Janet Garaguso Photo

Surge Capacity aces first test against winners in G3 Lake George

by Mary Eddy

Surge Capacity entered Friday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Lake George with just one start under her belt, but responded to her first test against winners with aplomb when leading a Chad Brown-trained/Klaravich Stables-owned exacta in the one-mile inner turf test for sophomore fillies at Saratoga Race Course.

The homebred daughter of Flintshire cut back slightly from a 1 1/2-length victory on debut in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight on June 10 at Monmouth Park where she attended the pace early before taking command at the half-mile call and drawing away strongly to earn an 80 Beyer Speed Figure.

She showed similar tactics in the Lake George under expert handling from Joel Rosario, skimming the rail to pounce on pacesetter Secret Money in the final furlong while fending off Tax Implications, one of four Brown-trained entrants, to land the three-quarter-length triumph.

“She ran a fast number in that race and she always trained like a good horse,” said Brown, who won his fifth straight Lake George and record-extending seventh overall. “I actually ran her at Monmouth and kept her there just to split some of the horses up. She always trained like a horse that was good enough to run over here as well. I was just trying to break up some maidens and separate horses. Right after she broke her maiden and got the number and she ran to her works, we circled this race. We liked her in here.”

Away alertly from the inside post in the field of eight, Surge Capacity maintained her position near the front of the pack as Hall of Famer Javier Castellano guided Secret Money from the outermost post 10 to race two-wide and lead the field through an opening quarter-mile in 24.97 seconds over the yielding footing.

Princess Bettina was held close in second off Secret Money’s flank with a gap back to Surge Capacity and her stablemate Tax Implications, who raced in tandem in third position down the backstretch and through a half-mile in 49.84. Princess Bettina came under a ride into the turn as the Manny Franco-piloted Tax Implications opted to go outside the top two with Surge Capacity cutting the corner under a patient Rosario and taking dead aim at the lead straightening for home.

Princess Bettina backpedaled at the top of the lane after three-quarters in 1:14.33 as a stubborn Secret Money refused to yield to the oncoming pair of Surge Capacity to her inside and Tax Implications to her outside. The former finally put her head in front at the eighth pole and had just one foe left to handle as her stablemate advanced down the center of the course in the final 100 yards to the wire.

Surge Capacity found enough late to stave off Tax Implications and reached the wire first in a final time of 1:38. A game Secret Money was edged out of show honors by a neck with the Brown-trained Revalita and post-time favorite Liguria finishing a respective fourth and fifth. Tryinmyheartout, Princess Bettina and Lil Miss Moonlight completed the order of finish. Queen Picasso and Utilization Rate were scratched.

Brown said his top two finishers responded well to the yielding turf conditions, but that his other two runners may have been hampered by it.

“I had no feel for this horse [Surge Capacity] and how she would handle it at all,” said Brown. “I had more confidence in Tax Implications and Revalita. I was concerned with Liguria - if it came off [the turf], I definitely was [going to scratch]. I couldn’t gauge it really, because there were no other races on the turf today which I totally understand.”

Rosario said he was able to make his move for the lead when Secret Money drifted out slightly from her inside position.

“I had a good trip. She broke really well out of there and it looked like I was in a good spot going into the first turn,” Rosario said. “From there, I followed the couple of horses on the lead and turning for home I was able to get through. That horse came off the rail a little bit and I think that was the winning move.”

Surge Capacity, out of the stakes-winning Warrior’s Reward mare Strong Incentive, is a half-sister to the Brown-trained graded stakes-winner Highly Motivated. She banked $96,250 in victory and now boasts an undefeated 2-for-2 record. Surge Capacity returned $13 for a $2 win ticket.

Franco said Tax Implications, a last-out second to Liguria in the Wild Applause at Belmont Park, was valiant in defeat.

“I had a beautiful trip,” Franco said. “My filly broke good. She put me in a good position and when I made my run, she was there for me. But the winner just kept on going, so I was second best.”

Live racing resumes on Saturday at Saratoga with an 11-race card, featuring the Grade 1, $500,000 Coaching Club American Oaks in Race 9 and the Grade 3, $200,000 Caress in Race 6. First post is 1:10 p.m.     

Saratoga Live will present live coverage and analysis of the Saratoga Race Course summer meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule/. 

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.