1st-Saratoga, $105,000, Msw, 8-28, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:44.36, fm, 5 3/4 lengths. XIGERA (f, 2, Nyquist–Argent Affair {SW, $154,895}, by Black Tie Affair {Ire}) had to settle for second after getting run down late by 'TDN Rising Star' Pink Hue (Mendelssohn) when debuted over this same surface and distance Aug. 7 but returned at even-money Sunday for another chance. After flashing speed inside of Forever Dixie (Quality Road) early, she settled back off the pace into a stalking position up the backstretch. Put to a run into the far turn, Xigera threatened past the quarter pole, took command as the field straightened for home, and sprinted clear with a furlong to run. Much the best late despite swapping to her incorrect lead, she hit the wire under an easy ride 5 3/4 lengths ahead of 13-1 shot Justifiable Belle (Justify) while Clever Joke (Practical Joke) filled out the tri at 25-1. Already a half-sister to a pair of graded stakes performers in Forty Under (Uncle Mo), GSW, $380,536 and Myriskyaffair (Verrazano), GSP, $134,800, Xigera's only younger sibling is a weanling half-sister by Frosted. Argent Affair was sent back to Street Boss for the 2023 season. Sales History: $190,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 2-1-1-0, $78,750. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
O-Rigney Racing, LLC; B-Cedar Hill LLC (KY); T-Philip A. Bauer.
Lawrence Goichman's New York homebred Lachaise, a younger half brother to a pair of stakes winners, will attempt to uphold the family tradition when he makes his second career start in Wednesday's Grade 3, $175,000 With Anticipation at Saratoga Race Course.
The 18th running of the With Anticipation for 2-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles over the inner turf course serves as the headliner in Race 9 on a 10-race program that kicks off the final week of the summer meet. First race post time is 1:05 p.m. (ET).
By Oscar Performance and out of the Elusive Quality mare Elusive Rumour, Lachaise was preceded to the races by siblings Myhartblongstodady and Runaway Rumour, both also owned by Goichman and trained by Jorge Abreu. Runaway Rumour won the Wild Applause and ran second in the Grade 2 Lake Placid at Saratoga and Grade 2 Sands Point last year, and was scratched when Friday's $200,000 Yaddo came off the turf.
Myhartblongstodady won 6-of-15 starts and nearly $443,000 in purses from 2018 to 2021, winning twice at Saratoga in 2020 including the Yaddo. She also won the Ticonderoga that year and last fall's John Hettinger, both at Belmont Park, the latter after running second in defense of her Yaddo title.
“His whole family is long on the turf. He comes from a good family, and they all show up and run,” Abreu said. “I feel pretty confident.”
Lachaise ran big on debut August 4 at Saratoga, drawing off under jockey Flavien Prat to win a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight for state-breds on the grass by 1 1/4 lengths as the favorite. The same day, Abreu sent out Goichman's 2-year-old filly Alluring Angel to a half-length upset in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden grass sprint.
“He was breezing pretty well,” Abreu said of Lachaise. “The day they won, I liked him the most. The filly surprised me because I didn't think she was ready to win first time out, but he was ready for the race he ran.”
Jose Ortiz breezed Lachaise a half-mile Wednesday over the Oklahoma training track in :49.43, ninth-fastest of 56 horses, and will ride in the With Anticipation from post position 8.
Another horse with a win at the With Anticipation distance on the Saratoga turf is Bourbon Lane Stable and Circle N Thoroughbreds' Our Dream Rye'd, who graduated with a 1 1/4-length maiden special weight triumph July 30 in his second start.
It was the first race on grass for Our Dream Rye'd, who finished sixth on debut June 19 sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs over Churchill Downs' main track. The winner of that race, Mo Strike, came back to capture the Grade 3 Sanford July 16 while third-place finisher Disarm broke his maiden next out August 6, both at Saratoga.
“He's an improving colt,” trainer Ian Wilkes said. “We had no grass at Churchill, so I just used the race to get a good education in him, get him running, get him started and get him moving. He came here and lived up to what I thought he could do in his last race. He's trained even better now for this next race and he's improved, but he's going to have to because you're running against winners now.”
Wilkes continues to work with Our Dream Rye'd on getting into his races quicker. He broke a step slow in each of his starts and found himself at or near the back of the pack early, though jockey Julien Leparoux was able to navigate a winning trip last out.
“His only bad habit is he's got to break a little better. He ran really good here at the distance on the turf and showed a good turn of foot. He's trained very good since then, so I'm very pleased with him,” Wilkes said. “He's just got to learn. He'll get a lot of confidence out of that last race, so he should break better this time.”
Leparoux, who won the With Anticipation with Nownownow in 2007 and Balance the Books in 2012, gets the return call from post position 9.
West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing's Battle of Normandy fetched $500,000 at Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Select Yearling Sale last summer, and a year later rolled to a 2 1/4-length debut triumph August 6 on the Saratoga turf, also at 1 1/16 miles. Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey wheels him back in the With Anticipation, where he will once again be ridden by Kendrick Carmouche from post 1.
Kirk Wykoff's Three Diamonds Farm and trainer Mike Maker won the 2020 With Anticipation with Fire At Will, and the connections look to strike again with recent acquisition Bourbon Therapy. Wykoff purchased the Free Drop Billy colt from trainer and co-owner John Ennis for $40,000 following a 1 1/2-length maiden special weight triumph June 27 at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
All three of Bourbon Therapy's races have come sprinting on the turf, including his April 28 debut at Keeneland and a runner-up finish May 30 in Indiana.
“Stretching out I don't think will be an issue. From what I understand he was ready early, and the only races for him were [sprints],” Maker said. “Watching his previous races, it looks like he should be forwardly placed.”
Maker will leave that up to the break and jockey Luis Saez, who rides from post position 4.
“He worked over the turf the other day and he worked really well. We've had no complaints so far,” Maker said. “I feel pretty good about him. He's been a pretty straight-forward horse, very professional.”
Susan Moulton's homebred Andthewinneris, also by Oscar Performance, defeated Bourbon Therapy when they met at Keeneland in April, and gets back on the turf in the With Anticipation after running a distant third to Gulfport in the six-furlong Bashford Manor July 4 at Churchill Downs. Gulfport came back to run a troubled second as the favorite in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special August 13.
Flavien Prat, up for the debut win, climbs back aboard from post position 2.
Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse won last year's With Anticipation with Coinage, and entered the pair of Boppy O and Determinedly for a title defense. John Oxley and Breeze Easy's Boppy O will be racing first time on the grass, having broken his maiden May 20 going five furlongs at Gulfstream Park, and finishing 10th in the Sanford. Oxley also owns Determinedly, runner-up to Our Dream Rye'd at Saratoga who was three-quarters of a length ahead of show finisher and next-out winner Rarified Flair.
Dylan Davis rides Boppy O from outermost post 10, while Hall of Famer John Velazquez is named on Determinedly, the lone horse on the also-eligible list.
Ballybrit Stable's Bramble Blaze [post 6, Jose Lezcano] and John D. Stephens' El Conejito [post 5, Jomar Torres], both winners going a mile on the Monmouth Park turf in their lone starts; Richard Greeley's Noble Huntsman [post 3, Manny Franco], fifth last out in the 5 1/2-furlong Skidmore August 19 on the grass at Saratoga; and K E M Racing Stables' Quincy Café [post 7, Eric Cancel], promoted maiden special weight winner July 31 at Laurel Park yet to run on turf, are also entered.
Danny Caldwell became the first owner to reach 400 wins at Remington Park when Heza Freak (Den's Legacy) won a maiden race at the Oklahoma oval Saturday night.
Caldwell's first win at Remington Park came Sept. 7, 2008. The Poteau, Oklahoma resident has earned the leading owner title at Remington Park a record 12 times.
Todd Pletcher was in a chipper mood one morning in his office near Saratoga's Oklahoma training track when I asked him about the Green sisters.
“Which one?” Pletcher replied, wryly.
“The one right outside the door.”
“Oh, the brown-noser,” Pletcher said with a laugh. “Do you want to listen in, Sophie?”
“No,” said the mocking English voice from the other side of the glass door. “I will never say anything nice about you again!”
Meet Sophie Green, the elder of the Green sisters, the younger being Amelia. The two sisters make up an enviable team, with Sophie opting to mainly keep her feet either on the ground or astride the barn pony, Bucky, and helping with runners and medication; Amelia riding some of horse racing's elite. Both put in full days under the Pletcher shedrow.
I had interviewed Sophie for this story several days before and was struck by her answer to my question: “What's the best part of working here for Todd?”
“Todd,” she replied without hesitation. “I have worked in restaurants and it's very much just about the job and making money, whereas here, he knows every horse, he cares about every horse, he knows every person that works for him. So, he is the best boss that I have ever had!”
This seems to be the sentiment of most everybody who has ever worked at the Pletcher barn, a long list of people going back decades, most of whom never leave. Ginny DePasquale has been there from day one. There's Tristan Barry, Byron Hughes, Anthony Sciametta, Juan Aguayo. Former assistants include trainers Michael McCarthy, Jonathan Thomas, George Weaver, Michael Dilger, and Michelle Nihei.
Dawn till dusk, when most exercise and pony riders are napping in the middle of the day–or perhaps downing a couple of cocktails at the all-too-many watering holes in Saratoga–the sisters Green are keeping a watchful eye on the Todd Squad.
Sophie and Amelia Green grew up in Thoroton, just east of Nottingham, England. “A place in the middle of nowhere, that nobody has heard of,” joked Sophie during that overcast morning.
The Green sisters followed the usual protocol for horse-mad girls growing up in rural England: school, ponies, and Pony Club.
“Grandad took us to the tack shop and bought us helmets and after that it was all over,” added Sophie, with one eye on Jack, her Jack Russell.
Both sisters finished school with Sophie opting to go to sixth form college for two years, working part-time in a local pub to pay her way and eventually becoming the manger. Amelia opted instead to follow the horses in Newmarket, first at the British Racing School and then apprenticing for the late Sir Henry Cecil.
Looking to broaden her horizons, Amelia wintered one year at Santa Anita Park. “I loved it,” said Amelia (hardly a surprise–who wouldn't want to trade the frozen tundra of Newmarket heath for palm trees and sunshine in the dead of winter?).
Unfortunately, after Amelia returned home to England, Cecil lost his battle with cancer that June.
“I worked for Lady Jane [Cecil] for a couple of months and then got my visa and went straight back to California to work for George Papaprodromou.
“George was a good boss; George was the best,” said Amelia with a smile, suddenly coming to life recanting tales of her old boss and likening him to a “best friend.”
Papaprodromou even legged her up onto one of his horses, with Amelia winning her first race aboard a horse called Twin Six (Include) in December of 2013 at Betfair Hollywood Park.
“It was surreal, I rode on and off for a couple of years whilst galloping for George,” Amelia said. “I did commit and go to Maryland for three months and that was when, ultimately, I realized I wasn't going to make weight, especially bug weight at 112 pounds. That was not the life I wanted to live.”
Amelia Green compiled a 9-148 record per Equibase.
“I came back to California; George insisted I get my assistant's license. I did that for a couple of years and then just plateaued. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to continue or go back to England. So, I spoke to Michael McCarthy and he said, 'Would you go work for Todd Pletcher on the East Coast?' And I was like, 'Sure, but isn't it hard to get a job there?' I called Todd the next day and he was like, 'Yeah, when do you want to start?'”
“It was obvious right from the start she was a star, an excellent rider, but also very interested in learning more on the ground and a very complete horseperson with ambition who just enjoys it,” said Pletcher.
Americanrevolution is one of Amelia Green's regular morning partners | Sarah Andrew
If you are looking for Life Is Good (Into Mischief), you had better be early as Amelia is the first to the track with him every day. Twenty years ago, Life Is Good would likely have been ridden by a man with his head cranked and bowed over as he is a very tough horse to gallop. But Green has gone for the finesse option and, while he's still not easy, he's a whole lot better than he was.
“He's a special horse, but he's not a cupcake to gallop,” said a now-wry-smiling Pletcher. “So, we have really focused a lot on trying to ration his talent and his speed. She gets along with him very well and has been a huge part of his success.”
Amelia has been around a lot of good horses in her five-year tenure at the Pletcher barn. There is Nest (Curlin) (Amelia is careful to remind me she is just borrowed from another rider, Nora, who didn't make the trip to Saratoga), Americanrevolution (Constitution), Mind Control (Stay Thirsty), Corniche (Quality Road)–whose retirement was just announced–and some unraced 2-year-olds that have not been tested yet.
None, however, as talented as Life Is Good, who now carries the nickname “Scooter.” According to Amelia, “When he first got here, he would just scoot off, but he's so much better now. Did you see him without the draw reins? This time last year there is no way I could have ridden him without them.”
“Is he your all-time favorite horse?” I enquired, already knowing the answer as “Scooter” was burrowing in Amelia's pocket for another peppermint. “Yes, he's the one,” she said.
Interestingly, Amelia admits she wouldn't normally get to ride the colts in England.
“I think it's a very old school thing, the girls are smaller in England and usually ride the fillies. I honestly think I had ridden maybe one or two colts before I arrived in America.”
Enter Winnie, Amelia's dog, who is part Great Dane and who at this moment is chasing Jack (Sophie's dog) down the shedrow past the likes of Mind Control, Capensis (Tapit), Malathaat (Curlin), Dynamic One (Union Rags), Happy Saver (Super Saver), and Chocolate Gelato (Practical Joke), none of which could care less as the feed cart has just arrived, much to the delight of Life Is Good, who is doing his best “Hungry Hippo” impersonation.
Sophie, who much like her sister plateaued working as a manager in a restaurant and was at a crossroads in life when Amelia suggested almost three years ago that she come over and work for Pletcher.
“We really didn't get on that well as kids,” said Sophie, older by just two years.
“So, who's the boss?”
“I am,” jumped in Amelia.
“And she's also the favorite child,” jabbed back a smiling Sophie. “It's OK. I'm used to it!”
Do they often get confused for each other?
“Well, actually,” interjected Sophie, “I get 'Amelia's sister,' not even Sophie. I think a few people have seen me around now so they know we are different but it's still 'Amelia's sister.'”
Is Sophie envious of her speed-queen sister?
“Oh God, no,” said Sophie, almost a little too quickly. “All our lives Amelia was the one who wanted to go fast. I'm quite content going slow. Even skiing she was always the first one down. I'm quite content riding the pony.”
Pletcher echoes the sentiment. “No, I think she's comfortable in her role. She's done a great job with our pony, Bucky, who had special needs when we first got him,” he said. “She's done a great job with some of our flighty fillies as well.”
