Ways and Means headlines G2 Bed o’ Roses pres. by Boldyn Networks

Klaravich Stables’ Kentucky homebred Ways and Means seeks a title defense in Friday’s Grade 2, $300,000 Bed o’ Roses, a seven-furlong sprint for older fillies and mares, during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by five-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, Ways and Means boasts a 5-4-1-0 record at the Spa, including wins in the 2024 Grade 1 Test and a 7 3/4-length romp in last year’s Bed o’ Roses over eventual Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff-winner Scylla.

Brown said he’s pleased to have Ways and Means back for a 5-year-old campaign which he hopes will conclude with a win in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint in October at Keeneland – a race he has captured a record three times with Wavell Avenue [2015] and Goodnight Olive [2022-23]

“I’d like her to be a Champion. I want to see her win the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland. I’ve won the race three times and she’s as good as any of them,” Brown said. “It’s a little extra special that she’s a homebred. She’s been a super talent since the day she stepped in the barn.”

Ways and Means [post 3, Flavien Prat] enters from the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff on the Kentucky Derby undercard May 2 at Churchill Downs where she landed a 2 1/4-length second in her seasonal debut to the pacesetting R Disaster, who was making her third start of the campaign. The Derby City Distaff third-place finisher Usha returned to win the Grade 3 Winning Colors while fourth-place Splendora captured Saturday’s Grade 2 Shawnee at Churchill.

Brown said the Churchill Downs effort will benefit Ways and Means.

“She’s doing super. I had two fillies that really needed runs at Churchill that are doing really well – Ways and Means and Fully Subscribed,” Brown said. “They both got the races they needed. They were running on speed tracks that day, tracking and couldn’t go by. They got a good blow out of it, and it will move them forward.”

Fully Subscribed, who ran second to Shred the Gnar a day earlier on the Kentucky Oaks undercard in the Grade 1 La Troienne, is entered in the nine-furlong Grade 1 Ogden Phipps presented by Ford on Friday’s Spa card.

Brown said he’s hopeful that Flavien Prat can work out a clean trip for Ways and Means when they exit post 3 in the six-horse field.

“I’m hoping to see her break good and put herself in a good spot,” Brown said.

Ways and Means is by the Brown-trained and Klaravich co-campaigned dual Spa Grade 1-winner Practical Joke and out of the stakes-winning Warrior’s Reward mare Strong Incentive, who also produced graded stakes-winners Surge Capacity and Highly Motivated for the same connections. 

Don Alberto Stable’s Kentucky homebred Senza Parole [post 4, Irad Ortiz, Jr.] will turn back in distance for Brown following three tries at one-mile or greater this year, including a 7 1/4-length score in her seasonal debut traveling a one-turn mile at Gulfstream Park.

The 4-year-old Gun Runner chestnut made her next two outings around two turns, finishing off-the-board after being checked at the start in the Grade 3 Royal Delta in February at Gulfstream and a one-length second to Group 3-winner Queen Azteca last out on April 17 at Keeneland.

Brown said he’s hopeful a cutback will help Senza Parole return to the form of her spectacular debut in August 2024 here when romping by 7 3/4-lengths and earning a career-best 94 Beyer in a six-furlong maiden sprint.

“I was just trying to figure her out. She got hurt as a 2-year-old and when she came back it was hard for me to find her form and what she wants to do,” Brown explained. “So, we’re going back to the basics a little bit. Early in her career at Saratoga she sprinted very well. I’m going to bring her back to doing something I know she’s done well before.”

Out of the winning Street Cry mare Senza Te, Senza Parole’s second dam is graded stakes-winner Sacristy, who produced Grade 1-placed Flor De La Mar, and is a half-sister to Mozu Superflare - a Group 1-winning millionaire in Japan.  

Bell Tower Thoroughbreds, Medallion Racing and Mark Stanton’s Grand Job [post 1, Junior Alvarado] has found a new level in her 5-year-old campaign for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.

The Justify mare took down the seven-furlong Grade 2 Inside Information in her seasonal debut on January 24 at Gulfstream Park and followed last out with a nose second to Eclatant in the seven-furlong Grade 1 Madison on April 4 at Keeneland. She earned a 108 Beyer in the narrow defeat.

The Kentucky-bred bay launched her career as a juvenile in Ireland for trainer Joseph O’Brien before joining the Mott barn for her sophomore season that saw her graduate at first asking in October 2024 at Belmont at the Big A and follow in December with an allowance score versus elders at Churchill. She made three starts last year, including a runner-up effort in the Grade 3 Royal Delta and an optional-claiming score, both at Gulfstream Park.

Grand Job, initially purchased for $105,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, is out of the multiple stakes-placed Ishiguru mare Sure Route.

A talented field includes dual graded stakes-winner Praying [post 5, John Velazquez], who was third last out in the Grade 3 Vagrancy for trainer Robert Medina; graded stakes-winner Scalable [post 2, Kendrick Carmouche] for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher; and stakes-winner Vincey Girl [post 6, Luis Saez] for conditioner Jose D’Angelo.

The Bed o’ Roses is slated as Race 4 on Friday’s 14-race program, which includes the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps presented by Ford [Race 12], the Grade 1 DraftKings Acorn [Race 10], the Grade 1 New York [Race11], and the Grade 2 Wonder Again presented by Shift4 [Race 9]. First post is 11:45 a.m. Eastern with admission gates open to the public at 10 a.m. 

America’s Day at the Races presents daily coverage and analysis of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.belmontstakes.com/event-info/tv-schedule. 

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