The SAR Special – G2

$250.00 For Two Year Olds
6 1/2 Furlongs – Dirt
Saratoga Race Course – August 1, 2026

In recent days the main track at Saratoga had been a mess of mud and muck. Luckily, on Saturday, the sun shone and the track came up fast to give us a fast and fair track for twelve two year olds to compete to add their name to the lore of the legendary track. The prestigious Saratoga two year old races are where the youngsters come to begin to separate themselves and distinguish themselves from the rest of their crop. To that end, Sacred Star became the twenty-third winner of this race and puts himself at or near the head of the class as we head into the meat of the season. 

Winner: Sacred Star (Serenity Stables/Ar Bocachica) Sinissippi Star/Arielle (The Force Awakens) In the preview we noted that his race in the G3 Sanford was better than it looked because he drew post ten and was caught wide throughout. He suffered the same fate today drawing post twelve and getting caught wide again. He had to go widest of all in the stretch but was still able to dig in for a rally that was enough to pass Grass Crown late and hold off a late running Bronze Wolf. Winning despite adversity bodes well for his upcoming campaign. 

Second: Bronze Wolf (TwinTowersRacing/R.M. Hernandez) Neon Wolf/Doubtful Gal (No Doubt Bronze) In the same way we noted Sacred Star’s troubles in the G3 Sanford we noted Bronze Star’s difficulties in the same race. He did a little bit of the sideways stretch shuffle in that one and ended up next to albeit ahead of Sacred Star in that one. Bronze Star sat back early again and made his way through on the inside with less traffic than in the Sanford while Sacred Star again rallied out in the middle of the track. Both mounted strong runs with Sacred Star a little stronger in the final strides. The last two races point to the possibility of a strong rivalry between the top two.

Grass Crown (Jerry Garcia Racing/E.J. Zayas) Excoriator/Laurent (Liberty Valance) He was my pick going into the race and he was sent off as the favorite as the general public was obviously also impressed by his undefeated status and his blazing morning works. Grass Crown broke very strongly and was taken right to the lead. He began to separate himself from the field and looked like a likely winner halfway through the stretch but he yielded to the top two late despite running on strongly to the wire. Worth noting that backstretch buzz indicates Grass Crown was too headstrong on the day to be ridden as strategically intended so we can all look forward to a rematch with strategic intrigue. 

Luka Mafia (Night Rider Stables/Jam Rodriguez) The Godfather/Pinnacle Reject (Pinnacle West) Got a dream trip stalking midpack just a couple of lengths off of the lead. Began to move around the final turn and was in a good position at the top of the stretch with a clear lane ahead and sights on the leader. He looked like he would be the main threat to Grass Crown but he seemed to hang just a bit and didn’t get to that rival. Suffered his first defeat but he is a stakes winner on grass already and only missed here by a length here against a talented group. Good race and another I look forward to seeing in a rematch down the road.

Preview Pick: Grass Crown – Third. I would like to note that the preview picked the top four (albeit in nearly reverse order) out of a twelve horse field of volatile and somewhat unpredictable two year olds)

This was the first win for both Serenity Stables and jockey Ar Bocachica. Sacred Star now boasts two wins in his five career starts and the win brings his total earnings to $258.60. His six points puts him atop the standings for qualifying for the BC Juvenile at the end of the season.

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES