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Saguaro Row seeks first stakes victory in $100K Shine Again

by Ryan Martin

Newtown Anner Stud and Mark Breen's three-time winner Saguaro Row will look for her first stakes win as she takes on five other fillies and mares in Wednesday's $100,000 Shine Again on the Saratoga Race Course main track.

The seven-furlong sprint pays homage to Bohemia Stable's millionaire, who is the only filly to score back-to-back editions of the Spa's Grade 1 Ballerina, from 2001-02. The Maryland-bred daughter of Wild Again was conditioned by Hall of Famer Allen Jerkens and won 14 of 34 career starts, five of which were graded stakes wins.

Saguaro Row, trained by Michael Stidham, was a distant sixth in the Grade 2 Princess Rooney last out at Gulfstream Park, which came after a pair of allowance wins at Keeneland and Belmont Park, the former of which came when emerging from a 13-month layoff.

Conditioned by trainer Brendan Walsh during her sophomore campaign, where she made a pair of off-the-board starts at Fair Grounds, she started her career with Stidham as a 2-year-old. The 4-year-old Union Rags bay broke her maiden in her career debut at Laurel Park in September 2017, defeating eventual stakes-placed Caught Dream'n and eventual stakes-winner Souper Striking. Her next effort was in the Rags to Riches at Churchill Downs, where she ran fifth as the lukewarm favorite against eventual Champion 3-Year-Old Filly Monomoy Girl.

"She broke real aggressively at Gulfstream," Stidham said. "The rider tried to grab her, and she flipped her palate and obviously wasn't breathing well the rest of the race. We're going to try and avoid that happening. [Jockey Joel] Rosario knows her and gets along with her and hoping for a better result."

Rosario piloted Saguaro Row to her two victories this year and will return for the Shine Again, where she will leave from post 6.

Evelyn Benoit of Brittlyn Stables and trainer Jose Camejo made a trip to the Saratoga winner's circle once this meet with Louisiana-bred Minit to Stardom in the Grade 2 Honorable Miss and will seek a second stakes win this meet when Mr. Al's Gal goes into post 4 for the Shine Again.

The Louisiana-bred Salute the Sarge dark bay mare boasts the highest amount of career earnings in the field with $519,500. Mr. Al's Gal has won six stakes races against her Louisiana-bred counterparts and will attempt her first stakes win against open company. Previously conditioned by Louisiana-based Justin Jeansonne, she made her debut for Camejo last time out when defeating allowance company at Delaware Park on June 15.

Mr. Al's Gal will be piloted by Carol Cedeno.

Team Valor International, Rodolphe Brisset and Stephen McKay's Talk Veuve to Me is the field's lone graded stakes winner having won the Grade 3 Indiana Oaks last June. The daughter of Violence will seek her first victory since then when she emerges from post 2.

Trained by Brisset, Talk Veuve to Me was a close third in a six-furlong allowance over a sloppy Saratoga main track on July 17 where she finished behind fellow Shine Again contender Special Relativity. She was twice placed against graded stakes company as a 3-year-old, running second in the Grade 2 Eight Belles at Churchill Downs and the Grade 1 Acorn at Belmont Park.

Jockey Jose Ortiz will pilot Talk Veuve to Me.

Special Relativity [post 1, David Cohen], Awestruck [post 3, Julien Leparoux] and Quick Quick Quick [post 5, Chris Landeros] complete the field for the Shine Again.

The Shine Again is slated as Race 9 on Wednesday's 10-race card, which also includes the $150,000 New York Stallion Stakes Series Statue of Liberty division in Race 4. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.