WellSpring Stables' Leave No Trace breezed a sharp half mile over the Saratoga main track in 47.44 seconds on Thursday, leaving trainer Phil Serpe with a decision to make regarding when his Grade 1 winning filly should return to the starting gate.
“She did very well. We're very happy with the work,” said Serpe. “We're just looking at some options for some races and will know more in a couple of days.”
Leave No Trace certainly left her mark at Saratoga during her juvenile campaign, winning her debut by 2 3/4 lengths sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs here en route to a 14-1 upset in the Grade 1 Spinaway, 1 1/2 lengths ahead of eventual Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Wonder Wheel.
Serpe's Outwork filly next tried the Grade 1 Frizette in October at Belmont at the Big A and finished third despite a troubled break. Her 2-year-old campaign concluded in November with a second to Wonder Wheel in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Keeneland.
Leave No Trace returned as a sophomore in March in the Grade 2 Davona Dale, going one mile over the Gulfstream Park dirt. The dark-bay broke sharply to the lead setting a fast quarter of 23.01, but was eased after a half-mile by jockey Tyler Gaffalione.
She returned to the work tab on July 2 and has worked weekly since, with her fastest coming in Thursday's move which ranked second out of 76 workers.
“She's doing really well. She's pretty close to a race,” Serpe said. “We want to get her in a race before we leave Saratoga, so hopefully towards the end of the meet. She's going to get to run.”
A potential landing spot could be the Grade 2, $250,000 Prioress on September 2, a six furlong sprint for sophomore fillies.
Serpe will send out WellSpring Stables' Safe Conduct in Sunday's Oceanport at Monmouth Park, a 1 1/16 miles turf route for 3-year-olds and up.
The 5-year-old horse was entered in an allowance optional claimer on July 30 at Saratoga, but scratched and re-routed to New Jersey.
“He doesn't like soft turf and the ground was pretty soft. I think the race down there looks like a decent spot, hopefully he can rebound and get something done,” said Serpe.
Safe Conduct broke his maiden going 1 1/16 miles over the Saratoga turf in August 2020. Since then, his earnings have climbed to $768,694 through a lifetime record of 18-4-3-3, featuring a stakes win in the 2021 Queen's Plate at Woodbine.
Last summer, Safe Conduct became graded stakes placed with a runner-up effort in the Grade 3 Monmouth, earning a lifetime high Beyer Speed Figure of 94 before heading into the Lure at Saratoga, where he ran fifth after a wide trip.
The Bodemeister bay last ran third in an optional claiming race for older horses on July 4 at Belmont, three lengths behind Portfolio Company, who returned to finish a neck off of a win in the Fasig-Tipton Lure on August 5 here.
Bred in Ontario by Mitchell Kursner, Safe Conduct is out of the Congrats mare Duchess Dancer, who is a half-sister to Canada's 2008 Horse of the Year Fatal Bullet.
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