club American Oaks buy 4 1/4 lengths; June 5, she took the Acorn Stakes by 3 3/4 lengths.Finishing second in both those races was the Chad Brown-trained Always a Runner (Gun Runner), who won the GI Kentucky Oaks May 1, and Counting Stars was third.Irad Ortiz Jr., who has ridden Counting Stars in her last two starts, is currently on the disabled list with a left foot injury. Ortiz got hurt last Saturday. His agent, Steve Rushing, said Wednesday via text, that Ortiz should be back riding Aug. 22, which is Alabama Day.Counting Stars is owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and Terry Finley, the president and CEO, was equally blown away by the work he had just seen.Counting Stars | Sarah Andrew“We have had some good horses, but they are tough to come by,” he said. “When you get to this level, you don't want the days to go by quickly because you want to savor them … but you can't wait for the race day to get here.”Last year, Casse had the champion 3-year-old filly in his barn in Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro), who finished second in the GI Whitney Stakes on Saturday. He is certainly the favorite to go back-to-back if Counting Stars continues to excel.And if she continues on her path, Counting Stars could meet up with her stablemate Nitrogen in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff at Keeneland in October. But Casse is not going to get ahead of himself.For now, it's all about Counting Stars and her quest to give her trainer his second straight Alabama; Nitrogen won it in 2025.“She is really fast,” Casse said about Counting Stars. “She is an athlete. She is smart. She is versatile. She is special.” Knightsbridge Heading West for Date in Pacific ClassicFollowing a dynamic victory in the GIII Monmouth Cup Stakes July 18, the trick was going to be finding a next start for the often-brilliant Knightsbridge (Nyquist).Michael Banahan, the Director of Bloodstock for Godolphin USA, which owns and bred the 5-year-old, looked West.Knightsbridge wins the Monmouth Cup | Sarah AndrewKnightsbridge, who won the 1 1/8-mile Monmouth Cup by 10 1/4 lengths as the 1-2 favorite was trying two turns for the first time. Now, he'll be asked to go a little further at Del Mar next Saturday when he runs in the GI Pacific Classic.Godolphin won the GI Whitney Stakes last Saturday with Sovereignty (Into Mischief).“The only other place to run in a Grade I is the Pacific Classic,” Banahan said. “We'll stretch out another furlong and see if he likes that. He certainly wasn't stopping in the last one at Monmouth.”The Pacific Classic is 1 1/4 miles.“We know how good he was going seven eighths and a mile in Florida,” Banahan said.And he was very good doing that, winning three Grade III races, two at seven furlongs, one at a mile. The combined margin of victory was 20 3/4 lengths.“He was spectacular,” Banahan said. “But, then again, I question who he was beating there as well. We are taking a chance out there (Pacific Classic), and, hopefully, if he can get a win out there, we will have two horses with major ambitions for the fall.”Knightsbridge and Sovereignty are both trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott.The post Saratoga Notebook, Presented By NYRA Bets: Velazquez Works Napoleon Solo, Could Ride In Next Race appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.