Razor Sharp Tepin Headlines Diana
Saturday at historic Saratoga Race Course will offer the first Grade 1 race of the 147th meet, the $500,000 Diana for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on turf, which will feature a trio of Grade 1 winners.
Also on tap for Saturday's 11-race program is the Grade 3, $150,000 Sanford for 2-year-olds at six furlongs, which drew a field of 11 runners.
Robert Masterson's Tepin enters the Diana on a three-race win streak dating back to March 21 at Gulfstream Park, when she took an optional claimer by a length in her 4-year-old debut. After a 1 ½-length triumph in the Grade 2 Distaff Turf Mile, the daughter of Bernstein scored a breakthrough victory in the Grade 1 Just a Game on Belmont Stakes Day, prevailing by a half-length over Filimbi.
Tepin's fantastic start to 2015 comes on the heels of a winless 2014 campaign. Despite her sophomore slump, Tepin's trainer, Mark Casse, remained confident in his star filly.
"We've always thought she was on the special side," said Casse. "She trained as good as any 2-year-old we've ever had and ran well, and then she had a few setbacks as a 3-year-old. The key this year is that we've been able to run her without interruption."
With both of her last two wins coming at a mile, Tepin will have to stretch out a furlong in the 1 1/8-mile Diana. The bay filly has failed to hit the board in two previous tries at the distance.
"My concern doesn't come from her prior attempts [at 1 1/8 miles]," said Casse. "At Churchill Downs she looked like she had a big chance to win and they almost put her over the hedge. She had a strange episode in California. Her jockey [Tyler Baze] said she felt fine on the track, but she nearly collapsed after the race due to the heat. The key to it all is her ability to settle. If she settles early, she has a shot."
Tepin will break from the rail with Julien Leparoux aboard.
Mechanicville, N.Y. native Chad Brown will saddle a pair of runners on Saturday, including multiple Grade 1 winner Stephanie's Kitten, who missed by a neck in last year's Diana.
After finishing second in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, Stephanie's Kitten opened the year with a 1 ½-length score in the Grade 3 Hillsborough at Tampa Bay Downs. Making her next start in the Grade 2 New York, the 6-year-old mare finished fourth as the 2-5 favorite.
Stephanie's Kitten, owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey, will be ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr. from post 2.
Brown and the Ramseys will also team up to send out Kitten's Queen, who set a dawdling early pace in the New York and held on to finish third, a neck in front of Stephanie's Kitten.
In accordance with an amendment recently adopted by the New York State Gaming Commission, the two Ramsey horses will be uncoupled. Kitten's Queen will leave from post 3 with Jose Ortiz aboard.
Hard Not to Like, trained by Christophe Clement for Speedway Stable, rounds out the triumvirate of Grade 1 winners.
Since moving to Clement's barn in late 2014, Hard Not to Like has won two of three starts, including the Grade 3 Endeavor and, most recently, the Grade 1 Gamely at Santa Anita Park. Last year, the daughter of Hard Spun picked up her first Grade 1 victory in the Jenny Wiley at Keeneland. The 6-year-old mare finished third in this year's edition of the Jenny Wiley, sandwiched between her two graded stakes triumphs.
"She's doing very well," said Clement's assistant, Christophe Lorieul. "She didn't win by much in the Gamely, but it was a lot more impressive than it looks on paper. She was trapped on the inside and in the last sixteenth of a mile a hole opened up and she went through and won. She was the best horse the whole way. It's going to be a much tougher task [in the Diana], but she's doing well so we'll give it a try."
Hard Not to Like will have the services of Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, and the pair will leave from post 4.
Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott will also send out a pair of runners, Lady Lara and My Miss Sophia.
Owned by Ben Sangster, Lady Lara won the Grade 2 Honey Fox in her 2015 debut and most recently finished fourth in the Just a Game. She will be ridden by Junior Alvarado from post 7.
My Miss Sophia, who entered Mott's barn after a disappointing 2014 campaign, has raced twice this year. After finishing fifth in the Grade 1 La Troienne on May 1, the 4-year-old turned heads in her subsequent start at Belmont, in which she rolled home to a 4 ½-length victory in her turf debut.
Joel Rosario will be aboard My Miss Sophia, owned by Alpha Delta Stables, from post 6.
Rounding out the field is Waltzing Matilda, who sprung a giant upset in the New York, winning at odds of 22-1 in her North American debut.
Source: NYRA Communications