The Lake Placid (Grade 2)- $300.000 Purse
SAR- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile and One Eighth on the Turf
August 14, 2015

Sometimes, you never know how a race may play out.  This Friday at Saratoga in the Grade 2 Lake Placid, Altered Skeleton earned an impressive victory while serving as the longest shot on the board.  His odds of 15/1 showed that many people out there agreed with my prediction of her for the race.  Thankfully, we play out these races out on the virtual racetrack, instead of in the past performances.  Any belief that Altered Skeleton might not have a true nose for the wire can now be forgotten.  Was it the subtle add switch?  I didn’t catch beforehand that this filly was adding blinkers for the first time and losing the shadow roll and if that has made the difference, then I see no reason why we cannot see more runs like today’s victory out of this filly.  Congratulations to Chili King Stables, a trainer that might just be the new king in our game at these turf distance races.  It is his first win in this stake, and the same holds true for jockey J R Leparoux.  Let’s take a deeper look now at how this race was won!

1st- 3- Altered Skeleton (15/1)- The eventual race winner out of Chili King Stables always looked to be in good shape.  She got off to a good start, and assumed a stalking position right behind Wire Z Wire in the early going.   Ran gracefully down the backstretch, content remain about two lengths off the lead.  In the turn, she began to get closer to the leader, choosing the lane right to the outside of Wire Z Wire, and was ready to strike.  Once clearing her, she had nothing but the other wire, that finish line, in front of her.  You Can Do It was coming, but she was not about to be denied, and remained strong until the end to earn the victory.  The time of the win was 1:45.96, and that will be your new Lake Placid stake record! Altered Skeleton is a three year old filly by 2012 BEL runner-up Skeleton Key (by Die Laffin) and out of Altered Victory (by Party Talk).  She was bred in Florida by Chili King Stables, the only owner in which she has ever known.  Congratulations to all of the connections!

2nd- 2- You Can Do It (3/1)- The Mb Stables trained entry may have been fifth in the early going, but she was always within two to three lengths of the leaders.  Maintained this gap throughout the backstretch and seemed to just be waiting for her time to strike.   Ran well in the turn, but ran into minor traffic briefly before she could get by Chateau de Versaille and focus on the race leader.  Took a lane to the inside of Wire Z Wire and ran strongly in the stretch, but Altered Skeleton was too far ahead of her, and today she will have to settle for second place.

3rd- 5- Wire Z Wire (7/2)- The Z Cars filly started sharply out of the gate for her trainer Diablo Diablo and led the field around the opening turn.  Set the opening half mile in a time of :47.42, leading the field by about a length for the backstretch run.  Set the 3/4 time in 1:10.62.  Emerged from the turn still with the lead, but Altered Skeleton about to go by to her outside.  She still had a decent run in the stretch, and would finish 3rd best.

4th- 1- Chateau de Versaille (2/1)- Started well along the rail for D J C Racing Stables, and remained with the pacesetting Wire Z Wire for the run along the first turn.  She maintained this position of approximately a length back throughout the backstretch.   Began losing some touch with the leaders once Altered Skeleton went back and gradually faded out of it as the stretch run progressed.

5th- 4- Rip Snortin (5/2)- Started midpack for Aer Stables, and took the opening turn while running three wide.  Stayed in this lane throughout the backstretch, which led to her becoming four-wide into the final turn.   Unfortunately for the trainer, she had nothing for the stretch.

6th- 6- Masolina (11/1)- It was just not meant to be today for Sarah Stables and Masolina.   The filly broke poorly out of the gate and was about 5 lengths behind her closest competitor early.   She remained in the back considerably throughout.  There will be better days.

Track: Firm
Time: :47²  1:10³  1:34   1:45⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 3 – 2 Paid 139.20
$1 Trifecta: 3 – 2 – 5 Paid 401.60

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II