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Juddmonte contenders line up for Alabama (G1) and $500K Saratoga Oaks

by NYRA Press Office

• Got Stormy breezes for Fourstardave (G1) title defense
• Key Biscayne hopes extra distance will allow for surprise in Saratoga Oaks
• Robin Sparkles earns 90 Beyer in maiden claiming score
• Sciacca searching stakes menu for Chowda; Debut soon in play for Forty Two Ace
• Rookie Report: Brown debuts two well-bred turf runners on Saturday, sends out War Front filly in Sunday opener

Juddmonte Farms' graded stakes-winner Bonny South will be hoping for an honest pace in Saturday's Grade 1, $500,000 Alabama, a 1 ¼-mile test for sophomore fillies at Saratoga Race Course.

The chestnut daughter of Munnings won the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks on March 21 in her stakes debut before finishing a distant fourth to Speech in the Grade 1 Ashland on July 11 at Keeneland for trainer Brad Cox.

Juddmonte Farms general manager Garrett O'Rourke said Bonny South will need a good pace up front if she is to close ground on the Ken McPeek-conditioned morning-line favorite Swiss Skydiver and the Bob Baffert-trained Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks runner-up Crystal Ball.

"She ran a good race in the Fair Grounds Oaks, but maybe she wasn't meeting horses of the caliber of Speech," O'Rourke said. "Baffert's filly will possibly be in front and Swiss Skydiver could be breathing down her neck. I would prefer to see them go out at a good clip and Brad has been under the impression that she'll keep clipping along if they go a good pace upfront."

A Kentucky homebred, Bonny South is out of the Tapit broodmare Touch the Star, who is a half-sister to Group 1-winner Etoile Montante.

"The feeling is that the ten furlongs will be up her alley," O'Rourke said. "We'd love to get a Grade 1 win. She has an exceptional pedigree anyway and that would add to it. I think Munnings is one of those stallions that gets stakes horses, but people rarely send good mares to him. This is an example of a mare with a good pedigree sent to him."

Juddmonte Farms captured the Alabama in 2001 with Kentucky Oaks-winner Flute.

Juddmonte's lightly-raced Ricetta will make her North American debut in the $500,000 Saratoga Oaks Invitational on Sunday, August 16 over the Mellon turf at Saratoga.

Initially campaigned by John Gosden, the British homebred daughter of Camelot made her first two starts at Newmarket, winning her seven furlong June 5 debut followed by an allowance score at a mile on June 18.

She finished third in her stakes debut in the 1 5/16-mile Group 3 Tattersalls Musidora on July 9 at York before being transferred to the care of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott at Saratoga.

Ricetta worked a half-mile in 50.08 seconds August 10 on the Oklahoma training turf and O'Rourke said the filly should stack up well in Saturday's 1 3/16-mile contest.

"She has the form, she should suit the race very well," said O'Rourke. "She probably missed a work or two by having to be traveling and in quarantine. She did have a blowout last week and Bill said she went well. Hopefully, that's enough to get her back to peak fitness. She does look like she stacks up ability wise.

"Bill seems to be happy with her temperament wise," added O'Rourke. "That's the biggest thing he's happy with is the fact that she has a nice temperament and that's a big plus, because you worry about them getting overanxious with new surroundings."

Ricetta is out of the Dansili mare Panzanella and comes from the same family as 2014 Cartier Horse of the Year Kingman as well as Oasis Dream. O'Rourke said that based off her pedigree, Ricetta should take well to the the Saratoga turf.

"She definitely has the pedigree," O'Rourke said. "Camelot would suggest that she would be able to stay a little bit further, but I like the fact that she's out of a Dansili mare and over the years we've had a lot of Dansili and [multiple champion-producing broodmare] Hasili blood come over here and they love the configuration, the firm turf and they adapt very well to American racetracks."

Ricetta will be ridden by Hall of Famer Javier Castellano.

While Juddmonte will not be represented by a Kentucky Derby contender this year, they will still have the opportunity to win a Grade 1 on the first Saturday in September when Tacitus seeks his first win at such caliber in the $500,000 Woodward at the Spa.

The Bill Mott-trained son of Tapit has not raced since a decisive win in the Grade 2 Suburban at Belmont Park and bypassed the Grade 1 Whitney in favor of more time in between races.

"All his works are geared towards the Woodward and touch wood everything stays on course," O'Rourke said. "Bill is happy with him and we don't have a Derby horse the year, so our big day on the fifth of September will be at Saratoga."

O'Rourke hopes that Tacitus, a three-time graded stakes winner, will follow the form last year's Champion Older Male Vino Rosso displayed at the latter end of the year.

"I was looking at Vino Rosso and his form line," O'Rourke said. "After a start or two all of a sudden he stepped forward, found his niche and finished out the year strongly. I am hopeful that Tacitus can possibly do the same. Bill expressed the possibility of going eight weeks [after the Woodward] and head to the Breeders' Cup Classic if all goes well. He's a horse that deserves his big win. He's a consistently good horse at the Grade 1 level but has run into good horses along the way."

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Got Stormy breezes for Fourstardave (G1) title defense

Gary Barber's multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire Got Stormy breezed a half-mile in 49 seconds flat Friday on the Oklahoma training turf in her final piece of work for her title defense in the Grade 1, $400,000 Fourstardave on August 22 at the Spa.

Last year, the 5-year-old Get Stormy mare, trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, became the first filly to win the Grade 1 Fourstardave, in its 35th running, covering one mile over a firm inner turf in a track record 1:32 flat. Got Stormy followed her first Grade 1 score with runner-up efforts in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile and Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile at Santa Anita before ending her campaign on a high note with a score in the Grade 1 Matriarch at Del Mar.

Winless in four starts this season, including a last-out fourth in the Grade 3 Poker on July 4 at Belmont, Got Stormy has posted four strong works on the Oklahoma training turf.

"The last two works before this we went five-eighths and the one two back was a nice stiff effort in a minute and change [1:00.50] but she came home very fast. Last week we gave her a medium five-eighths and let her come home a little bit," said assistant trainer Jamie Begg. "This morning, she did a half and came home the last eighth pretty quick. I was happy with the work, she went easy enough and I think she's going into the race really well."

Last year, Got Stormy, who prefers firms footing, entered the Fourstardave just one week following a scorching four-length score in the Fasig-Tipton De La Rose. She enters Saturday's test with nearly seven weeks between starts, but Begg said Got Stormy is ready to fire.

"She's had a lot of races so we gave her a bit of a break here. The turf was really wet at the end of Belmont and at the beginning of this meet, so we were waiting for this spot," said Begg. "We know she likes Saratoga. We didn't give her the prep race like we did here last year but I she's been working just as good this time around as she was last year."

The probable field for the Fourstardave includes Casa Creed (Bill Mott), Emmaus (Conor Murphy), Raging Bull (Chad Brown) and Without Parole (Brown).

Cindy M. Hutson and Robert Masterson's maiden winner Lashara, a British-bred daughter of American Pharoah, worked in company inside of the John Oxley-owned maiden Yes to Mischief, a $400,000 purchase at the OBS March 2019 Two-Year-Olds in Training sale. The duo covered a half-mile in 51.47 on the Oklahoma training turf.

Out of the graded-stakes winning Smart Strike mare Marbre Rose, Lashara graduated at second asking in a one-mile turf maiden in April at Gulfstream and returned June 20 to finish a closing second in a 1 1/16-mile allowance tilt at Belmont.

Last out, Lashara was on the pace in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Lake Placid before fading to seventh. Begg said Lashara will likely turn back in distance next out while seeking a little class relief.

"We thought she was sitting good last time but she didn't really finish. It might have been a sixteenth too long," said Begg. "We still think she's that kind of quality of horse but there's an allowance coming up - she still has her conditions - and we'll try to get her some confidence with that and hopefully move on from there to bigger and better things."

American Diamond, a 2-year-old American Pharoah colt, worked a solo half-mile in 50.76 Friday on the Oklahoma training turf. Out of the Giant's Causeway mare Causeway Lady, it was the bay's first turf work following a trio of main track breezes.

Begg said it's likely American Diamond will debut on turf.

"He's a nice baby and we're pretty high on him," said Begg. "He's had some dirt works too. He has talent but he looks around a lot and is a little on the green side. Everyone that's worked him thinks he's more on the turf side and his pedigree looks that way. It was a pretty good work this morning and he seemed to get over the ground pretty good."

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Key Biscayne hopes extra distance will allow for surprise in Saratoga Oaks

The road to stakes competition was a circuitous one for Key Biscayne, who completed the journey in her ninth start when she ran fourth in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Lake Placid on July 19 at Saratoga.

On Sunday, the Juan Alvarado trainee will get another opportunity to face high-caliber turf routers, as the superfecta of the Lake Placid all return in the $500,000 Saratoga Oaks Invitational.

In the Lake Placid, Key Biscayne was stretched out to 1 1/8 miles for the first time. Alvarado said running at the Saratoga Oaks' distance of 1 3/16 miles on the Mellon turf course could suit her strengths.

"She has kept training good and a little more distance should be good; we're ready to go in this race," Alvarado said. "The distance will be better for her."

The Saratoga Oaks will see Speaktomeofsummer, Stunning Sky and Queens Embrace - the top three Lake Placid finishers - back as part of a seven-horse field that also includes 2-1 morning-line favorite Enola Gay, Antoinette and Ricetta.

Key Biscayne, owned by Arindel, broke her maiden in her sixth start on May 1 at Gulfstream Park. The Brethren filly broke through after three previous on-the-board finishes, with back-to-back runner-up efforts in maiden special weights in June and July 2019 at Gulfstream Park to cap her juvenile campaign. In her sophomore debut, she ran third, a half-length back to Urban Fairytale, off an eight-month layoff on March 29 at Gulfstream.

"She's improved a lot," Alvarado said. "She's a more mature horse. She also likes the track over here. I think the field she is facing, it's [challenging], but I think she'll be there."

Key Biscayne is the longest shot on the morning line at 15-1 from post 5. She will pick up the services of jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. for the first time.

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Robin Sparkles earns 90 Beyer in maiden claiming score

Michael Schrader's Robin Sparkles, trained by Bruce Brown, went gate-to-wire in impressive fashion to graduate at second asking Thursday in a New York-bred maiden claiming turf sprint traveling 5 ½-furlongs at Saratoga.

Named for a fictional character portrayed by Canadian actress Cobie Smulders on the hit TV series How I Met Your Mother, Robin Sparkles rocketed through splits of 21.42 and 43.87 and entered the stretch with a 6 ½-length lead. Well clear of her rivals, Robin Sparkles strolled home 4 ¾-lengths the best in a final time of 1:01.43, garnering a 90 Beyer Speed Figure.

Bred in New York by Hibiscus Stable, the Elusive Quality sophomore was purchased for $30,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred Yearling Sale. She set the pace while sprinting in her July 10 debut on a sloppy Belmont Park main track before fading to 10th, but Brown said the barn remained confident in the speedy bay.

"We've liked her all along but the rain really came down that first race. It was a sloppy track and not the best for a first time starter. She used herself up in the race and it looked a lot worse on paper than it actually was," said Brown of the key tilt in which winner Jewel of Arabia and runner-up Blitchton Lady both were next-out winners.

Robin Sparkles was scratched at the gate of a New York-bred maiden special weight turf sprint on July 24, but Brown said she was more professional on Thursday.

"She can be a little silly in the gate so we worked with her on that. She was still a little fussy in there, but she broke good and went about her business," said Brown.

Although she debuted on dirt, Brown said her physical attributes suggested turf racing would be in the cards.

"She's got a big turf foot on her," said Brown. "Her breeding doesn't say turf but speed on the grass is usually key, so we always thought she'd like it but maybe not as much as she showed yesterday. We hoped the five and a half would hit her between the eyes. I still think she's OK on the dirt also, but as well as she ran on the grass, we'll stick there for now."

Though Robin Sparkles earned a stakes-caliber figure in victory, Brown said he'll take the patient approach.

"With that kind of number would make you think about it, but she has all her conditions in front of her so we can pick our spots and see what our best options are," said Brown.

Brown, who oversees a stable of 20 horses at Saratoga, picked up his first win of the meet on July 26 with New York-bred turf sprinter More Like It. Owned by Our Sugar Bear Stable, the dark bay son of More Than Ready earned a 75 Beyer in his third-out graduation in a 5 ½-furlong turf sprint.

"He really loves it up here. He was training well up here last year and just had some little issues. There's a race for him next week and we're hoping to get another win for him here," said Brown.

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Sciacca searching stakes menu for Chowda; Debut soon in play for Forty Two Ace

Eddie F's Racing's Chowda, last-out winner of the Gander on February 16 at the Big A, has posted four strong breezes at Saratoga this summer, including a six-furlong effort in 1:14.15 on the dirt training track on August 10.

Sciacca said the 3-year-old Emcee colt, bred in New York by Fedwell Farm, is training well toward his return to action.

"He had a little flake in the knee and we took it out and he's doing well now. He worked well the other day," said Sciacca. "We'll see how he breezes next time before we make a decision on his next start."

A maiden winner at third asking in November at Aqueduct, Chowda entered his Gander score from a neck victory in a restricted optional-claiming mile on January 17 at the Ozone Park oval. The NYSSS Times Square, a 6 ½-furlong main track sprint slated for August 27, is a possible return spot for the dark bay.

Sciacca has a pair of promising New York-bred 2-year-olds in the barn working towards their debut in Crock of Gold and Forty Two Ace.

Crock of Gold, a chestnut son of Mission Impazible, was purchased for $55,000 at the Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Preferred New York Bred Yearling Sale. 

Sciacca said Crock of Gold, who has four works at the Spa under his belt, including a quick half-mile in 47.88 on August 9, is nearly ready to race.

Forty Two Ace, a bay son of Goldencents purchased for $50,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale, is targeting a debut at the beginning of September. Out of the Speightstown mare Cinderella's Wish, Forty Two Ace worked five-eighths from the gate in 1:02.12 Friday morning on the main track.

Owned by Hall of Fame football coach Bill Parcells, a two-time Super Bowl-winner with the New York Giants, Sciacca said Forty Two Ace's name came straight out of the coach's playbook.

"They had a play called 'H Forty Two Ace' which was the halfback draw for the Giants. We just dropped the 'H'," said Sciacca. "He's pretty quick. He broke a little slow out of the gate today but we've got time to work on it before he starts."

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Rookie Report: Brown debuts two well-bred turf runners on Saturday, sends out War Front filly in Sunday opener

Two enticing maiden special weight events make up an 11-race program assembled for Saturday, August 15.

In Race 2, a 1 /16-mile event over the Mellon turf, trainer Chad Brown will saddle a formidable pair of first time starters in Klaravich Stables' Public Sector and Peter Brant, Michael Tabor and Mrs. John Magnier's Polinesia.

Public Sector, a bay son of Kingman bred in Great Britain by The Kathryn Stud, has been training at Saratoga since late June and has recorded two breezes over the Oklahoma training turf, the most recent of which was a five-furlong move in 1:02.40.

Public Sector is out of the Montjeu mare Parle Moi. Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. will be aboard from post 4.

Polinesia, an $800,000 purchase from the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale last year, is a bay son of 2015 Triple Crown winner and second crop sire American Pharoah and is the first progeny out of the Grade 3 winning Super Saver mare Super Majesty.

Breaking from post 5, Polinesia will be ridden by jockey Jose Ortiz.

Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey will saddle Scarlett Sky for owner Stuart S. Janney III. A Kentucky homebred, the dark bay son of Sky Mesa is out of the Arch broodmare Mata Mua who is a half-sister to My Impression - a four-time stakes winner over four different turf courses.

"He's had plenty done with him," McGaughey said. "I had him entered at Belmont before we came up here and he had a bit of a mucus situation. Now I've got him back ready to run. He worked well over the grass so we're going to give him a try and get him going."

Scarlett Sky will be ridden by Tyler Gaffalione from the rail.

In Race 6, juvenile colts will take to the main track for a 6 ½-furlong maiden special weight.

Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen will send out Winchell Thoroughbreds' Calibrate for his debut.

The bay son of Distorted Humor was bought for $340,000 from last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where he was consigned by James B. Keough.

Bred in Kentucky by Don Alberto Corporation, Calibrate is out of the Dynaformer mare Glamour and Style. His fourth dam is Alidiva, who was the 1997 Broodmare of the Year in Ireland and Italy, produced multiple graded stakes winner Oonagh Macool and Taipan, a champion in Italy and Germany.

"He's been doing great and training well. I think he likes being up in Saratoga," said Winchell Thoroughbreds racing and bloodstock advisor David Fiske. "He's been pretty well thought of while he was in Laredo [at El Primero Training Center] and since he moved north. He's by Distorted Humor out of a Dynaformer mare so we think two turns will be his forte in the future."

Jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr. will be aboard Calibrate from post 6.

Leading trainer Todd Pletcher sends out Restored Order, who will attempt to break his maiden at second asking for owners Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable.

The gray or roan son of freshman stallion Frosted was third at Gulfstream Park in his May 8 debut. Bred in Kentucky by Merribelle Stable, Restored Order is out of the Forestry mare Taboo, who is a half-sister to Grade 1 winners Creative Cause and Vexatious as well as multiple graded stakes winner Destin. All are out of Grade 1-winning millionaire and California-bred champion Dream of Summer.

"He looks great. Coming off the first time out, we're looking to see if he can take a step forward," Pletcher said.

Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. will climb aboard Restored Order form post 10.

On Sunday, racing action kicks off with a 6 ½-furlong maiden special weight for juvenile fillies over the main track.

Trainer Chad Brown will saddle Nevisian Sunrise for Jon Clay's Alpha Delta Stable. The bay daughter of War Front was bred in Kentucky by her owner and is the first progeny out of graded stakes winner My Miss Sophia, a daughter of Unbridled's Song who was second in the 2014 Kentucky Oaks.

"She's been training well, I think Chad is happy with her," said Alpha Delta Stable's racing and bloodstock advisor Reynolds Bell. "The mare is gorgeous and she's a typical Unbridled's Song type, but Nevesian Sunrise she leans more towards the conformation of War Front. She's a little more short coupled and a little more like a War Front."

Nevesian Sunrise will be ridden by Jose Ortiz from post 6.

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen will saddle well-bred Cantata. Owned by Barbara Banke's Stonestreet Stables, the daughter of Medaglia d'Oro is out of the Flatter mare Stoweshoe, a full sister to Grade 1-winner Taris. She was purchased for $950,000 from last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr. will be aboard form post 3.