Saratoga: Multiple Grade 1 winners highlight New York Stakes
Multiple Grade 1 winners War Like Goddess, Fev Rover and Didia top a classy renewal of Friday’s Grade 1, $750,000 New York Stakes, a 1 3/16-mile turf test for older fillies and mares Friday at Saratoga.
With 12 Grade 1 wins or placings among them, the talented trio lead a competitive field of 13 that includes no less than a dozen graded-stakes winners and smart form on three continents.
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Unraced since a 4 1/4-length seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Turf in November, George Krikorian’s Bill Mott-trained War Like Goddess was never better than when successfully defending her Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (G1) win , also against males, one effort prior.
The beaten favorite when sixth in last year’s New York, the now 7-year-old daughter of English Channel owns a Saratoga record of 5: 3-2-0. She will break from post 10 and carry Júnior Alvarado as part of her 124-pound assignment.
The 11-time victor must win at shorter than 1 3/8 miles for the first time since her 1 1/8-mile debut in September 2020. She seeks to land her trainer a fourth New York and first since Riposte in 2014.
“She’s aged like fine wine,” Mott said. “When they get to this age, it’s one race at a time. As long as she’s willing to do it and she’s sound, we’ll continue on through the end of the year. Júnior has won on her, and he knows her now, which is good.”
A top-class performer all four of her seasons thus far, Tracy Farmer’s Mark Casse-conditioned Fev Rover will go from post 6 with 124 pounds including Javier Castellano. She also returns after a post-Breeders’ Cup hiatus, having disappointed when 11th of 12 in the Filly & Mare Turf.
The 6-year-old daughter of Gutaifan won the Nassau (G2), Beverly D. (G1) and Grade 1 E. P. Taylor (G1) last year but was unable to string together consecutive victories among her six races. Her lone Saratoga run was a third in last summer’s Grade 1 Diana behind the Chad Brown-trained pair of Whitebeam and In Italian.
“Her wins in the Beverly D. and E. P. Taylor were big races,” Casse said. “Her race at Saratoga in the Diana, she just got a little unlucky. I was disappointed with her effort in the Breeders’ Cup. She just didn’t show up. I don’t know why. She had trained really well into it. She’s training very well. She loves to train on the (Woodbine) synthetic.”
Merriebelle Stables and Resolute Racing’s Ignacio Correas-trained Didia will break from post 3 with José Ortiz part of her 122-pound impost. She brings ample class into the New York, having finished second in last year’s edition and third in the Jenny Wiley (G1) last out.
A dual Grade 1 winner in Argentina, she was a disappointing 10th in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, an effort sandwiched by a pair of Grade 2 victories, including the Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf Invitational in January and Rodeo Drive in October.
“She’s doing great, and she shipped very well,” Correas said. “I think it’s a bigger field this year, and there will be more pace, hopefully. Last time at Keeneland, the turf was a little soft for her, and I don’t think she enjoyed it. She put forth a good effort to be third against very good fillies, but more than anything to me, it was the surface. I think she’s the same or better than last year and could even improve again as the season goes, hopefully peaking with the Breeders’ Cup.”
Brown seeks his sixth New York in 10 editions when he saddles Klaravich Stables’ Grade 1 winner McKulick and Grade 3-winning rising talent Royalty Interest.
The New York presented is the 11th of 12 races Friday.