Head to Head: Thorpedo Anna faces 6 in Personal Ensign
The $500,000, Grade 1 Personal Ensign Stakes attracted a talented field of seven. Five runners are Grade 1 winners, collecting 12 top-level wins and earnings of more than $10.5 million. Champion Thorpedo Anna accounts for half of those wins and purse monies herself.
Saratoga’s last Grade 1 event for distaff routers is also a Breeders’ Cup win-and-you’re-in qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Dorth Vader and Thorpedo Anna already earned Distaff berths with their triumphs in the Ogden Phipps (G1) and Fleur de Lis (G2) respectively. They are joined by Sarawak Rim, winner of the Gran Premio Criadores (Gr. 1) in Argentina and Seismic Beauty, winner of the Clement L. Hirsch (G1) at Del Mar.
The Personal Ensign is the ninth race on Saturday’s loaded 14-race card at the Spa. Post time is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. EDT as the ladies kick off the first of five straight Grade 1 events, culminating with the $1.25 million Travers Stakes.
We study the forms to determine whether anyone can do the seemingly impossible and topple Thorpedo Anna for the second time in three starts.
| Laurie | Ashley |
| 1. Randomized (4-1) | |
| One of three “old ladies” in the Personal Ensign field at age 5, Randomized hopes to improve on last year’s fourth-place finish behind Raging Sea. To be fair, Randomized stumbled at the start. The Chad Brown trainee is hoping to regain the glory from previous years, when she placed first or second in six straight races, including the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. After faltering over the slop in this year’s Ogden Phipps, a race she won last year, Nyquist’s daughter assumed her customary pacesetting position to score a three-length victory in the Molly Pitcher (G3), besting Dorth Vader in the process. Randomized has speed on the rail and will vie with other pacesetters. Exotics. | Trained by Chad Brown, Randomized was left in the dust in last year’s edition of this race after stumbling out of the gate, hustling to vie for the lead and eventually tiring to finish fourth, beaten by 15 1/2 lengths. Brown put her on the shelf following that race, and we didn’t see her for eight months. She reappeared on the Kentucky Oaks undercard where she ran third in the La Troienne (G1) behind winner Raging Sea and Taxed, beaten just 3/4 lengths for it all. She didn’t take to the slop at all next out in the Ogden Phipps, eventually crossing the wire fifth, 28 1/2 lengths behind winner Dorth Vader. She did bounce back, however, to best Dorth Vader in the Molly Pitcher last out. Exotics. |
| 2. Dazzling Move (12-1) | |
| With the jockey switch to Jose Ortiz, Dazzling Move became pacesetter in her last three starts, all at 1 1/8 miles. She couldn’t hold off rivals Leslie’s Rose or Dorth Vader, although Dazzling Move beat Raging Sea twice for second place in the Ogden Phipps and Shuvee (G2). Not This Time’s daughter isn’t a need-the-lead type and is better suited as a pace presser. Despite her losses, the Saffie Joseph Jr. trainee’s Brisnet ratings are on the improve and she fired a pair of recent bullets. I’m not convinced she can wire this field, but Dazzling Move is worth an exotics play. | Trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., Dazzling Move has finished second in her last three races: the Allaire DuPont Distaff, the Ogden Phipps, and the Shuvee. She won the Royal Delta (G3) earlier this year but was then fifth in the Madison (G1). Dazzling Move is 3: 0-2-0 at Saratoga and 3: 0-3-0 at the 1 1/8 mile distance. Jose Ortiz, who was aboard in her last three races, gets the return call. He’ll likely have her prominently positioned early on, and although she could pick up a minor award, I don’t see her pulling off the upset. Exotics. |
| 3. Raging Sea (5-1) | |
| Raging Sea scored a narrow head upset in last year’s Personal Ensign (G1) over the previous year’s champ, Idiomatic. This year, the 5-year-old has only one victory and a pair of troubled third-place finishes behind Personal Ensign rivals Leslie’s Rose, Dorth Vader and Dazzling Move. The Chad Brown trainee was bumped at the start of her last two contests, which affected her performance. She was squeezed back to last in the Ogden Phipps and was left with too much to do. At one point, she was 14 lengths behind. Raging Sea has tactical speed as a pace presser or mid-pack mover and will benefit from the early speed types knocking themselves out. Raging Sea could surprise if Flavien Prat keeps her out of trouble and Thorpedo Anna isn't on her toes. Exotics. | Trained by Chad Brown, Raging Sea returned off the layoff with stablemate Randomized in the La Troienne, which she won by 3/4 lengths in a blanket finish. Things went sideways after that, however, as Raging Sea then finished a troubled third in the Ogden Phipps, beaten by 6 1/2 lengths, and the Shuvee, beaten by 13 1/2 lengths. Raging Sea likes Saratoga and the 1 1/8-mile distance. Regular rider Flavien Prat has the call, and I’ll echo Laurie by saying that if he can keep the mare out of trouble, she has a legitimate shot of not only hitting the board, but also possibly beating Thorpedo Anna. Exotics. |
| 4. Dorth Vader (6-1) | |
| Dorth Vader made an imperialistic march through the stretch to surprise the Ogden Phipps field by 4 3/4 lengths. She earned a career-best 102 Brisnet rating for her effort, which might have taken a toll on her in the Molly Pitcher (G3), where she shadowed Randomized early but suddenly ran out of oats in the stretch and backed up to fourth place. The George Weaver trainee seldom wins, but she always picks up a check. Exotics. | Trained by George Weaver, Dorth Vader is 4: 1-1-0 in 2025. She picked up her lone victory in a sloppy rendition of the Ogden Phipps (G1). In her two other graded starts this year, she finished fourth in the La Troienne and the Molly Pitcher behind fellow Personal Ensign entrants Raging Sea, Randomized and Dazzling Move. As Laurie said, Dorth Vader isn’t a win machine, but she can typically be counted on to pick up a check. Regular rider John Velazquez has the call. Exotics. |
| 5. Bernietakescharge (20-1) | |
| Another early speedster, Bernietakescharge has spent her career successfully competing in state-bred contests. She captured the restricted 1 1/8-mile Critical Eye Stakes in her last outing, but the Personal Ensign appears above her talent level. Domenick Schettino cross-entered her in Friday’s restricted Yaddo Stakes, which is a better fit. Pass. | Trained by Domenick Schettino, Bernietakescharge has raced primarily against New York-breds, but she does have some open-company wins, including a 6 1/4-length drubbing of the Heavenly Prize Invitational Stakes field. Schettino hasn’t had a graded starter in nearly three years, and as Laurie said, this filly is better suited for Friday’s Yaddo Stakes. If she runs, Romero Ramsay Maragh will have the call. Pass. |
| 6. Leslie’s Rose (9-2) | |
| Leslie’s Rose was bumped so hard in the Ogden Phipps that she was eased in the stretch. She returned none the worse for it and proved she belonged with this group with a 3 3/4-length victory in the Shuvee over Dazzling Move and Raging Sea. Leslie’s Rose earned a career-best 108 Brisnet rating, and her 102 late-pace figure is the field’s highest. The Todd Pletcher trainee isn’t in Thorpedo Anna’s league, but her tactical speed puts her in the mix to pick up another check as long as she doesn’t regress from her Shuvee victory. Leslie’s Rose hasn’t put together back-to-back wins since her career began. Exotics. | Trained by Todd Pletcher, Leslie’s Rose enters off a facile win in the Shuvee over Dazzling Move and Raging Sea. Leslie’s Rose is not particularly effective at Saratoga nor at the 1 1/8-mile distance, and she’s never beaten Thorpedo Anna. She certainly could pick up a check, but I’m just not sold on her. Irad Ortiz Jr. has the call. Pass. |
| 7. Thorpedo Anna (6-5) | |
| The reigning queen proved her shocking La Troienne defeat was an anomaly when she galloped home a three-length winner in the Fleur de Lis (G2), under hand urging. Thorpedo Anna likes the Spa and the distance, and she performs best when her races are spaced. What more is there to say? Winner. | Trained by Kenny McPeek, Thorpedo Anna rebounded smartly off her shocking defeat in the La Troienne to bring home the goods in the Fleur de Lis. She’s 5-for-5 at 1 1/8 miles, and her only loss at Saratoga came when she missed by a head to Fierceness in last year’s Travers Stakes (G1). Regular rider Brian Hernandez Jr. has the mount. One to beat. |
Final thoughts
Laurie: Since 2010, only one Personal Ensign heroine didn’t place first or second in her previous start. Winners prepped in the Shuvee, Delaware Handicap, Ogden Phipps, Molly Pitcher and Fleur de Lis. Most gained ground or sustained their lead in those races.
The Personal Ensign is a race of extremes. Since 2010, six one-run closers and five pacesetters won, and the rest were pace pressers. The last successful pace presser was Vexatious in 2020.
This is the race of the beaten favorite. In the last 14 years, five favorites won. The last was Letruska in 2021. Seven placed second, and only one was worse than fourth.
The average number of entrants is six, although there were as many as nine in 2021, and only four in 2017. Posts 1 through 3 are the most successful, with three or four winners each. Only four breaking from the rail placed worse than fourth.
The Personal Ensign is a contest for emerging talent. That being said, this year’s field has taken turns consistently beating each other except for Thorpedo Anna, whose only loss against her own kind was in the La Troienne.
So, with the winner established, who picks up the pieces? I’m crossing a line through Raging Sea’s last two starts when she had trouble. Her only losses last year were in the Ogden Phipps and a second-place finish to Thorpedo Anna in the Breeders’ Cup. Prat will settle her off the speed and make their usual run down the lane.
Dorth Vader can track the speed, and this year has a strong-weak race form. She was fourth in her last, so I expect a better effort here. Hopefully, the fourth won’t be with her this time.
Speaking of fourth, it’s a toss-up between Leslie’s Rose, Randomized and Dazzling Move. Leslie’s Rose returns from a huge effort. She’s never won two straight, and while she had trouble in two of three starts this year, I’ll let her beat me.
Randomized and Dazzling Move may set a lively pace. The latter is more consistent, so she gets the nod.
Ashley: With only two losses over the last two seasons and only one against her peers, Thorpedo Anna is the undisputed queen of the Distaff. She’s got tactical speed, and now that she’s back in top form, it’s going to take a monster to take down the grizzly.
Thorpedo Anna’s ability to adapt to the situation is going to be key here as there is a good bit of speed lined up in the gate. Randomized and Dazzling Move will have some early lick from those two inside posts, and if Bernietakescharge runs, she’ll be up there with them. I expect Thorpedo Anna, Leslie’s Rose and Dorth Vader to settle off Randomized and Dazzling Move and get first jump over Raging Sea when the real running begins.
With The Grizzly the clear-cut one to beat, it’s all a matter of who picks up the minor awards. Raging Sea gets a break for having troubled trips in her last two outings, but Dazzling Move has steadily improved over her last several races. In terms of speed, she gets the nod over Randomized. Dorth Vader likes to run fourth in these Grade 1 events, so I’m not going to rock the boat with her and just keep her in the fourth slot.
Selections
| Laurie | Ashley |
| 7. Thorpedo Anna (6-5) | 7. Thorpedo Anna (6-5) |
| 3. Raging Sea (5-1) | 2. Dazzling Move (12-1) |
| 4. Dorth Vader (6-1) | 3. Raging Sea (5-1) |
| 2. Dazzling Move (12-1) | 4. Dorth Vader (6-1) |