Leslie’s Rose draws off to victory in the Shuvee (Chelsea Durand)
Mary Eddy/NYRA Press Office
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – In her sixth start since her last trip to the winner’s circle, Whisper Hill Farm’s Leslie’s Rose regained winning form to capture Friday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Shuvee, a nine-furlong route for older fillies and mares, at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Leslie’s Rose adds to previous graded success when taking the Grade 1 Ashland last April at Keeneland in her most recent victory. The hard-trying filly has hit the board in two other graded stakes since, including a second to Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna in the Grade 1 DK Horse Acorn last June here. She bounced back from a troubled start in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps presented by Ford on June 6 over a sloppy and sealed track here when she was eased.
Pletcher said he was pleased to see the weather cooperate today for Leslie’s Rose, who he also entered in tomorrow’s Grade 3 Molly Pitcher at Monmouth Park.
“She doesn’t care for sloppy conditions and unfortunately we caught those last time – it literally started raining on the way to the paddock and it was the same thing in the Kentucky Oaks,” Pletcher said, referring to her distant finish in last year’s Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks. “We cross-entered today hoping to catch a fast track either here or at Monmouth and it worked out.”
Piloted by Irad Ortiz, Jr., the 4-year-old Into Mischief filly was away the best from post 3 in the field of seven, but Dazzling Move was keen to make the front and did just that under Jose Ortiz to mark the opening quarter-mile in 23.62 seconds over the fast footing with the wide-running Malibu Beauty tracking in second and Leslie’s Rose in third.
“That’s what we talked about in the paddock,” Pletcher said of tactics. “It looked on paper that the six [Dazzling Move] and seven [Malibu Beauty] were likely to be the speed of the race and we wanted to come out in a forward position going into the first turn. She broke terrific and it allowed Irad to use her speed to put her where he wanted her.”
Malibu Beauty applied pressure to the outside of Dazzling Move, who marked the half-mile in 47.56 before widening her lead to 1 1/2 lengths in the turn while Ortiz, Jr. patiently waited for the right moment to pounce from the inside.
Dazzling Move reached three-quarters in 1:11.78 and Ortiz, Jr. made his move, angling Leslie’s Rose to the outside of the pacesetter as Gun Song advanced widest of all into third position while coming in slightly and causing Malibu Beauty to steady. Dazzling Move was still the one to catch as the field straightened for home and post-time favorite Raging Sea made a sustained rally from last while doing little to close the gap on the pacesetter.
Leslie’s Rose was the only rival in with a shout as the top two drew off from the rest of their foes, and Dazzling Move dug in gamely, but Leslie’s Rose found more with every stride and edged clear inside the eighth pole to draw off to the 3 3/4-length victory in a final time of 1:50.77.
LESLIE'S ROSE wins the Grade 2 Shuvee Stakes with @iradortiz aboard for trainer @PletcherRacing. pic.twitter.com/fsxgv0Fadt
— NYRA () (@TheNYRA) July 18, 2025
Dazzling Move was 9 3/4-lengths clear of Raging Sea in third with Gun Song, Prides Crossing, Malibu Beauty and Sidamara completing the order of finish.
Pletcher praised the ride by Ortiz, Jr., who has been aboard the filly for 9-of-10 starts.
“We got a great trip. She’s very tactical – good tactical speed and put herself in a good position going into the turn and it worked out the way we hoped,” Pletcher said. “I peeked back and saw she [Raging Sea] had some work to do, but I was focused on our filly and it looked like she was traveling well throughout.”
Ortiz, Jr. said the race came together just as he had hoped.
“Honestly, I just wanted to break good. I want to have a good break and after that I think there are two fillies outside with speed,” Ortiz, Jr. said. “If I can clear the one beside me the other Chad [Brown] filly [Prides Crossing] she has speed. If I can clear that one and do so that would be great, but if not I will have too much traffic in front of me for her style. So, I want to break running and probably have at most two horses in front of me, and it worked out beautiful because those two horses go outside. I ended up right where I wanted to and from there, I just took my time, it worked out great – the filly was ready when I asked her.”
Pletcher added the next target for Leslie’s Rose is likely the nine-furlong Grade 1, $500,000 Personal Ensign on August 23 here, a “Win and You’re In” for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff in November at Del Mar.
“I think so,” Pletcher said. “She ran awfully well here today. We’ll circle that and point towards it.”
Jose Ortiz, aboard the Saffie Joseph, Jr.-trained Dazzling Move, said he was proud of the Grade 3-winning Not This Time filly’s effort.
“I thought we might win for a while, but inside the eighth pole, she [Leslie’s Rose] kind of dominated and ran away from me a little,” Ortiz said. “I was happy we stayed. She kept going. That was a nice second versus a good bunch of fillies and mares.”
Bred in Kentucky by John D. Gunther and Eurowest Bloodstock Services, Leslie’s Rose was a $1.15 million purchase at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and is out of the unraced Galileo mare Wildwood Rose, a half-sister to the Pletcher-trained Grade 1-winner Materiality and Grade 2-winner My Miss Sophia, who produced multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Annapolis, also a Pletcher trainee.
Leslie’s Rose banked $110,000 in victory and improved her record to 10-4-1-2. She returned $10.40 on a $2 win wager.
Live racing resumes Saturday at Saratoga with a 12-race card, featuring the Grade 1, $500,000 Coaching Club American Oaks in Race 10, the Grade 2, $400,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt in Race 11 and the Grade 3, $175,000 Caress in Race 9. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.
