JN Photo

Brightwork hopes to shine bright in G3 Prioress

by Nick D'Amore

Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Prioress, a six-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies at Saratoga Race Course, will mark the long-awaited return of the talented Brightwork for trainer John Ortiz and owner WSS Racing.

The daughter of Outwork and the Malibu Moon mare Clarendon Fancy was entered in Grade 1 Test presented by Ticketmaster on August 3 here but was a late scratch after flipping in the paddock.

“Off that mishap in the paddock, she had a little road rash, so the veterinarians scratched her which is in the best interest of the horse and the game. It was a very disappointing day because I thought she was going to be more than ready to run,” Ortiz said.

Brightwork [post 9, Luis Saez, 124 pounds] was a dominant juvenile, winning 4-of-6 starts, including the Grade 3 Adirondack and Grade 1 Spinaway here. Ortiz then tried to stretch her speed around two turns in the Grade 1 Alcibiades at Keeneland and the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita Park but finished off the board on both occasions.

Brightwork now looks to get her season started with a return to sprinting.

“We were able to take care of her and just continue going forward. She’s been schooling quite regularly,” Ortiz said. “She’s very simple to train. She’s a very good girl. She knows what her job is in the morning. She doesn’t really overtrain herself, but she really applies herself to every work without doing too much.”

Ortiz said Brightwork has trained well in company with recent Spa allowance winner Boss Lady Bailey.

“I put a horse in front of her to give her a target, and she absolutely loved that,” Ortiz added. “She worked with Boss Lady Bailey and they finished at the wire together. I’m very happy with that, I wanted to put more intensity into her morning workouts - just to remind her that she can have fun in the morning as well.”

South Florida invader Miuccia [post 1, Irad Ortiz, Jr., 120 pounds] will look to make the grade for owners JR Ranch and conditioner Gustavo Delgado.

The daughter of Mitole and the Speightstown mare Bay Harbor broke her maiden at second asking in a March 17 six-furlong maiden at Gulfstream Park. In her fourth start, she annexed the June 1 six-furlong Game Face at Gulfstream by 3 3/4-lengths, earning a career best Beyer Speed Figure of 90. She followed that score with a second in the July 13 seven-furlong Azalea also at the South Florida oval when 9 1/2-lengths back of Haulin Ice, who exited that effort to finish seventh in the Grade 2 Charles Town Oaks.

Gustavo Delgado, Jr., assistant and son of trainer Gustavo Delgado, has been overseeing her preparations at Saratoga, including a bullet half-mile work in 47.85 seconds Saturday over the Oklahoma training track.

“Ever since she has gotten here to Saratoga it seems like she has really liked the weather and the surroundings here at the barn. She is giving us the feeling that she is in better form,” Delgado, Jr. said. “The last two races it looks like she has really woken up. I really like the way she is coming into this one.

“She has been working very well here. She has always looked very athletic,” Delgado, Jr. added.

Rigney Racing’s recent impressive maiden winner Two Sharp [post 7, Junior Alvarado, 118 pounds] will make her stakes debut. The daughter of Twirling Candy was last seen winning by 11 1/4-lengths on August 2 here in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden sprint. She earned a 98 Beyer in the effort, leading at every point of call.

New York-bred Jeremiah Englehart trainee Tricky Temper [post 3, Dylan Davis, 120 pounds] will make her fourth start of the meet in search of her third straight win.

She enters from a three-length score in the August 16 Union Avenue Handicap, a six-furlong sprint for state-bred fillies and mares. There, she earned a career best 91 Beyer on the heels of a prominent state-bred optional-claiming score two weeks earlier.

The daughter of Into Mischief was bred in the Empire State by Sequel Thoroughbreds and Lakland Farm. She was purchased at the OBS April Sale for $230,000 by her current owner Mark H. Stanley.

Cash is King and LC Racing’s multiple stakes-winning Pennsylvania-bred Carmelina [post 5, Jose Lezcano, 120 pounds] boasts a record of 12-5-2-0 for trainer Butch Reid, Jr.

The daughter of the Reid, Jr.-trained Maximus Mischief, out of the stakes-winning St Averil mare Complete St., posted state-bred stakes wins in the Keswick and Shamrock Rose last year before closing her juvenile campaign with a win in the open-company Gin Talking sprinting seven furlongs in December at Laurel Park. She enters from a frontrunning neck score against open-company in the seven-furlong Penny Chenery on August 11 at Colonial Downs that garnered a career-best 81 Beyer.

Rounding out the field is stakes-winner Belle’s Blue Bell [post 4, Ricardo Santana, Jr., 120 pounds] for trainer Carlos David; and two-time winners Lady Moscato [post 8, Manny Franco, 118 pounds] for Hall of Fame conditioner D. Wayne Lukas, Autumn Evening [post 2, Kendrick Carmouche, 118 pounds] for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, and Pacific Rose [post 6, Javier Castellano, 118 pounds] for trainer Jorge Delgado.

The Grade 3 Prioress is slated as Race 10 on Saturday’s 13-race card which also features the Grade 1, $300,000 Spinaway in Race 11 and the Grade 2, $500,000 Flower Bowl in race 12. First post is 12:05 p.m.

Saratoga Live will present live coverage and analysis of the Saratoga Race Course summer meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule/.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.