Glacius takes them all the way under Luis Saez, NYRA Photo
Brian Bohl
Vefa Ibrahim Araci’s Glacius made a bold statement in his North American debut, going to the front and then benefitting from jockey Luis Saez’s guidance in leading at every point of call for a 1 1/4-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Saratoga Derby presented by Qatar Racing at Saratoga Race Course.
The eighth running of the Saratoga Derby for 3-year-olds, competing over 1 3/16-miles on the Mellon turf course, saw the United Kingdom-based Glacius keen to go to the front, leading the eight-horse field through fractions of 23.02 seconds for the opening quarter mile, the half-mile in 47.29, three-quarters in 1:11.57 and one mile in 1:35.51 over firm going.
Saez, who trainer Hugo Palmer credited for providing a perfect trip, saved ground by keeping Glacius to the inside out of the final turn. West End Kid made one final bid in the final furlong, but Saez kept his charge to task, with Glacius hitting the wire in 1:53.22.
West End Kid finished 1 1/4-lengths clear of Title Role for second, while 2-1 favorite Remember Mamba ran fourth. The Big Con, Heeere’s Johnny, Glavine and McCready completed the order of finish. Pacific Avenue, who was injured during training earlier this week and Bottas, who won Friday’s Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame here, were scratched.
Glacius, a Too Darn Hot colt, won his debut in August 2025 at Newmarket and most recently posted three consecutive third-place finishes, including a pair of Group 3 contests in the U.K., before shipping to Saratoga. Off at 9-1, he returned $21.24 on a $2 win wager. Entering with $52,910 in career earnings, he improved that ledger to $465,410.
The victory marked Palmer’s first in the U.S. and came in a contest that has become a top-echelon international race for turf sophomores. Subsequent multiple Grade 1/Group 1 winners State of Rest, Nations Pride, Program Trading and Domestic Spending have all earned winner’s circle trips in the Saratoga Derby.
“We looked at the race and we didn’t think there was much pace,” Palmer said. “The one thing we really knew he would do today is stay. I knew going into it, when I booked Luis Saez, that he’s one of the best riders in North America, but certainly one of the best front-running riders in America; he’s very hard to pass. He certainly had to light up the horse a little bit the first 150 meters maybe to get that position, but we thought we got into a really nice rhythm.
“He’s been a frustrating horse,” Palmer continued. “We always hoped he would be an Epsom Derby horse at home in England – he just never came. He had a winter coat right up until the middle of May. As a trainer, all you can do is sit on your hands. It’s the most frustrating thing. It’s the only job in the world where when something’s wrong, you do less, not more. He eventually came to himself and started at Royal Ascot and has run very well twice in England, so this looked a great opportunity for him.”
Glacius was victorious against a field that saw the top-three finishers of the Grade 1 Belmont Derby on Independence Day at Saratoga rematch on the same course. In that contest, Title Role repelled West End Kid’s late run to win by a nose, while Remember Mamba was a neck back in third. On this day, Glacius bested them all.
“If you look, all the horses he’s been running against have come out and they’ve gone on in their next starts to run well,” Palmer said of the two-length third last out in the Listed Gala. “It was a Listed race last time, but the first, second and fourth – now first, second, third and fourth – have gone on to run well or win in graded stakes next time. His form gave him every chance, and he got a perfect ride.”
Saez said the plan was to go to the front and he was content with the break.
“It was a beautiful trip,” Saez said. “He came out of the gate pretty well. He put me in a great spot. He was a little bit keen early, but he still controlled the pace and finished pretty well. The girth came loose a little bit. It was there hanging, but that is the good thing here, we use two. So the other one did its job. It was not a factor. It was all right.”
Palmer said he might keep Glacius in the country for his next start with an eye towards the 1 5/16-mile Grade 2, $3 million [$1.25 million KTDF] Nashville Derby on September 5 at Kentucky Downs.
“We’re definitely going to take him home, but I suspect his next race might be in the states. We’ve nominated him for the Nashville Derby, which is worth a lot of money. We may well go there. The Bahrain International at the end of the year [is also a possibility],” he said.
Jockey Flavien Prat, aboard the Will Walden-trained West End Kid for the first time from the outermost post 8, had praise for both his charge and the winner.
“I thought I had a good trip,” Prat said. “With my draw, I did not want to get caught wide and I was able to tuck in on the first turn. He relaxed well. Turning for home, I thought I was going to make a run at the winner, but he just kept on running.”
Live racing resumes Sunday at Saratoga with an 11-race card, featuring the Grade 2, $300,000 Troy for 3-year-olds and up sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs in Race 8. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
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