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

Graded two year old stakes at Saratoga in the summer draws all the bluebloods and hopefuls. It should. It is the most prestigious meeting of the year and it is traditionally where all the most highly regarded two year olds come to debut or to lay claim to future greatness in the legendary two year old Saratoga stakes. That is how it has been since at least the days of Man O’ War and nothing has changed. The G2 SAR Special has drawn fourteen horses with twelve scheduled for the main gate and two on the also eligible list as of this writing. As these are two year olds there are limited resumes to indicate what the race will reveal but let’s see what we’ve got.

1. Bronze Wolf (TwinTowersRacing/R.M. Hernandez) Broke his maiden at first asking in early April at Keeneland. He followed that up with a near miss in the KY Juvenile where he was second beaten only a neck by the impressive filly Whispering Pines. He finished fifth in the G3 Sanford at this same track but he was doing a little bit of the sideways shuffle avoiding invisible traffic in the stretch so don’t write him off from that effort. 

2. Luka Mafia (Night Rider Stables/Jam Rodriguez) Undefeated in two starts thus far and is a stakes winner by virtue of his win on the grass in the Royal Palm Juvenile at Gulfstream Park in early May. He has not been seen since that race and switches back to the dirt for his first graded attempt. Can’t argue with an undefeated horse and he holds the highest SRF figure in the field with a 96 for that stakes win. 

3. Luminary (Mb Stables/L.J. Luzzi) Enters the fourth race of his career with one win in his second start which was a MSW at Churchill Downs. He then ran a very good third in the Bashford Manor at the twin spires track a month ago. His last work was his best six furlong move yet.

4. Hawaiian Sun (Our Athletes/F. Geroux) Won in his debut at the end of April at the Big A. He then showed early speed leading in the Bashford Manor before fading to tenth in the late stages. The Bashford was at six furlongs and he will be asked to go an additional sixteenth of a mile now. 

5. Grass Crown (Jerry Garcia Racing/E.J. Zayas) The one I want to see. He is undefeated in two starts. He broke his maiden at Keeneland in April and then was victorious in his next race, an allowance at Woodbine. He won that race impressively by two lengths. He also has the two fastest works by a two year old at six furlongs and boasts three of the top ten fastest works at that distance. Makes his stakes debut.

6. Niagras Stage (Greyhound/F.T. Alvarado) Ran a good fourth on debut and has followed up with two wins since then. He comes into this race off of a win in an allowance race at Parx. Limited public works to gauge current form but SRF figures show a steady improvement.

7. Prime Suspect (Delta Farms/J.L. Ortiz) Another undefeated entry. He has one win in his debut which was a Pennsylvania statebred MSW. Almost six weeks later he comes to the Spa to make his stakes debut and will meet a field ready to test him. Works indicate he might just be up to the test. 

8. Celebrini (Big Jd Racing/G. Corrales) Won his debut and then drew post ten in the Bashford Manor for his first stakes effort. The running line shows a decent effort finishing fourth and picking up a check while closing late. Watching the race you see he had some traffic issues in the stretch and found his best stride late when he found room. Better than that shows on the page. 

9. Repeat (Williams9/E. Esquivel) Has the most starts of anyone in the field with four. He has hit the board in all four and broke his maiden in his last start at Churchill Downs and now gets his stakes test. He has early speed and has shown it in every race so far. He is going a furlong farther than he did in that maiden win and he will certainly get challenged early but he has been running in high level maiden races so he may have what it takes. 

10. Drink And Drive (Serenity Stables/M. Franco) Showed speed and faded in his debut at Lonestar but came back an improved horse off of that effort winning a MSW at Woodbine. A month later he makes his initial stakes effort at Saratoga in a graded race so he is being asked to step up again. Fast works say there is talent. 

11. Pete My Rose (Luz International/E.J. Wilson) Almost a mirror of the rival inside of him in that he ran a nice race in his debut at Lonestar where he finished second. He then broke his maiden in his next start at a higher level track when he was a winner at Churchill Downs. Now steps into a prestige race for two year olds at Saratoga. He added Lasix in his maiden breaker and now adds Bute to that mix so he is a work in progress and new adds might lead to speculation that he will improve even more. 

12. Sacred Star (Serenity Stables/Ar Bocachica) The last of our entries making it directly into the gate. He has four starts to date and his first three spoke to talent and promise. He missed by a nose on debut at Santa Anita. He then missed by just a neck when he finished third in the KY Juvenile. In his third start he broke his maiden at Churchill Downs. He moved back into stakes company and finished seventh here at Saratoga in the G3 Sanford. He was closing and that race was better than it looks on the surface. He drew post twelve that day too and never really was able to tuck in and save ground. He was forced to go widest of all and was still able to have enough left to find a small rally and make up ground. Post twelve will not help him today but maybe lessons were learned that day and he can work out a better trip. 

13. (AE) Dayton Flyer (Barcelona Farms/TBD) Has two wins in three starts. Broke his maiden at Woodbine and continued on with a win in an allowance at Lonestar in his next start. Fast works breezing and although he didn’t get in on his current earnings you feel that we will see him in stakes action soon if no one scratches. 

14. (AE) Umoja (London Racing/TBD) Undefeated but also not able to gain direct entry via current earnings. He has a maiden win at Charles Town and was gelded as a reward. Following the gelding he won an allowance at Monmouth. The works reinforce that he has talent and like Dayton Flyer expect to see him in a stakes race soon if he doesn’t draw in. 

Hard to prognosticate off of two year olds with limited resumes but we are getting further into the season and horses are developing and showing more. My pick here is Grass Crown based on his two wins and those outstanding works. Luka Mafia as an undefeated stakes winner would be the top threat followed by Bronze Wolf and Sacred Star.

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES