Gratefully gamely in the Wishing Well at Santa Anita, Benoit Photo
Keith McCalmont
Adelphi Racing Club, Shelly Hume and Russell Hume’s Gratefully puts her perfect 5-for-5 record on the line in Thursday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Intercontinental, a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf sprint for older fillies and mares, on Day Two of the five-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course.
The Intercontinental [Race 8] is one of four stakes on Thursday’s 11-race program, and is co-featured with the Grade 2, $250,000 Belmont Gold Cup [Race 10], the Grade 3, $300,000 Pennine Ridge [Race 3] and the $175,000 Jersey Girl [Race 2]. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.
Trained by Robert Falcone, Jr., the 4-year-old Laoban dark bay returns to the site of her first career win, a six-length romp in an off-the-turf maiden claiming sprint in August at the Spa while in the care of conditioner Ray Handal. She made her next four outings for Falcone, Jr., including a pair of six-furlong optional-claiming scores at Belmont at the Big A with another off-the-turf win in September before finally getting to grass and prevailing by a nose in October.
The $155,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase has sprinted six furlongs twice this year over the Santa Anita Park turf, stalking and pouncing to a 3 3/4-length optional-claiming score over firm footing in January ahead of a frontrunning head win over Saratoga Special in the restricted Wishing Well over good ground on February 21.
Hall of Famer John Velazquez will be aboard for the first time and Falcone, Jr. said the veteran rider will have tactical options.
“Good horses overcome a lot. When the gates open, it will be whatever her and Johnny have in mind,” Falcone, Jr. said. “If she wants to go, it’s tough to take anything away from her and if she wants to sit, that can work out well, too. She’s shown she can sit.
“She won here on the dirt going 5 1/2-furlongs,” Falcone, Jr. added. “She doesn’t like to lose. There’s a couple races she could have gotten beat in, and she came back on a couple times to win. She’s a fighter.”
Gratefully [post 7, John Velazquez, 122 pounds] was scratched from the Grade 2 Giant’s Causeway on April 12 at Keeneland with a foot bruise but has since recovered to work a trio of bullets over Saratoga’s Oklahoma dirt training track, including a half-mile effort in 46.60 seconds May 28.
“She came out of it fine. It was unfortunate and bad timing, but the next day she was almost 100 percent and the day after that she was fine,” Falcone, Jr. said regarding the scratch in Kentucky. “She settled in well here at Saratoga and has been working good up to this race.”
Falcone, Jr. said he is hopeful that Gratefully can put together another great performance for an ownership group that will be sure to show up in numbers at Saratoga.
“Adelphi is a great partnership; good people and they’ve treated me well. It’s nice to have a good one for them,” Falcone, Jr. said.
Gratefully is out of the dual graded stakes-winning More than Ready mare Selflessly.
Trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. will send out graded stakes-winner In Our Time [post 3, Flavien Prat, 124 pounds] for Resolute Racing and Miller Racing. The 5-year-old Not This Time dark bay made the grade last out with a stalk-and-pounce score in the 5 1/2-furlong Grade 2 Giant’s Causeway on April 12 at Keeneland.
There, she broke alertly from post 5-of-11 under returning rider Flavien Prat and was briefly on top before conceding the lead to Shining Star and the pressing Saratoga Special through a half-mile in 44.52. In Our Time saved ground in third position until the top of the lane before Prat gave the cue and the mare responded with an impressive turn-of-foot to squeeze up the fence and score by 1 3/4-lengths over returning rival Creed’s Gold in a final time of 1:02.17. The winning effort earned a career-best 96 Beyer Speed Figure.
In Our Time had raced in seven straight races at one-mile or greater before cutting back in distance to score a pacesetting win traveling 6 1/2-furlongs in September at Kentucky Downs. She followed with a trio of prominent efforts, including a second to the reopposing Time to Dazzle in the 5 1/2-furlong Grade 2 Franklin in October at Keeneland and a runner-up try to Segesta in the one-mile Grade 1 Matriarch in November at Del Mar.
She entered the Giant’s Causeway from an off-the-board effort in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf in January at Gulfstream.
“She had run well on the cutback at Kentucky Downs and then at Keeneland she ran well in the Franklin but got in a wicked duel that day,” Joseph, Jr. said. “I thought for her to rate on the cutback [last out] was very important. She showed that versatility and Flavien rode her great that day. This is where she’s going to stay [sprinting] – she’s very versatile and goes in there with a good shot.”
Ice Wine Stable and Smart Choice Stable’s Grade 2-placed New York-bred Shoot It True [post 9, Juan Hernandez, 120 pounds] was a perfect 2-for-2 sprinting on the Spa turf versus elders last summer for trainer Wesley Ward.
The 4-year-old Munnings dark bay made her first four starts on dirt, including a prosperous juvenile campaign that saw the $340,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-bred Yearling Sale purchase graduate on debut in April 2024 at Keeneland and take the state-bred Notebook against males that November at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Shoot It True switched to turf last summer at the Spa, rallying to a state-bred optional-claiming score in July and beating open allowance company in August. She completed her sophomore campaign with a one-length second to multiple graded stakes-winner Queen Maxima in the Listed Senator Ken Maddy in October at Del Mar.
The well-traveled dark bay has landed second in each of her two starts this season, including an allowance sprint in April at Keeneland ahead of a three-quarter length miss last out to Moon Spun in the Grade 2 Unbridled Sidney on May 1 at Churchill Downs. There, she exited the outermost post 7 under Hall of Famer Joel Rosario and saved ground in sixth position before cutting the corner and chasing home the frontrunning winner, who stopped the clock in 1:01.64.
Ward said he was hoping to change tactics last out with Shoot It True.
“She drew the outside post in somewhat of a short field and we wanted to go that day,” Ward said. “I’ve been having the jockeys take her back, but I told Joel to just go ahead and go from that outside post and if you’re not on the lead, be close. She hopped out of there, so Joel did his patented style where he just took back and unfortunately, she came through the inside which is a tough thing to do for closers – especially her. She didn’t get the best of trips, and she still ran a really big race.”
Both of Shoot It True’s dirt scores came in gate-to-wire fashion, but she has settled into a closing type since switching to turf.
“I thought we’d teach her to come from behind. I thought in New York-bred races, she’d be pretty tough to beat, and it would be a good way to school her to do something like that last year and she was [successful]. Now, in these bigger races, I’d like to see her closer up to the pace,” Ward said.
Shoot It True is out of the Malibu Moon mare To the Moon Alice – a half-sister to Unchained Melody, who won the 2017 Grade 2 Mother Goose at Belmont Park.
Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse will send out a strong pair of closing sprinters in dual graded stakes-winner Time to Dazzle [post 6, Jose Ortiz, 124 pounds] and graded stakes-winner Creed’s Gold [post 2, Javier Castellano, 122 pounds].
Time to Dazzle and Creed’s Gold were fifth and third, respectively, last out in the Unbridled Sidney with the two mares often racing together, including in last year’s Intercontinental when fourth and seventh, respectively.
Tracy Farmer’s Time to Dazzle, a 5-year-old Not This Time grey, has banked $816,137 via a 17-4-2-1 ledger topped by scores in the 2024 Grade 3 Ontario Colleen at Woodbine and a closing 3 1/4-length victory in the aforementioned Grade 2 Franklin in October at Keeneland.
She launched her current campaign with a 2 3/4-length fourth versus males in the Group 2 1351 Turf Sprint in February at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia and is off-the-board in two starts since, including a fourth in the Giant’s Causeway.
“I don’t know that we’ve seen her best race since returning from Saudi,” Casse said. “She’s run well but I feel like she’s better than what we’ve seen. Maybe we’ll see the real Time to Dazzle at Saratoga.
“She’s a nice horse and one that might prefer a bit longer than 5 1/2-furlongs,” he added. “She’s coming into it well.”
Kristin Meldahl’s Creed’s Gold, a 5-year-old Jimmy Creed chestnut, boasts a consistent 14-5-3-3 record for purse earnings of $439,888 led by a gate-to-wire score in the Grade 3 Hendrie in July sprinting 6 1/2-furlongs over the Woodbine Tapeta.
Creed’s Gold will look to improve upon a seventh-place finish in this event last year, having hit the board in all three starts this season topped by a stalking score in the five-furlong Lightning City in February at Tampa Bay Downs.
Demar’s Legacy set a rapid pace in the Lightning City of 21.22 seconds and 43.44, setting it up for the closing pair of Creed’s Gold, who bested multiple stakes-winner Love Appeals by 1 3/4-lengths.
Casse said he’s hopeful another swift pace will develop in the Intercontinental.
“She always gives a good effort, but 5 1/2-furlongs is just a touch short for her, so she needs some luck,” Casse said.
Multiple stakes-winner Twirling Queen [post 1, Ricardo Santana, Jr., 122 pounds] could be among the frontrunners, entering from a gate-to-wire score in the Captiva Island sprinting five furlongs over the Gulfstream Park Tapeta on March 14. There, she exited post 9 and zipped through splits of 21.03 seconds and 43.67 en route to a 1 1/2-length score in a final time of 56.08.
Trained by Jose D’Angelo for Hernan Gomez, the 5-year-old Twirling Candy bay had a difficult outing in this event last year finishing last-of-8 after being carried in by the victorious Pipsy at the break and then steadied before chasing the speed and fading.
Twirling Queen posted a trio of turf sprint stakes scores in 2024, including Listed victories in the Mamzelle at Churchill Downs, the Coronation Cup at Saratoga and the Senator Ken Maddy at Del Mar. Her strong 5-for-7 2024 season included a win in the Melody of Colors over the Gulfstream synthetic.
Trainer Graham Motion sends out a complementary pair in speedy stakes-winner Roja [post 10, Irad Ortiz, Jr., 122 pounds] and the stalking graded stakes-winner Italian Soiree [post 8, Dylan Davis, 122 pounds.]
Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Madaket Stables’ Roja captured the 5 1/2-furlong Blue Sparkler two starts back on July 12 at Monmouth Park to close out her sophomore season, dueling with the pacesetting Serene Spirit through a half-mile in 45.68 before taking command and kicking clear to a 3 1/2-length score in a final time of 1:03.40.
The Karakontie dark bay [6-3-1-1, $188,527] returned victorious in her 4-year-old debut on April 29 at Churchill, wiring a five-furlong turf sprint in a rapid 56.14 to earn a career-best 88 Beyer Speed Figure.
“I was really impressed with her last time at Churchill. This filly is a real blue collar, tough filly,” Motion said. “She’s pretty quick. She hasn’t done much wrong. I mean looking at her PPs, I kind of forgot how consistent she’s been.”
Hit The Bid Racing Stable and CMNWLTH’s Italian Soiree made her first 10 starts for trainer John Terranova topped by a stalking one-length score in the 5 1/2-furlong Grade 3 Coronation Cup here in July. The 4-year-old Uncle Mo bay powered clear to a 1 3/4-length score at first asking for Motion in her seasonal debut, earning a career-best 93 Beyer in a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint on April 12 at Laurel Park.
Italian Soiree followed with a stretch-out try in the Grade 2 Distaff Turf Mile on Kentucky Derby Day May 2 at Churchill Downs where she led in the early stages before fading to last-of-9.
“We tried to stretch her out last time. We took a bit of a gamble; it didn’t really work out,” Motion said. “I’m probably kind of annoyed at myself for doing that. I think we’ve decided that we are going to keep her going short. She’s had the right spacing this time and she’s done well. I feel good about running her in here, but it is a very competitive race.”
Edward Seltzer, Beverly Anderson and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing’s Love Cervere [post 5, Manny Franco, 122 pounds] enters from a closing three-quarter length score in the Listed License Fee over six-furlongs of firm footing on May 3 at Belmont at the Big A.
Trained by Miguel Clement, the 4-year-old Into Mischief bay utilized similar tactics to take the Grade 3 Glen Cove in October traveling six-furlongs at the Big A. She will make just her second start at the Spa, having previously landed a 1 1/2-length third in the Listed Galway in August.
A talented field is completed by Qatar Racing’s Grade 3-placed Ready to Jam [post 4, Junior Alvarado, 122 pounds]. The 5-year-old More Than Ready mare, a game second in the Grade 3 Royal North last May at Woodbine, rallied to capture the six-furlong Autumn Days in October at Belmont at the Big A for then trainer Mark Casse last out. She was acquired for $500,000 at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale and makes her seasonal and stable debut for dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox.
Bam’s Bliss Kiss is entered for the main-track only in both the Intercontinental and in Wednesday’s $200,000 Mount Vernon here.
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