Dorth Vader captures first G1 win with Hall of Famer John Velazquez up. (Joe Labozzetta)
By Brian Bohl
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – John Ropes’ Florida homebred Dorth Vader needed neither the force or mind tricks on Friday. She only needed a patient ride by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, who kept her just off the early speed before a strong move from the outside at the top of the stretch overtook pacesetter Dazzling Move en route to a 4 3/4-length win in the Grade 1, $500,000 Ogden Phipps presented by Ford at Saratoga Race Course.
Off at 8-1, Dorth Vader posted her first win in eight starts but made it count, returning to the winner’s circle for the first time in 26 months by taking the 57th edition of the Ogden Phipps for fillies and mares 4-and-up contesting 1 1/8 miles as part of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival’s third day. The 5-year-old Girvin dark bay secured a spot in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar with the “Win and You’re In” event.
Dazzling Move led the six-horse field through the opening quarter-mile in 22.90 seconds in the rain over the sloppy and sealed main track, with Velazquez keeping Dorth Vader in a competitive position in third. Dazzling Move, under jockey Jose Ortiz, continued to dictate terms with the half-mile in 46.41 and three-quarters in 1:10.14 as Dorth Vader tracked from second position.
That put Dorth Vader in a favorable position to take command in the homestretch, where she displayed a strong kick over the slop with Velazquez giving right-handed encouragement, completing the course in a 1:49.10 final time to give trainer George Weaver his first Ogden Phipps victory.
Dazzling Move, at 12-1, finished a comfortable 1 3/4 lengths clear of even-money favorite Raging Sea for second, with the two longest shots on the board completing the exacta. Tarifa finished fourth followed by defending Ogden Phipps winner Randomized, with Leslie’s Rose eased to the wire. Candied was scratched.
“I was expecting this kind of trip, really,” Velazquez said. “I thought probably a little more speed showed up. I mean, they went fast enough anyways. My horse settled the way I wanted her to. When I showed [speed], the other horse [Dazzling Move] kind of took off a little bit. I got a good position on the backstretch, and from then on, I was very comfortable. She wanted to be forward. She handled it [the track] very well.”
Weaver said an equipment change for her current campaign has helped Dorth Vadar, who was transferred to him in 2023 after a fifth-place effort in that year’s Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks.
“I still wasn’t sure she wanted to go that far,” Weaver said. “When I first got her, I was like, ‘Man, this filly does not need blinkers.’ I thought that from the beginning. I never took them off until this year, and it’s paying dividends. She’s really getting into a nice, comfortable groove early in the race and I think it’s helping her get the two turns. She’s a high-strung filly, but she’s like fine wine. She’s getting better with age.”
Dorth Vader returned $19.60 on a $2 win wager and improved her career earnings to $893,218. The effort marked the Florida-bred’s first win since the Grade 2 Davona Dale in March 2023 at Gulfstream Park.
Dorth Vader, the runner-up of the 2023 Grade 1 Acorn at Belmont Park, entered with competitive efforts, including a fourth in the Grade 1 La Troienne in May at Churchill Downs.
“We all hate it when it rains like this. It throws everything off,” Weaver said. “You just don’t know how they’re going to handle it. But she’s a sure-footed filly. Everybody’s got to deal with it, not just me. You hope for the best when you go out there.
Weaver said he will take time to consider a next start for Dorth Vader. Local options include the Grade 2, $200,000 Shuvee on July 18 or the Grade 1, $500,000 Personal Ensign on August 23, offering a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff, with both races at the Spa.
“We’ll look at the calendar, see how many spots we want to hit, see how the filly’s doing and map out a plan from here to get there [Breeders’ Cup],” Weaver said.
Miller Racing’s Grade 3-winner Dazzling Move made her fourth start for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. and has now finished first or second in three of them, notching a consecutive runner-up effort after a strong showing with blinkers off in the listed Allaire Dupont Distaff in May at Pimlico.
“She’s fast and I wasn’t taking it away from her,” Ortiz said. “She broke good. I knew Randomized was going to want the lead, but we were going to see who would break better and I thought we did, so I let her do her thing. We were happy with how she ran.”
Alpha Delta Stables’ Kentucky homebred Raging Sea, trained by five-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, was coming off a victory in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 1 La Troienne last out on May 2 at Churchill Downs.
“I got slammed out of the gate, but then she never picked up the bridle,” said Raging Sea jockey Flavien Prat. “She didn’t care much for the track.”
Live racing resumes Saturday at Saratoga for a blockbuster Belmont Stakes Day program that includes five Grade 1 events among eight stakes in total on the 14-race card, culminating with the Grade 1, $2 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets [Race 13] and featuring two Breeders’ Cup “Win And You’re In” qualifiers for 3-year-olds and up: the Grade 1, $1 million Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap [Race 8] going one mile out of the Wilson Chute [Dirt Mile] and the 5 1/2-furlong turf Grade 1, $500,000 Jaipur [Race 9] on the Mellon turf [Turf Sprint].
A stacked card also includes top-flight racing with the Grade 1, $500,000 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun [Race 11], and the Grade 1, $1 million Resorts World Casino Manhattan [Race 12]. The stakes action kicks off with the Grade 2, $300,000 Wonder Again [Race 6] and includes the Grade 3, $400,000 True North [Race 7] and the Grade 3, $300,000 Pennine Ridge [Race 10]. First post on Saturday is 10:45 a.m. Eastern with admission gates open to the public at 9 a.m.
