Stars and Strides sweeps to victory in Listed $135K Saranac

Stars and Strides stalked and pounced to a 1 1/4-length victory in Monday’s restricted Listed $135,000 Saranac, a 1 1/16-mile Mellon turf route for 3-year-olds and up which have not won a graded sweepstakes in 2025, to close out stakes action for the 2025 meet at Saratoga Race Course. 

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the 3-year-old American Pharoah colt provided owner Pin Oak Stud with their third stakes win at Saratoga this year after they celebrated graded wins in the Grade 3 Belmont Gold Cup with the Mott-trained Parchment Party during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, and in the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational with World Beater, trained by Mott’s son and former assistant, Riley Mott. 

Stars and Strides is now a perfect 2-for-2 on grass as he entered from a determined three-quarter-length optional claiming victory traveling one-mile on August 7 here in his turf debut. He graduated on debut in June versus elders over a sloppy and sealed Spa main track ahead of a distant seventh in a main track allowance sprint in July. 

"We broke his maiden on the dirt here at the [Belmont Stakes Racing Festival] meet and he came back with winners, and he was disappointing,” Mott said. “So, we put him on the grass, which we thought from the beginning might be his cup of tea. Of course, he jumped right into this restricted stake today and it worked out well.”

Piloted by Junior Alvarado, Stars and Strides broke sharpest from post 3-of-8 but was patiently handled as the New York-bred Leon Blue, who popped the gate before the start, sprinted to the front to mark the opening quarter-mile in 24.36 seconds under pressure from dirt stakes-winner Crudo. 

Stars and Strides tracked in third down the backstretch to the inside of Versus before Cairo Caper made a three-wide early move through the half-mile in 49.47, but Alvarado remained patient as he waited for room behind the pacesetters. 

“I think we slowed down the second quarter there,” Alvarado said. “I could feel the horses slow down a bit, so I felt I was in a perfect spot and I would be the first one to get the jump on everybody. Having a good rail trip the whole way around helped a lot.”

The field rounded the turn as three-quarters elapsed in 1:13.81 and Crudo stuck his head in front of Leon Blue, and with an opening now available to the inside of that rival, Alvarado angled his charge in further towards the rail to unleash an impressive turn-of-foot and draw off through the final furlong, winning wrapped up in a final time of 1:42.17 over the firm turf. 

The late-running Magic Pathway followed the run of Stars and Strides along the inside to rally for second by a head over the wide-running Asbury Park with Crudo completing the superfecta. Leon Blue, Cairo Caper, Versus and Tank completed the order of finish. 

Mi Bago and Siesta Key, who are entered in stakes on Saturday at Kentucky Downs, were scratched along with Covert Law and Thirteen Colonies, the latter of which is entered in the Grade 3 Old Dominion Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs. 

Mott said he was pleased to see Stars and Strides make his way through the opening under Alvarado, who is the regular pilot of the Mott-trained Sovereignty, winner of this year’s Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets and DraftKings Travers. 

“He took him back in behind a couple of the speed horses and then the speed horses really slowed it down,” Mott said. “It looked like they didn’t really present the kind of early pace we thought they were going to. He was stuck in behind them and it opened, and he rode him right on through there and got the job done.”

Alvarado said he noticed Stars and Strides was more mature on Monday.

“Last time was a little rough – he started lugging in and doing things he hadn’t done before,” Alvarado said. “He was good today. I trust him and I knew what I had underneath me. I found the rail opening up, so I shoot him through it and he was very professional today.”

Bred in Kentucky by Four Pillars Holdings, the $475,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase is a half-brother to stakes-winner Panther Island, both out of the winning Ghostzapper mare Holiday Blues, a half-sister to multiple graded stakes-placed Wine Police. 

Stars and Strides banked $74,250 in victory while improving his lifetime record to 4-3-0-0 and returning $5.40 on a $2 win ticket as the 8-5 post-time favorite. 

Live racing resumes Thursday, September 11 at Aqueduct Racetrack with an eight-race card to kick off the Belmont at the Big A fall meet. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern. 

The 32-day meeting will feature 45 stakes worth $9.45 million and runs through Sunday, November 2. For the complete Belmont at the Big A stakes schedule, visit nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/stakes-schedule/.

America’s Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of Belmont at the Big A on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont at the Big A, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at NYRABets.com.