Opening weekend at Saratoga Race Course features several graded stakes races showcasing some of the best fillies and mares in the country. The meet will get underway on Friday, July 20 with gates opening at 11 a.m. and first post time at 1 p.m. The Grade 3, $150,000 Schuylerville for 2-year-old fillies and the Grade 3, $150,000 Lake George Stakes for 3-year-old turf fillies headline the day.
Entry | Horse | ML Odds | Jockey | Trainer |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Punked (IRE) | 5-1 | Javier Castellano | Chad Brown |
2 | Going Out | 30-1 | Luis Saez | Michael Matz |
3 | Daddy Is a Legend | 9-5 | Manuel Franco | George Weaver |
4 | Nootka Sound | 5-2 | Dylan Davis | Wesley Ward |
5 | Goodthingstaketime (IRE) | 7-2 | Jose Ortiz | Jorge Abreu |
6 | Andina Del Sur | 8-1 | Julien Leparoux | Thomas Albertrani |
7 | Altea (FR) | 3-1 | Irad Ortiz, Jr. | Chad Brown |
8 | Heavenly Love | 6-1 | John Velazquez | Mark Casse |
Trainer Chad Brown was expected to have 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Rushing Fall compete in the Lake George for 3-year-old fillies before she developed a temperature. Brown instead will saddle the French-bred Altea and the Irish-bred Punked in the 1 1/16 mile race on the main track.
Altea, the 3-1 second choice, will be making her fourth consecutive graded stakes start, looking to bounce back from consecutive fifth-place finishes in the Grade 3 Edgewood on May 4 at Churchill and in the Grade 3 Wonder Again on June 7 at Belmont. The daughter of Siyouni will see Ortiz, Jr. will ride from post 7.
As a juvenile, Altea twice finished second in stakes in her native France before arriving in North American to start her 3-year-old campaign, which commenced with a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Florida Oaks on March 10 at Tampa Bay Downs.
Punked, a 5-1 choice, drew the rail in tandem with Hall of Famer Javier Castellano. In her first stakes appearance last out, she was second to Got Stormy in the Wild Applause on June 23 at Belmont.
The George Weaver-trained Daddy Is a Legend has a graded stakes win on her ledger, capping her 2-year-old season with a one-length victory in the Grade 3 Jimmy Durante on November 25 at Del Mar.
The Scat Daddy filly was fourth in the Wonder Again after running third in the Grade 3 Edgewood on May 4 at Churchill and enters Friday as the 9-5 favorite from post 3. Manny Franco will have the call.
Heavenly Love will be cutting back in distance after her third-place finish in the Grade 3 Regret at 1 1/8 miles om June 16 at Churchill. Since winning the Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades in October at Keeneland, Heavenly Love has struggled at times, finishing 11th in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and out of the money in the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra on February 17 at Fairgrounds and the Grade 2 Appalachian on April 8 at Keeneland before rallying to finish third in the Regret, earning a personal-best 84 Beyer Speed Figure.
“We kind of feel like she’s come around, her last race was very good,” Casse said. “She got bothered a little early on. We intended on being a little closer. But she ran extremely well and with a little better start and a little better attacking position, she should be tough.”
Velazquez will ride from the outside post in the eight-horse field.
Andina Del Sur, who won the Florida Oaks before running fourth in the Grade 1 Ashland on April 7 at Keeneland and sixth in the Wonder Again, will break from post 6 with Julien Leparoux.
Rounding out the field is Going Out for trainer Michael Matz and Goodthingstaketime, trained by Jorge Abreu. Nootka Sound is entered for the main track only.
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