Pipsy, Donegal Momentum lead whole way in Saratoga stakes

Pipsy made every pole a winning one under José Ortiz to capture Thursday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Intercontinental Stakes, a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for older fillies and mares on day 2 of the Belmont Stakes racing festival at Saratoga.

Owned by Woodford Thoroughbreds and trained by Will Walden, the 4-year-old Kodiac bay made the grade in her only previous trip to New York when overcoming a troubled start to rally from last of 10 and from 10 lengths off the pace to best familiar foe Kairyu and capture the Soaring Softly (G3) in May 2024 at Belmont at the Big A in her stateside debut.

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Pipsy took a polar opposite approach on a warm afternoon at the Spa, breaking well and showing the way through splits of 21.74 and 44.20 seconds over the firm footing with Kairyu pressing to her outside in second and mutuel favorite and defending race winner Future Is Now saving ground in third.

“She outbroke everybody, and she passed the horses in the first 50, 100 yards, and I took her to the lead and let her be happy,” Ortiz said.

Time to Dazzle made an outside rally late in the turn as Twirling Queen, who steadied up the backstretch, tried to advance between horses with Paco Lopez-piloted Future Is Now waiting for racing room along the rail.

Pipsy maintained command out of the turn and proved resilient down the lane. Future Is Now tried to quicken along the fence but could not pass the frontrunner, who scored by a half-length with a final time of 1:00.98.

“She was happy all the way around,” Ortiz said. “At the quarter pole, when they came to us, I was full of horse. We were rolling. I felt like she was running, and I knew with the speed that she had, passing the eighth pole it would take a really, really serious racehorse to pass me, because she was rolling.”

Future Is Now completed the exacta by three-quarters of a length over Kairyu with Time to Dazzle, step-slow breaking and late-running Pandora’s Gift, Danse Macabre, Creed’s Gold, On Command and Twirling Queen rounding out the order of finish. Main-track only entrant Run for the Hills was scratched.

Lopez tipped his cap to the winner.

“I was in great position, and then she opened up a little bit, and I had to come up the rail,” Lopez said. “She still had room in the 1 hole, and she closed down a little bit, but she (Pipsy) never came back.”

Pipsy made her first three starts in her native Ireland for trainer Ger Lyons, graduating at second asking traveling six furlongs over yielding turf in September 2023 at the Curragh before taking the five-furlong Legacy over synthetic one month later at Dundalk. She subsequently was purchased for $929,489 at the December 2023 Tattersalls mare sale and transferred to Walden.

In addition to her Soaring Softly coup, she was a prominent second in the Music City (G2) in September at Kentucky Downs and entered from a two-length score in a Keeneland turf allowance in April.

Walden said speedy Pipsy has improved from age 3 to age 4.

“To accelerate, to go 21 and 3 and then still come home the way she did, she is incredible,” Walden said. “I think horses, if you give them that break from 3 to 4, they can stay the same or really take a jump forward, and we are just blessed that she has taken a jump forward.”

Walden indicated Pipsy could stay at the Spa for a start in the Caress (G3) on July 19.

“Yes, probably. We are going to keep her here over the summer. She trained well up here last summer,” Walden said. “You get to breeze on the turf course here, which in Kentucky can be a little iffy. So we will keep her here and probably go to the Caress. We will see how she comes out of this and talk to the owners, but that is a likely spot.”

Pipsy, bred by Noel Finegan, banked $110,000 in victory while improving her record to 9: 5-2-0. She returned $12.40 for a $2 win bet.

The race came after a power outage caused the second half of the card to be delayed about a half-hour.

Donegal Momentum dominates on turf in Poker

Donegal Momentum proved superior over six rivals in the $300,000 Poker (G3), a one-mile, inner-turf route for older horses.

Owned by Donegal Racing, trained by Tom Morley and confidently piloted by Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, Donegal Momentum made the grade in his fourth attempt, his best previous finish being a game third in the Hollywood Derby (G1) in November at Del Mar. An 8 1/4-length debut winner on dirt last year, Donegal Momentum has found his best stride on turf and never has finished off the board in six efforts over the lawn.

Morley said the scratch of swift Filo Di Arianna on Thursday morning by Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse left Donegal Momentum the lone speed in the race.

“When Mark came out this morning, it changed the dynamics of the race enormously,” Morley said. “When Mark was in the race, we were probably going to end up sitting second, and then you are in the difficult position of letting a horse, who is a good horse, have the lead. You have to be good enough to get by that horse as well. Today when he came out, it made it a lot easier for us.

“We had the fastest horse in the race, there were probably a couple of horses in there that needed a strong gallop, and this horse is exceptionally fast. When he quickens, he really does quicken, and I’ve said it all along, a mile on turf, on firm ground, is what I always believed he (wanted). He got all the right conditions and the right setup today, and he proved he is a good one.”

Donegal Momentum emerged well from outermost post 7 and hustled to the front while crossing over closer to the inside approaching the first turn and marking the opening quarter-mile in 24.34 seconds over the firm footing.

Mischievous Angel was held tightly in second as Major Dude advanced up the inside to vie for second call, but Paco López was intent on keeping position aboard Mischievous Angel as he and Major Dude jockeyed for position ahead of Depiction. Donegal Momentum skipped through the half-mile in 48.09 seconds and three-quarters in 1:11.53 with the running order remaining mostly the same as the field reached the top of the lane.

Powerfully, Donegal Momentum stormed down the stretch with bounding strides under a strong ride from Castellano as Major Dude made marginal progress, and Mischievous Angel spun his wheels through seven-eighths in 1:22.66. The only horse to come running late was Intellect, who brushed with rivals at the start, but Donegal Momentum was already well clear as he crossed the finish line 1 3/4 lengths in front with a final time of 1:34.22.

Intellect was three-quarters of a length the better of Major Dude with Cameo Performance completing the superfecta. Depiction, Sherlock’s Jewel and Mischievous Angel rounded out the order of finish. Filo Di Arianna and main track-only entrants Yo Daddy and Magnolia Midnight were scratched.

Castellano said the pacesetting trip went according to plan.

“He’s a nice horse. He was the lone speed in the race. We had a great post, and that’s exactly what I did,” Castellano said. “The horse had a lot of gas in the tank at the beginning, he broke well out of the gate, and I let him use a little speed to dictate the pace. They were pretty decent fractions, 24 and change and 48, and when we went in 1:11, that’s when I started riding the horse. I liked the way he finished.”

The next top-flight target for Donegal Momentum is likely the Fourstardave (G1) on Aug. 2 at Saratoga, a win-and-you’re-in for the Breeders’ Cup Mile in November at Del Mar. A potential steppingstone could be the Kelso (G3) on July 5 at the Spa.

“We will think about the Kelso. He ran a big race here and is very fit. I said to Jerry (Crawford of Donegal Racing) at the beginning of the year, the race at Keeneland, the Poker, the Fourstardave and the race in the fall at Keeneland should be our four major targets for the year,” Morley said. “There is no reason not to go in the Kelso in my opinion, but at the same time we’ll assess the horse.”

Bred in Kentucky by Speedway Stable, Donegal Momentum improved his record to 10: 5-2-1, which also includes a win in the Gio Ponti in October at Belmont at the Big A. The $375,000 September 2022 Keeneland yearling-sale purchase out of stakes-placed Malibu Moon mare Moon Dash banked $165,000 in victory while returning $8.60 on a $2 win wager.

Morley said the win was especially meaningful and dedicated it to his late assistant John Attfield, who died late last year.

“It is huge. Winning graded stakes at Saratoga never gets old. Ever. I don't care what anyone says, even the big guys enjoy it, honestly,” Morley said. “This horse has meant an awful lot. John Attfield was my assistant for a number of years, he sadly died in the fall of last year. He absolutely adored this horse, so this is for him.”