Brought to you by Brought to you by AmWager
Raging Sea conquers her foes in the La Troienne (G1) May 2 at Churchill Downs (Jenny Doyle/Past The Wire)
Keith McCalmont/NYRA Press Office
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Alpha Delta Stables’ Kentucky homebred Raging Sea will look to secure her seventh career graded stakes win in Friday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Shuvee, a nine-furlong route for older fillies and mares, at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by five-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, the 5-year-old Curlin chestnut stalked and pounced to a 2 1/2-length score in last year’s Shuvee to kick off a three-race win streak traveling nine furlongs that included wins in the local Grade 1 Personal Ensign in August and the Grade 2 Beldame in October at Belmont at the Big A.
Raging Sea [post 5, Flavien Prat, 124 pounds] completed her campaign with a runner-up effort to Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff in November at Del Mar.
The popular chestnut returned to action in May with a three-quarter length score in the Grade 1 La Troienne going 1 1/16-miles over fast dirt at Churchill Downs.
“That was terrific,” Brown said of the La Troienne effort. “She came off a layoff and ran super. She’s in great form right now and training really well.”
Raging Sea wins the G1 La Troienne off the layoff, defeating Thorpedo Anna!
— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) May 2, 2025
Chad Brown trains with Flavien Prat in the saddle!
TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/vuJ9M81UFT
Raging Sea enters from a troubled third in the nine-furlong Grade 1 Ogden Phipps presented by Ford on June 6 here during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. There, she was squeezed at the start and spotted the field three lengths while forced to track from last-of-6. She made a five-wide run down the lane to pick up show honors, landing 6 1/2-lengths back of the victorious Dorth Vader, who is reportedly targeting the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher at Monmouth Park.
“Last time, on that wet track, it was speed favoring, and it didn’t really set up for her,” Brown said. “If there’s some speed in the race and hopefully we catch a drier track, that would be great.”
The well-bred Raging Sea has banked more than $2.2 million through a 15-8-2-2 record. Her second dam is the graded stakes-winning Seeking the Gold mare Welcome Surprise, a half-sister to Hall of Famer A.P. Indy.
Brown, who also won this event with Paid Up Subscriber [2017] and Royal Flag [2021], will also send out the lightly-raced Prides Crossing [post 4, Cristian Torres, 120 pounds], who makes her stakes debut for owner OXO Equine.
Multiple G1 winner RAGING SEA worked a half-mile to the inside of Prides Crossing in 48 and 2/5 according to NYRA clockers. pic.twitter.com/84cVgtv7WG
— Mary Eddy (@singmysongbird) July 11, 2025
The 4-year-old Quality Road bay will look for her first win since her maiden breaking debut last May at Churchill Downs when in the care of trainer Paulo Lobo. She made one start for Will Walden before joining Brown for her last three outings, which includes a neck second last out in a nine-furlong optional-claimer over muddy and sealed footing on May 15 at Belmont at the Big A.
“We wanted to give it a shot. We’ve been waiting for a spot to run her, and she’s been training really well. She’s a well-bred horse. It’s a big step for her,” Brown said.
The $1.3 million Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase is out of the winning Galileo mare Key To My Heart, while her second dam is 2010 Grade 1 Frizette-winner A Z Warrior.
Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher will send out Leslie’s Rose [post 3, Irad Ortiz, Jr., 124 pounds] as he looks to secure a standalone record sixth Shuvee score. His past Shuvee winners include Awesome Maria [2011], Authenticity [2013], Stopchargingmaria [2015], Curalina [2016] and Nest [2023]. Pletcher currently shares the Shuvee record with the late Hall of Famer Allen Jerkens.
Whisper Hill Farm’s Leslie’s Rose was eased last out in the Ogden Phipps. The 4-year-old Into Mischief bay made the grade in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 1 Ashland last April at Keeneland, defeating 2023 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Just F Y I by three lengths.
She completed her sophomore season with a trio of nine-furlong efforts in Grade 1 races won by Thorpedo Anna, including an off-the-board effort over sloppy and sealed footing in the Kentucky Oaks in May at Churchill Downs; along with two Spa tries when a 5 1/2-length second in the DK Horse Acorn last June and a pacesetting fourth in the Coaching Club American Oaks last July.
Leslie’s Rose entered the Phipps from a neck third in a key renewal of the 6 1/2-furlong Grade 3 Vagrancy in May at Belmont at the Big A won by Haulin Ice, who was a neck better than R Disaster. Haulin Ice exited that event to win the Musical Romance Handicap at Gulfstream Park while R Disaster subsequently romped in the Rehoboth at Delaware Park.
The $1.15 million Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase is out of the Galileo mare Wildwood Rose – a half-sister to Grade 1-winner Materiality and Grade 2-winner My Miss Sophia.
Z W P Stable and Non Stop Stable’s multiple stakes-winning Maryland homebred Malibu Beauty [post 7, Kendrick Carmouche, 122 pounds] will look to make the grade for trainer Gary Capuano.
The 7-year-old Buffum bay has banked $919,339 via a 44-14-10-6 ledger that includes six stakes wins. She is perfect in two pacesetting starts this year traveling 1 1/16-miles, taking an optional-claimer in May over a sloppy and sealed main track at Laurel Park and following last out with a three-length score over returning rival Gun Song in the Obeah on June 14 at Delaware Park.
There, she showed the way through splits of 23.72 seconds, 47.36 and 1:12.13, kicking away down the lane to stop the clock in a final time of 1:44.61. The winning effort earned an 85 Beyer Speed Figure, just three points shy of her career-best earned in a 7 3/4-length demolishing of the 2022 Carousel traveling nine furlongs at Laurel Park.
“She’s come back this year really running well. She’s had two really good races,” said Capuano, who sends out his first Spa starter since Grundlefoot ran sixth in the 2002 Saratoga Breeders’ Cup Handicap. “It looks like she’s on top of her game and we thought we’d give it a shot and see if we can get some graded black type on her.”
“She gets out there and does get brave,” Capuano added. “She’s just been a real consistent kind of mare. Every year, she just keeps coming back running and she’s good right now.”
Malibu Beauty, out of the winning Malibu Moon mare Slow and Steady, is a half-sister to dual stakes-winner Steady Warrior and stakes winner Steady N Love – all of which were trained by Capuano.
“I bought the mare years ago and every one of her foals are just runners. They get ready early, and they stay around a long time,” Capuano said. “They’re either stakes-winners, stakes-placed or just make a lot of money. It’s just a fantastic family and she keeps on producing. She’s older now and she’s in foal with her last foal to Arcangelo. The whole family has been phenomenal and done us well.”
Gun Song [post 2, John Velazquez, 124 pounds] tracked Malibu Beauty throughout the Obeah last out, but could not wear down that rival in her third start of a campaign that includes a sixth-place finish in the Grade 2 Ruffian in May at Belmont at the Big A.
Trained by Mark Hennig for owner R. Lee Lewis, the 4-year-old Gun Runner chestnut enjoyed a brilliant sophomore season, winning the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan in May at Pimlico as well as the Cathryn Sophia in August at Parx with trademark prominent efforts.
Along the way she was a hard-fought second in a trio of graded events, missing by three-quarters of a length to Scalable in the Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks in July, by a neck to eventual Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna in the Grade 1 Cotillion in September at Parx, and by a head to Tarifa in the Grade 3 Mother Goose in October at Belmont at the Big A.
Gun Song, out of the graded stakes-winning Mr. Greeley mare Nicole H [30-10-11-2, $811,144], was purchased for $400,000 at the 2023 OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. She has banked $766,220 through a 14-4-5-2 record.
Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott will send out Juddmonte’s Grade 3-placed Kentucky homebred Sidamara [post 1, Junior Alvarado, 120 pounds, blinkers ON] for her first start at Saratoga.
The 4-year-old Arrogate bay demonstrated a late-running style traveling 1 1/16-miles to graduate at second asking last April at Keeneland and followed with a similar performance one month later to win an optional-claimer at Churchill Downs. Sidamara completed her sophomore season with a pair of graded tries at 1 1/16-miles, missing by a nose to Power Squeeze in the Grade 3 Delaware Oaks before an off-the-board effort in the Grade 1 Cotillion.
She enters from a fifth-place finish in the Obeah on June 14, but did work back sharply out of that event with a bullet half-mile in 49 flat on June 27 over the Oklahoma that was best of 80 workers at the distance on the day.
“I think she’s doing very well, and she looks good. The last one was a little bit of a head-scratcher. I’m surprised she didn’t run any better,” Mott said.
Sidamara is out of the Spring At Last mare Spring in the Air, who took down the 2012 Grade 1 Alcibiades en route to Sovereign Award-honors as Champion 2-Year-Old Filly in her native Canada.
Rounding out a talented field is Miller Racing’s graded stakes-winning Ontario-bred Dazzling Move [post 6, Jose Ortiz, 122 pounds], who enters from a pacesetting 4 3/4-length second in the Ogden Phipps.
Trained by Saffie Joseph, Jr., the 4-year-old Not This Time dark bay has banked just shy of $400,000 through an 18-4-3-1 record. The $135,000 purchase at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale launched her career in the care of trainer Michael Trombetta, posting a trio of wins.
Dazzling Move was purchased privately and transferred to Joseph, Jr., paying immediate dividends with a three-quarter length score in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Royal Delta in February at Gulfstream Park. She was subsequently fifth in the Grade 1 Madison in April at Keeneland and a prominent second in the Listed Allaire DuPont in May at Pimlico ahead of her Phipps try.
The Shuvee is slated as Race 8 on Friday’s 10-race card. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
