May Day Ready primed for G2 Lake Placid

KatieRich Stables’ Grade 1-placed May Day Ready looks to get back to the winner’s circle in Saturday’s Grade 2, $400,000 Lake Placid, a one-mile inner turf test for sophomore fillies, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Joe Lee, the Tapit bay posted a strong juvenile campaign, graduating on debut by a nose last August here ahead of stakes victories in the one-mile Listed Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies and Keeneland’s 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Jessamine. She was second next in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf beaten 1 1/2 lengths by multiple Grade/Group 1-winner Lake Victoria going one mile in November at Del Mar. 

“The mile distance is what she wants,” Lee said. “This race was to give her a distance she probably prefers and to see how she does. We like running in a spot we’ve known she’s liked for her entire life.”

May Day Ready [post 3, Jose Ortiz] capped her past season with an off-the-board effort in the Group 1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies in December at Kyoto in Japan. She returned in the off-the-turf Grade 3 Wonder Again here and was a distant last-of-three to recent Grade 1 Alabama presented by Keeneland Sales-winner Nitrogen in June here, before a last-out rallying fourth in the local Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational on July 5.

In the Belmont Oaks, a nine-furlong Mellon turf test, May Day Ready leapt and bobbled at the start to travel last-of-7, closing for fourth behind the victorious Fionn as she set a track-record 1:44.84 when nailing Nitrogen at the wire by a nose. 

“The start affected her slightly, but I wouldn’t say that was the main reason she got beat,” said Lee. “The main reason would be that she didn’t get much out of the Wonder Again. I consider her last race to be her first race of the year, to be honest, and it was maybe a little bit longer than she wanted.” 

May Day Ready, bred in Kentucky by White Birch Farm, has banked in excess of $1 million via a 7-3-1-1 record. She is out of the multiple Grade/Group 1-placed More Than Ready mare Nemoralia who was third in the 2015 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. 

Four G Racing’s Kentucky homebred Reining Flowers [post 6, John Velazquez] has been third in all three starts this year, all stakes, most recently in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Lake George presented by Surfside on July 26 here. 

Trained by John Ortiz, the Midnight Storm dark bay traveled nearly last-of-seven for the majority of the Lake George before rallying strongly up the rail under Hall of Famer John Velazquez to land a neck behind the victorious Daisy Flyer, while nosed out of place-honors by the favored Classic Q. 

Reining Flowers earned a career and field-best 89 Beyer Speed Figure in defeat. 

“She ran an incredible race last time,” Ortiz said. “She was very unfortunate to get beat at the wire. She made a huge move up the rail and Johnny absolutely loves her. He knows her very well and I think pointing to the Lake Placid after was the right idea.” 

Out of the winning Congrats mare Mi Fiori, Reining Flowers is a half-sister to the dual graded stakes-placed Crown Imperial, who is conditioned by Ortiz for the same connections.

“Just like her sister Crown Imperial, she is brave,” said Ortiz. “The mom is actually putting some real good heart into these babies of hers. That’s shown through the past couple of years and I’m not surprised at all, because these fillies are tiny, but mighty.”

Reining Flowers has hit the board in 8-of-9 career starts, including an additional stakes placing in the Listed P.G. Johnson last August here. She boasts a 9-2-2-4 record with $212,690 in earnings. 

Five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown has won this event a record six times, including the past four runnings, and has entered LSU Stables’ Play With Fire [post 1, Flavien Prat]. 

Brown’s past scores include Rushing Fall [2018], Regal Glory [2019, dead-heat with Varenka], as well as Technical Analysis, Haughty, Aspray and Grayosh [2021-24]. 

Play With Fire makes her second start for current connections following a half-length second to Classic Q in the Listed Wild Applause over course and distance on July 3. The privately purchased Oscar Performance bay made her five prior starts for trainer Brendan Walsh, capped with a one-length score in the one-mile Listed Hilltop in May at Pimlico Race Course.  

“She’s training excellent and I’m really pleased with her,” Brown said. “She came to me in good condition and I felt a little time between races to get her weight back would be beneficial. I’m seeing that.”

Bred in Minnesota by Lothenbach Stables, Play With Fire is out of the Street Sense mare Streaming Fire, a half-sister to Grade 3-winner City Attraction.

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners’ Warming [post 4, Manny Franco] was fifth last out in the Belmont Oaks Invitational. Trained by Graham Motion, the Global Campaign chestnut previously won second off-the-layoff, closing to win a 1 1/16-mile optional claimer in June at Delaware Park after a close fifth to next-out stakes-winner Love Cervere in the six-furlong Take the A Train in May at Belmont at the Big A. 

Rounding out the field are Group 2-placed Irish-bred Eponine [post 2, Irad Ortiz, Jr.] for conditioner Philippe Sogorb and synthetic stakes-winner Scarlet Sands [post 5, Joel Rosario] for trainer Carlos David. 

The Lake Placid, in Race 7, supports a five Grade 1 card with the $1.25 million DraftKings Travers [Race 13, 6:14 p.m.], the $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial in Race 10 and three top-level Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” qualifiers with the Forego [Dirt Mile] in Race 12, Resorts World Casino Ballerina [Filly and Mare Sprint] in Race 11 and the Personal Ensign [Distaff] in Race 9.

First post on Saturday’s 14-race card is 11:10 a.m. Eastern with gates opening to the public at 9:00 a.m. 

A special DraftKings Travers Day edition of Saratoga Live will air on FS2 beginning at noon. FOX Saratoga Saturday will present live coverage and analysis of the DraftKings Travers Day stakes action beginning at 3 p.m. 

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