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
This Friday, we will be treated to the 12th running of the Lake Placid, a Grade 2 event at beautiful Saratoga Race Course. It is a race that features the best female three year old turf stars and figures to give us at least a runner or two in the BC Fillies & Mares Turf later this year. For now though, all eyes are set on this $300.000 purse, the second year in which the Lake Placid has run for this amount. It had run for $200.000 in the prior two years, and $150.000 in every edition before that. The great Donna Jean, who won over $4,000.000 in her 36-race career (with 19 victories), the most successful past winner, taking the title in 2007 and winning the BC Fillies & Mares Turf later that season. After her, however, no other winner has eclipsed the $1,000.000 mark. 2014 winner Years Go Bye likely only needs another race or two to go by before she does, though. Eleven different trainers have won the eleven prior races, and only R Migliore has rode more then one Lake Placid winner, doing so twice. Six will go to post, and here’s our rundown!
#1- Chateau de Versaille (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- D J C Racing Stables was the winning trainer last year with Years Go Bye, and he will have a strong chance to repeat with Chateau de Versaille. This filly had a good start to career, breaking her maiden at DMR in just her second start, and then following it up with a good looking N1X win at GP. Despite that, Blushing Meadows opted to sell the filly for what seems to be quite a bargain price now, for just $65.000. D J C Racing Stables put her in graded company right away, and won the Grade 3 Providencia Stakes at SA. After that, she routed the eight-horse field at the $400.000 Grade 1 American Oaks by four lengths. In her most recent start, she was a strong second in the Grade 1 BEL Oaks. Chateau de Versaille is a horse who knows how to bring it on raceday, and will be tough to beat here.
#2- You Can Do It (Mb Stables, ridden by R Bejarano)- A Lake Placid trophy is a piece of hardware still missing on the Mb Stables trophy mantle, and there’s every reason to believe that You Can Do It, can do it. She’s got some experience running against Chateau de Versaille, including getting her picture taken with her at the Providencia Stakes finish line. Unfortunately for her, she was slightly behind. You Can Do It also finished one spot behind her at the Grade 1 BEL Oaks in her last start. They’ve been close each time, and there’s no reason to think that You Can Do It would be unable to reverse the trend and be the one to have the neck in front this time, but there’s still four others here to beat as well. She is also a strong contender.
#3- Altered Skeleton (Chili King Stables, ridden by J R Leparoux)- This Skeleton Key filly was also in the Grade 1 BEL Oaks last month, and she was fifth in the race, beaten by both of the horses starting today to her inside. Only two tenths of a second separated her from those two, so she is still every bit as capable of beating them here. That said, I am not quite as high on her. She has still only won twice in her career, her maiden at GP, then in an N1X attempt at that same track. In her stake tries, she has been very competitive, and I see that happening again but it doesn’t look to me like she has that same nose for the wire as the others.
#4- Rip Snortin (Aer Stables, ridden by R J Albarado)- While running for her previous trainer, Downwind Stables, Rip Snortin took her shot at Chateau de Versaille and You Can Do It in the Providencia Stakes, but was well beaten by both of them. About a month after that race, Rip Snortin was sold in private sales to Aer Stables for $110.000, and it looks as though the trainer has found a little something, perhaps the size of a shadow roll, to make Rip Snortin just a little bit quicker. She has since placed second in the Grade 3 ET Mint Julep Handicap at CD, then won the Grade 3 Penny Memorial Handicap in just a 3-horse field. This is a step up from that level, but it will still be interesting to see how she stakes up now against this company.
#5- Wire Z Wire (Diablo Diablo, ridden by T C Baze)- During 2014, Wire Z Wire was kept on the dirt and had a decent season. However, in 2015, she was moved tot he grass and has been able to showcase her talent so much more. Her turf debut came in the $200.000 CA Cup Oaks and was just barely beaten in that, finishing second. Then in April, while most of these others were at the Providencia Stakes, Wire Z Wire was victorious in the Grade 3 Appalachian at KEE. She still seems to be getting better, and you can see some parallels between her and fellow Z Cars progeny Z Jinxed One, who also started out on the main track before blossoming into a turf star. Perhaps she is not quite as good as that one is, but it should show that she can have a lot of upside still left in her career. While I fully believe she can win this race, I want to see how she stakes up against the two to the inside first before I can pick her above them.
#6- Masolina (Sarah Stables, ridden by J Rosario)- The Il Miglio Fabro filly will make her debut for Sarah Stables after being purchased in private sales on the first of the month for $125.000 from Jerry Garcia Racing. For the prior trainer, she ran exclusively on the dirt and won four of her last five starts, with the highlight being $50.000 CA Oaks in February. The race she didn’t win during that stretch was the Grade 3 Santa Ysabel Stakes, where she finished up the track, 10th place, and seven lengths back. She has no public works for her current trainer, and you have to go back to early June to see anything on the turf. But I like what I see based on what is there and it almost makes you wonder what took so long to have her on the grass. She could pull off a win here, but there are some more experienced graded runners who have to give preference too. If you see her odds climbing high on race day though, take a shot.
Prediction: 1-2-4-5
— NS
Categories: Grade II
