Saratoga: My Gun’s Loaded digs in to win Alabama thriller
Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
With a sweeping wide move around the final turn, My Gun’s Loaded went from third place to the lead and in doing so upset the favorite Counting Stars (1-4) to get her first stakes win in Saturday’s Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga.
My Gun’s Loaded was making her fourth career start with two victories this year at Saratoga for trainer Chad Brown and jockey Manny Franco in a June maiden special weight and an allowance optional claimer in July. Counting Stars came into the 1 1/4-mile stakes as the leader of the 3-year-old filly division after a pair of victories at the Spa in the Acorn (G1) and the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1).
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The field of six broke from the gate evenly, and Counting Stars was able to get to the lead with Ati Girl pressing the pace close behind. My Gun’s Loaded settled a length behind Ati Girl in third place. Those three fillies maintained that order through fractions of 24.55, 49.44, 1:14.06 and 1:38.99 for the first mile of the race.
“I know Johnny (John Velazquez, riding Ati Girl) is inside because Jose (José Ortiz, the jockey for Counting Stars) never goes down to the rail, so he was outside,” Franco said. “So, I just follow him the whole way around. At the 5/16th pole, I put my filly outside and she just jumped on the bridle.”
For Brown, the win by My Gun’s Loaded was his third in the Alabama after previous victories in 2023 with Randomized and 2019 with Dunbar Road.
“When you saw the fractions and Counting Stars is kind of alone there, I’m concerned until about the 3/8th marker,” Brown said. “Then I got a good glimpse of Manny on the other side, and I could see that he had plenty of horse moving up.”
My Gun’s Loaded got her head in front at the stretch call but at the same time Measure (10-1) was making a strong move up the rail from the back of the field and was also able to go by Counting Stars.
“When she made the front when I passed Counting Stars, she started waiting a little bit for company, but I knew I had it done,” Franco added. “When she felt (Measure) inside, she gave me a little more, too, so I knew (she) was there.”
The winning margin for the daughter of Gun Runner was a neck over Measure and she in turn was 1 1/2 lengths ahead of the third-place finisher Counting Stars.
“Certainly I peeked down to the inside to see (Measure), and when I was handicapping the race, I thought that filly had run pretty well actually, under the radar sort of horse, a nice horse, and listen Mark Casse knows what he’s doing,” Brown said. “He’s got the leader of the division in the race and he’s running two anyway, so you have to figure the horse at least fits in the race if he’s running here, and he was right, the horse nearly won.”
My Gun’s Loaded paid $8.74, $5.48 and $2.30; Measure returned $8.38 and $2.52; and Counting Stars paid $2.10 to show. A. P.’s Girl (24-1), Ati Girl (10-1) and Nycon (33-1) completed the finish in that order.
With the Alabama victory over Counting Stars added to the resume of My Gun’s Loaded, she becomes a contender for the division championship as her connections consider what race will be next for the filly who is owned by Douglas Scharbauer.
“I’m going to talk to Mr. Scharbauer and his manager Donny, great team back at the farm he has that selected this horse,” Brown said. “Off the top of my head, races like the Beldame (G2, at Belmont Park) or the Spinster (G1, at Keeneland) versus older horses might be in play. She is lightly-raced and her numbers are fast.”