Counting Stars shines bright in G1 DraftKings Acorn

West Point Thoroughbreds’ Counting Stars turned the tables on familiar foes Always a Runner and Meaning with an emphatic 3 3/4-length score in Friday’s Grade 1, $500,000 DraftKings Acorn, a nine-furlong route for sophomore fillies on Day Three of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse and piloted by Irad Ortiz, Jr., Counting Stars exited a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks on May 1 at Churchill Downs where she landed 2 1/4-lengths back of the victorious Always a Runner, who was 1 1/4-lengths better than runner-up Meaning.

Counting Stars endured an inside trip in the Kentucky Oaks under Francisco Arrieta before getting out to make a late run. On Friday, she saved ground in third position through much of the trip before tipping out midway through the final turn to flip the script on her Oaks rivals.

“She [overcame] a lot of adversity today, because she doesn't usually like to be down inside,” Casse said. “I think Francisco rode her great in the Oaks, he saved all the ground, but he couldn't get out until late and she came running late. So Irad had watched the race and determined at the top of the lane he was going to get out. In fairness, we had a five-horse field versus [13], it makes a difference." 

Maximum Offer, at 35-1 odds under Florent Geroux, was hustled to the front to lead the compact field of five through an opening quarter-mile in 23.41 seconds over the fast main track.

“I was planning to be forward and they [Maximum Offer and Geroux] surprised me at the beginning,” Ortiz, Jr. said. “They had speed on paper but I thought I was going to be ahead of them. I see them going so I went to 'Plan B' and I waited behind the speed, and she switched off very, very nice.”

Meaning pressed the pace from second position down the backstretch with Counting Stars saving ground to the inside of 4-5 favorite Always a Runner as Prom Queen, who was on heels from the inside post into the first turn, trailed through a half-mile in 47.73. Jose Ortiz gave Always a Runner her cue approaching the final turn as Meaning took over from a retreating Maximum Offer while Ortiz, Jr. held fast aboard Counting Stars.

Once Always a Runner surged into contention through three-quarters in 1:11.51, Ortiz, Jr. used that space to tip Counting Stars to the far outside and his charge quickly swooped to the front, taking command approaching the eighth pole and powering clear to score in a final time of 1:48.85. In victory, she became the first Grade 1-winner for her sire Honor A. P.

“I had the favorite outside of me on the backside, nothing I can do. Then I waited until they started moving,” Ortiz, Jr. said. “When [Always a Runner] jumped on Meaning, I had a good chance to get clear. I had no traffic at all and got clear, and when I hit clear she came running.

“When I hit the clear she jumped into the bit and I feel like I have the horse to run down the lane,” he continued. “She went by them easy in her own way. She did it the right way today, honestly. She won the right way. She was there for me.”

Always a Runner completed the exacta by two lengths over Meaning with Prom Queen and Maximum Offer rounding out the order of finish.

Ortiz said the previously undefeated Always a Runner, winner of the Grade 3 Gazelle in April at Aqueduct Racetrack for five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown, had no excuses in defeat.

“She broke good and had a good trip. I attacked Meaning around the quarter-pole, but [Counting Stars] went by me easily,” Ortiz said.

Brown also tipped his cap to the winner.

“I thought she got a really good trip. He [Ortiz] moved when he had to move there,” Brown said. “The winner was impressive. It looked like she went by me pretty easily and won comfortably, so it looks like we were second-best today.” 

Counting Stars won three of her first four starts, including stakes scores in the restricted Astral Spa Overnight and Year’s End in December at Oaklawn Park. She launched her sophomore campaign with a trio of starts at Oaklawn, failing to fire in the Listed Martha Washington in February ahead of a close second to well-regarded Explora in the Grade 3 Honeybee on March 1 and a 5 1/2-length romp in the Grade 2 Fantasy in March.

Casse said Counting Stars will likely look to improve her credentials in the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama presented by Keeneland Sales on August 22 here, a race he won last year with eventual Champion 3-Year-Old Filly Nitrogen, who captured the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps just two races later on today’s card.

“We're going to try to repeat a Nitrogen, so I guess we'll see everybody in the Alabama,” Casse said.

Bred in Kentucky by HRH Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud, Counting Stars, out of the Paynter mare Paynterbynumbers, was a $150,000 purchase at the OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.  

Counting Stars banked $275,000 in victory while improving her record to 9-5-1-1. She returned $11.44 for a $2 win bet.

Live racing resumes Saturday, Belmont Stakes Day at Saratoga, with a stacked 14-race card encompassing six Grade 1s among seven graded events, highlighted by the 158th running of the Grade 1, $2 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets in Race 13 at 7:04 p.m. Eastern.

The lucrative program includes the Grade 1, $1 million Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap [Race 11] - a "Win and You're In" for the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile; the Grade 1, $1 million Resorts World Casino Manhattan [Race 12]; the Grade 1, $500,000 Just a Game presented by Resolute Racing [Race 7]; the Grade 3, $400,000 True North [Race 8]; the Grade 1, $500,000 Jaipur [Race 9] – a “Win and You’re In” for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint; and the Grade 1 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun [Race 10]. First post is 11 a.m. with gates open to the public at 9 a.m.

America’s Day at the Races presents daily coverage and analysis of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.belmontstakes.com/event-info/tv-schedule. 

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, and the best way to bet every race of the five-day meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.