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War Like Goddess goes from last-to-first to win Grade 2 Glens Falls

by NYRA Press Office

From last-to-first, George Krikorian’s War Like Goddess, the 4-5 favorite, was the easiest of winners in Saturday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Glens Falls at Saratoga Race Course Saturday.

Ridden to victory in the 1 1/2-mile inner turf race by Julien Leparoux, War Like Goddess was a 3 1/4-length winner over My Sister Nat, who finished a neck ahead of Temple City Terror in the seven-horse field of older fillies and mares.

War Like Goddess provided Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott with a record sixth victory in the Glens Falls.

Dalika set the pace unchallenged and carved out comfortable fractions of 24.80 seconds for the quarter-mile, 49.05 for the half, 1:13.82 for six furlongs, and 1:38.84 for the mile over the firm turf course.

Leparoux was content to allow War Like Goddess, a 4-year-old daughter of English Channel, to position herself at the back of the pack after breaking from post 3 and being slightly brushed by two rivals and pinched back leaving the gate. Turning for home, War Like Goddess turned on the burners, while racing six-wide, and surged to the lead, overtaking My Sister Nat with a furlong remaining under a hand ride and with her ears pricked.

The final time was 2:27.55. War Like Goddess returned $3.70 for a $2 wager.

The order of finish was completed by Luck Money, Dalika, Orglandes, and Call Me Love.

This was just the sixth career start for War Like Goddess, who hadn’t raced since April when she won the Grade 3 Bewitch at Keeneland. In her start prior, the bay filly who was bred in Kentucky by Calumet Farm, captured the Grade 3 Orchid at Gulfstream Park. 

With her victory in the Glens Falls, War Like Goddess extended her record to 5-0-0 in six career starts and elevated her earnings to $383,684. When she went through the sales’ ring as a 2-year-old at OBS, War Like Goddess was purchased for $30,000.

Krikorian said “She’s been pretty special so far. She’s bred for this distance, for sure.”

Mott said he would point War Like Goddess to the Grade 1, $600,000 Flower Bowl, a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf on September 4 at Saratoga.

“She ran well,” Mott said. “We freshened her up a little bit and brought her back today. She moved forward for us and beat a nice bunch of fillies today.

“Our filly was pulling a little bit and they were going slow up front, so you always hope they can close into that slow kind of pace. She was good enough. I saw a good finish similar to what we saw in the Bewitch.”

Winning the Glens Falls for the first time, Leparoux remarked, “She gave some kick in the end. I think today she broke good. We got bumped, so we were last because of the little bump in the beginning. But she still had the kick, so that was nice to see. I think she’s going improve for it. 

“She’s very nice,” he continued. “I think she can endure any kind of ground and even when she was pulling a bit on me early on, she’s fresh. She had a very nice kick, so I’m very excited to be able to ride her.”

Live racing resumes Sunday at Saratoga with a 10-race card featuring the $120,000 Fasig-Tipton De La Rose, the Grade 2, $200,000 Adirondack and the Grade 3, $700,000 Saratoga Oaks Invitational. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.