SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Live Oak Plantation’s Our Flash Drive built off her recent pair of graded stakes placings on grass with a one-length victory in the 19th running of Sunday’s $135,000 Fasig-Tipton De La Rose for older fillies and mares going one mile over the inner turf.
Trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, the 4-year-old daughter of Ghostzapper entered off a third beaten one length in the Grade 2 Nassau on July 2 at Woodbine and a second to Group 1-winner Rougir in the Grade 3 Beaugay on May 14 at Belmont Park. Never worse than fourth in all but one career start, Our Flash Drive added a third career stakes win to her resume. She was a Grade 3 winner twice last summer at Woodbine, taking the Selene over the Tapeta before capturing the Ontario Collen on turf.
Ridden by Dylan Davis out of post 6, Our Flash Drive was a wide fourth to the outside of multiple stakes-winner Plum Ali going into the first turn as In Good Spirits set the tempo with a headstrong Jouster tracking a close second through an opening quarter-mile in 24.46 seconds and a half-mile in 49.20 over the firm going.
Around the far turn, Our Flash Drive came under calling from Davis with In Good Spirits and Jouster the ones to catch. Our Flash Drive was in control at the three-sixteenths pole and maintained her advantage to the wire, completing the one mile in 1:35.42.
Plum Ali, who rode the rail throughout, launched a late rally to finish second a neck ahead of post time favorite Love And Thunder, who endured a troubled trip in the stretch when lacking racing room along the inside and fanning several paths wide in the final furlong.
Completing the order of finish were In Good Spirits, Assertive Style, Jouster, Nazuna and Stunning Princess. Main-track only entrants Battle Bling and Halo City were scratched.
The win was a first stakes victory of the meet for both Casse and Davis.
Casse said Our Flash Drive appreciated the tighter turns at Saratoga after giving way late last out in the Nassau when piloted by Patrick Husbands over the expansive E.P. Taylor turf course.
“Woodbine can be tough. I felt Patrick gave her a great ride,” said Casse, who won the 2019 De La Rose with Got Stormy en route to a win in the Grade 1 Fourstardave one week later. “It looked like she was a winner and she just – three-eighths of a mile down that stretch is tough to handle. I thought bringing her in and letting her run around these sharp turns would help.
“We all know how tough this turf course is to win on when you don’t save ground,” Casse added. “I think she broke OK, and then she took off with him a little. She’s been a project. She’s not an easy horse. Her last breeze was at Woodbine and it was all done by plan because she likes it there. I just brought her in for the race.”
Davis, the pilot in three of her 11 starts, said he rode Our Flash Drive like the best filly in the race.
“Mark told me in the paddock, ‘Just ride your race, she’s the best horse and keep it simple,’” Davis said. “I broke well and she just came back a little bit, so I gave her a nice, clear trip and that’s all we needed. She ran really hard to the wire and down the stretch she was there for me. She ran really hard today and I was happy with that.”
Everything went as planned according to Davis, who said he wanted to be in the clear the whole way around.
“I was maybe 2-3 wide, I was never planning on tucking her in too much,” Davis said. “If I didn’t want to go four-wide, I would have to tuck her after that, but it was basically being forwardly placed, laying second or third going into that first turn and that’s exactly what we got.”
Casse admitted going wide wasn’t what he had in mind.
“I wasn’t comfortable but there wasn’t much I could do about it at that point in time,” he laughed. “You always want to save ground, but I did tell him, ‘I think she’s the best horse in the race – ride her that way.’ And he did.”
Returning $10 for a $2 win wager, Our Flash Drive brought her lifetime earnings to $339,770 after banking $74,250 in victory. A Florida homebred, she is out of the unraced Dynaformer mare Dynamotor.
Live racing resumes Wednesday at Saratoga with a 10-race card featuring the $135,000 Tale of the Cat in Race 8. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.
By Ryan Martin
Photo by Chelsea Durand
