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Grade 1 Winners Vequist, Search Results Out For Remainder Of 2021

Two Grade 1-winning sophomore fillies have been sidelined for the remainder of 2021, reports the Daily Racing Form.

Vequist, last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies champion, had been preparing to return off a seven-month layoff this week, but an issue was discovered after her latest workout.

“She had a minor setback coming out of her last work and will be off for rest of the year,” trainer Butch Reid told DRF.

The 3-year-old daughter of Nyquist has only started once in 2021, running ninth in the G2 Davona Dale on Feb. 27 at Gulfstream Park. She completed five workouts at Saratoga this summer, and Reid had planned to enter her in an allowance race on Thursday.

Search Results, winner of the G1 Acorn and a valiant second to Malathaat in the Kentucky Oaks, has also been taken out of training. Trainer Chad Brown said the filly, most recently third in the G1 Test Stakes, does not have any series issues. She just needs a break from the races.

“I'm really looking forward to running her in mile-and-an-eighth races next year,” Brown told DRF. “That was a really good race in the Oaks. If she can just get a couple of lengths faster as a 4-year-old, she's a real player in these mile-and-an-eighth races all over the place next year.”

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Wicked Halo, Mainstay Among Nine Juvenile Fillies Contesting Adirondack

A nine-horse field of promising 2-year-old fillies comprise a talented field in the Grade 2, $200,000 Adirondack contested at 6 1/2 furlongs on Sunday at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The 105th edition of the Adirondack, named for the mountain range in eastern New York, has been the proving ground for many future champions, with modern-era winners encompassing Sky Beauty, My Miss Aurelia, Folklore, Sacahuista, Storm Song, and Smart Angle, who have used this race as a springboard.

The Adirondack is slated as Race 8 on the 10-race card, which also includes the Grade 3, $700,000 Saratoga Oaks Invitational as the second leg of the Turf Triple series for 3-year-old fillies going 1 3/16 miles, and the $120,000 Fasig-Tipton De La Rose for older fillies and mares going one-mile on the inner turf.

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, who saddled last year's Adirondack-winner Thoughtfully, looks to repeat and capture his fourth overall victory in the race by sending out Wicked Halo.

Owned and bred by Winchell Thoroughbreds, Wicked Halo arrives with strong credentials as she is the daughter of the 2015 winner Just Wicked and the 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner.

“They're basically twins,” said Asmussen, who trained both the homebred Just Wicked and Gun Runner for the Winchell Family, when asked to compare this filly and her dam.

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Wicked Halo graduated from the maiden ranks at first asking in June on a muddy Lone Star Park track. Elevated to stakes company last out, she faded to third after leading until late in the six-furlong Debutante on June 26 at Churchill Downs. She will now be asked to go a half-furlong further.

“Wicked Halo deserves the chance. I ran her back fairly quick after the Debutante from the one hole. It could have been different for her,” said Asmussen. “The Gun Runners have run extremely well, and obviously, that's exciting to us. I do believe that every single one of them will continue to improve with distance and with time, just like he did. It means a little more to us when we send out one of his babies.”

Jose Ortiz will ride from post 7.

Another filly in the field with famous family ties is Swilcan Stable' homebred Mainstay, a half-sister to Vequist, the 2020 Eclipse Award-winning 2-Year-Old Filly and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies victress.

Mainstay, co-owned by LC Racing, romped to a 7 3/4-length score in the slop at Monmouth Park her first time out and then was the runner-up in the Grade 3 Schuylerville on Saratoga's Opening Day after an inauspicious start to her race.

“I think she raced a little greenly last time,” said trainer Butch Reid, who also conditions Vequist. “She got a little distracted through the lane. I don't know if it was the people in the grandstand or what exactly it was, but since that race her concentration has been much better in the mornings and she's not paying any attention to any of that kind of stuff, so I expect her to run a much better race.

“I think her experience can only help her this time,” he added. “I normally wouldn't have raced her back this quickly, but she came out of it great and very determined and very serious, so we're going. I think she just needs a little seasoning and I think having these races under her belt will be nothing but a benefit to her. You can't live on reputation alone. Now she's riding on her big sister V's coattails, but she's got to prove it on her own.”

Joel Rosario will have the call from post 8.

Joel Politi's Microbiome also garnered attention by winning her debut by 5 1/2 lengths on the same day as the Schuylerville. The Tom Amoss trainee drew the outside post 9 with Tyler Gaffalione returning to ride in Microbiome's first stakes appearance.

“She's exciting. She showed a lot of talent to us before we ever ran her,” said Amoss, who also trained 2020 Grade 1 Ballerina-winner Serengeti Empress for Politi. We knew coming up here and debuting her was going to be going against the heavy heads, but I thought she really performed well and that gives us a real reason to think she has a chance on Sunday.”

From the inside post, J L's Rockette will look to build on her first-out win on June 27 at Ellis Park for Hall of Famer trainer Bill Mott. Owner Frank Fletcher names all of his horses for his beloved dog Rockette, and J L's Rockette got her moniker after he purchased this daughter of Into Mischief for $750,000.

“She's progressed nicely since she's been here from Kentucky,” said Mott, who is lacking an Adirondack victory on his lengthy Hall of Fame resume. “We've got several good works in her. She seems like with the additional training she's become stronger and fitter, but she'll have to be stronger and fitter to compete with this group.”

Junior Alvarado will be in the irons.

Ontheonesandtwos is a filly on the upswing after closing strongly in a runner-up Debutante effort by lone length, following her winning first-out performance at Churchill Downs in May for trainer Norm Casse.

“I think she's doing really well and we're excited about running in the Adirondack and seeing what the future holds,” Casse said. “It's a pretty good test but I think she's ready. She's done really well since we got her up here and her last breeze was excellent so it's time to see where she fits with all of these other good fillies.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will ride the daughter of Jimmy Creed for the first time, breaking from post 2.

“He's been working her, and he likes her,” Casse said. “It's time to see where she fits. I know I'm running a horse that's doing well and is happy. That's all you can hope for.”

Reigning Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox will saddle Interstatedaydream, a daughter of 2016 champion Juvenile Colt Classic Empire. She won her debut at Belmont Park in June by a head in a game effort. Luis Saez will ride from post 6.

Rounding out the field is Saucy Lady T, for trainer James Chapman [post 3, Manny Franco]; Shesawildjoker, for conditioner David Donk [Hall of Famer John Velazquez, post 4]; and the Gregory Sacco-trained Boss Lady Kim [post 5, Ricardo Santana, Jr.].

Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the 40-day summer meet on FOX Sports. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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Vequist ‘A Little Ahead Of Schedule’ For 2021 Debut; Cotillion The Goal For Champion Filly

Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable and Swilcan Stable's reigning Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Vequist breezed a half-mile in 47.77 Friday on the Saratoga main track under Jose Lezcano in preparation for a potential seasonal debut at the end of the Saratoga meet.

Trainer Butch Reid, Jr. said the sophomore daughter of Nyquist is working towards a long-term goal of the Grade 1, $1 million Cotillion, a 1 1/16-mile test for sophomore fillies on September 25 at Parx. It was just the second work back for Vequist, who captured the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile fillies last out in November at Keeneland.

“She did very well this morning,” said Reid, Jr. “I had her galloping out in 1:01 and 2 and on out in about 1:15. She's fitter than I thought she was. She's actually a little ahead of schedule. I wanted her ready to go five-eighths on the first of August and she's a little ahead of that. I'm very happy with her progress. She's coming along nicely. If everything works out, she could run here before the end of the meet.”

The talented dark bay, out of the Mineshaft mare Vero Amore, graduated by 9 1/2-lengths in the Grade 1 Spinaway last summer at Saratoga.

St. Omer's Farm and Christopher J. Feifarek's Beren posted a sharp 46.60 half-mile bullet work Friday on the main track. The Weigelia sophomore has won his last three starts, capturing the Gold Fever and off-the-turf Paradise Creek at Belmont ahead of a last-out score in the Crowd Pleaser on June 22 at Parx.

Initially under consideration for the nine-furlong $120,000 Curlin on July 30, Reid Jr. said the fast work has him considering the 6 1/2-furlong Grade 2, $200,000 Amsterdam on August 1.

“It looks like he came out of it well, but it's made me rethink my strategy a little bit,” Reid, Jr. said. “It's hard to think about coming back at a mile and an eighth for the Curlin, when there's the Amsterdam there. Plus, two more days might be very helpful for him.”

Reid, Jr. said Swilcan Stable and LC Racing's Mainstay, a 2-year-old half-sister to stablemate Vequist, has come out of her runner-up effort to Pretty Birdie in the Grade 3 Schuylerville on Opening Day July 15 in good order and will now point to the 6 1/2-furlong Grade 2, $200,000 Adirondack on August 8.

A 7 3/4-length maiden winner on June 4 over sloppy going at Monmouth, Mainstay bobbled at the start of her graded stakes debut and was unable to reel in a runaway Pretty Birdie.

“She lost concentration coming down the lane. I don't know if it was the crowd, but she ducked in when I thought she had dead aim on the other horse [Pretty Birdie],” Reid Jr. said. “I really think she'll learn from the experience. She came out of it so well, we're thinking about taking a shot at the Adirondack. She hasn't missed an oat since the race and has been training very well.”

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Pretty Birdie Carries Marylou Whitney Stables Silks To Opening Day Schuylerville Victory

Marylou Whitney Stables' Pretty Birdie rocketed to a lead that she never relinquished, fending off 6-5 favorite Mainstay's stretch-drive challenge to win the Grade 3, $150,000 Schuylerville for juvenile fillies by two lengths on Thursday, Opening Day, at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The 103rd edition of the six-furlong Schuylerville fittingly saw the ownership group of the late Saratoga icon and philanthropist capture a graded stakes during the lid-lifter of the 40-day meet. To accomplish the feat, Pretty Birdie wasted no time breaking sharply from the inside post under Luis Saez, leading the seven-horse field through an opening quarter-mile in 22.29 seconds, a half in 45.82 and three-quarters in 58.40 on the fast main track.

Mainstay, who broke from post 2 under Frankie Pennington and tracked in second position in every point of call, made a late bid out of the turn, but Saez kept his charge to task, completing the course in a 1:12.32 final time.

“This is where she felt the most alive,” said owner John Hendrickson, who was married to Whitney until her passing in July 2019. “This is the way she is alive and she has a win on opening day. It's pretty special. This is a dream come true for me and Marylou. Things getting back to normal and winning on Opening Day, she's throwing a party. She said 'I want to race, get back to work.'

“It means so much,” Hendrickson added. “The smiling faces and having Saratoga back the way it should be and having a win. It's very special.”

Pretty Birdie's gate-to-wire score was the second career graded stakes win for trainer Norm Casse and his first in New York. The Kentucky homebred, a daughter of Bird Song, improved to 2-for-2 following her debut win in June at Churchill Downs.

“I feel like she was a little more green today. She didn't want to switch leads down the lane,” Casse said. “I was a little bit concerned about that as she was finishing, but I think that was just her seeing a new place. This was the first time she had even come over here. I kept her on the Oklahoma [training track] side the entire week she's been here.”

Off at 5-2, Pretty Birdie returned $7.60 on a $2 win wager. Casse said the next target for her is the Grade 1, $300,000 Spinaway on September 5 at Saratoga.

“I think she was just gawking around and maybe even waiting on the other horse,” Casse said. “Those are things we'll fix before we run her in the Spinaway next.”

Saez won his second career Schuylerville, joining Off the Tracks in 2015.

“She's very fast,” said Saez, who finished the day with three wins. “I could feel it. She was on her toes. She broke from there pretty quick and we controlled the pace. When we came to the top of the stretch, she was running. I was pretty happy with her.

“She was a little tired [late in the lane] but she was go,” he added. “Nice filly.”

Mainstay, a half-sister to reigning 2-year-old champion filly Vequist trained by Butch Reid, Jr. was a 7 3/4-length first-out winner in June at Monmouth Park. Making her Saratoga bow, the Astern filly finished 5 1/4 lengths clear of Saucy Lady T for second.

“I think she ran well,” Reid, Jr. said. “It was a quality horse that beat her. My jockey was a little upset that she wasn't standing quite right in the gate and they snapped it before she was really ready. She had one leg that was underneath the next stall. I think maybe if she breaks a little better, who knows, but she didn't get away from the gate clean.”

Velvet Sister, Cartel Queen, Eagle Express and Queen Camilla completed the order of finish. Pipeline Girl and Happy Soul, the 8-5 morning-line favorite, scratched.

Live racing resumes Friday with a 10-race card highlighted by the Grade 3, $150,000 Forbidden Apple for 4-year-olds and up going one mile on the inner turf in Race 9 at 5:39 p.m. Eastern. First post is 1:05 p.m.

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