Star Devine Shines In Galway Stakes At Saratoga

Star Devine made a strong move from the outside and prevailed by a head in a blanket finish to capture Sunday's $120,000 Galway for 3-year-old fillies sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs on the Mellon turf at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Lawrence Goichman's Star Devine notched her first stakes victory, edging Illegal Smile to win for the second time in four career starts.

After a brief delay when Dr B broke through the gate and was re-loaded, Star Devine was sent away from the outermost post under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, stalking the pace in fifth position as Wink led the 10-horse field through the opening quarter-mile in :22.13 over firm going.

Out of the turn, Star Devine was kept four-wide with Wink, Mischiefful, and Illegal Smile to her inside with the half in :45.20. After briefly running eye-to-eye with Mischiefful, Star Devine pulled away and then gained on the pacesetter under Velazquez's right-handed encouragement.

Bye Bye made a strong bid up the rail and Illegal Smile, under jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., challenged to the wire, but Star Devine outkicked her rivals to complete the course in 1:02.37 for trainer Jorge Abreu.

“I had not much of a choice [but to go to the outside],” Velazquez said. “I tried to cover up behind Irad and he didn't go in there. Jorge said, 'I don't care where you are, I just don't want you on the lead.' We got a good post from the outside and I saved it for the end. That's the way it worked out.”

Star Devine was a debut winner in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y., before running a competitive fourth in the Grade 3 Soaring Softly in May at Belmont Park. The Irish-bred ran third when stretched out to 1 1/16 miles on the Belmont turf on June 17 but was shortened up for the second running of the Galway while having Velazquez in the irons for the first time.

“I thought she was going to come from a little bit off the pace, but she broke so sharply and Johnny just took advantage of it,” Abreu said. “I knew she was going to run well. She was just looking for a little cut back. She's better going short than going long.

“I was a little concerned around the turn because I thought he was going to take her back and I thought, 'Don't do that', but then she kicked in again,” Abreu added. “He gave her a good ride.”

Off at 7-1, Star Devine paid $17 on a $2 win bet. The Fastnet Rock filly increased her career bankroll to $127,040 and will now target the 6 1/2-furlong $500,000 Music City on September 12 at Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Ky.

“We're going to go to Kentucky Downs,” Abreu said. “I've had some good luck there and I like going there. We'll see how she comes out of it and that's where we'll aim.”

Illegal Smile, one of two entrants for trainer Wesley Ward along with Wink, bested Bye Bye by a head. It was the fourth time in eight starts [1-4-1] Illegal Smile has finished the runner-up.

“That was so close,” Ortiz, Jr. said. “It was a good race. My filly ran hard and gave me everything she had.”

Mischiefful, Tuscan Queen, Alwayz Late, Wink, Goin' Good, Li'l Tootsie, and Dr B completed the order of finish. What a Trick and main-track-only entrant Summer Brew scratched.

Live racing resumes Wednesday at Saratoga with a 10-race card featuring two stakes, starting with steeplechase action via the $150,000 Grade 1 Jonathan Sheppard in the opener at 1:05 p.m. Eastern. The $120,000 Bolton Landing for 2-year-old fillies going 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf is carded as Race 9 at 5:39 p.m.

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Lynch Prepares Red Danger, Toby’s Heart For Kentucky Downs Starts

Promising juvenile Red Danger has already competed twice during the Saratoga meet, running fifth in his debut on July 17 sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs on the main track. Moved to turf for his start on August 11, the Orb colt rallied from fifth to display a strong closing kick in winning the 5 1/2-furlong contest by 1 1/4 lengths.

Lynch said Silverton Hill's Red Danger will use that Saratoga experience to step up to stakes company next out at Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Ky. Red Danger had been training in the Bluegrass State at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., before setting up a show at the Spa in early July.

“He stepped up like we needed him to the other day and now we'll look at one of those 2-year-old stakes at Kentucky Downs,” Lynch said. “We're very happy with how he did it and his time at Saratoga set him up nicely for his next steps.”

The news wasn't as positive for Amerman Racing's graded stakes-winner Gift List, who was working her way back from one setback before needing a chip removed last week, postponing her return to the track.

“We had another little hiccup with her,” Lynch said. “She had a small chip removed and she's going to be laid up for a little bit. She'll be back in the fall, hopefully.”

Gift List has not run since finishing third in the Grade 3 Wonder Again on June 3 at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. as the 3-year-old Bated Breath filly worked her way back after recovering from pneumonia and combating colic.

On August 6, Gift List breezed four furlongs in :54.20 seconds on over Saratoga's Oklahoma turf training track. Lynch's original goal was to get her ready for the $700,000 Jockey Club Oaks going 1 3/8 miles on September 18 at Belmont, but those fall plans have now been placed in a holding pattern.

After earning black type in the Wonder Again over a Belmont turf rated good, Gift List was slated for a potential next-out start in the first leg of the Turf Triple with the $700,000 Grade 1 Belmont Oaks on July 10 followed by the $700,000 Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational on August 8.

Instead, she likely will have to skip the Turf Triple series entirely, curtailing the momentum she generated to start 2021 when she ran second, a half-length back to Jouster, in the Grade 2 Appalachian in April at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., before winning the Grade 2 Edgewood by 4 1/2 lengths going 1 1/16 miles in April at Churchill Downs. That winning effort netted a personal-best 88 Beyer.

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Toby's Heart, who ran third in the Grade 3 Lake George on July 23 going one mile on the Saratoga turf, was listed as a probable for Saturday's $200,000 Grade 2 Lake Placid for sophomore fillies going 1 1/16 miles but instead will opt for the $500,000 Music City at 6 1/2 furlongs on Sunday, September 12 at Kentucky Downs.

Owned by Terry Hamilton, Lynch and Gary Barber, Toby's Heart won the 5 1/2-furlong Limestone Turf Sprint in April at Keeneland over a course labeled good. Stretched out to seven furlongs, the Jack Milton filly ran fifth in the Grade 3 Soaring Softly in May at Belmont but responded by running second in the Tepin contested at the Lake George distance on June 26 at Churchill Downs over firm ground.

After heading back to Kentucky, Lynch said there is a possibility Toby's Heart will return to Belmont for the fall meet.

“She's doing really well and we're looking forward to cutting her back in distance a little bit and having a crack at the big pot down there and then see what our options are,” Lynch said.

Toby's Heart breezed a half-mile in :51.50 Sunday on the Oklahoma training turf.

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Kentucky Downs Boosts Non-Stakes Purses By Eight Percent

Kentucky Downs will have an eight-percent purse increase in its non-stakes races from what was announced previously in the early September meet's condition book.

Maiden special-weight races for Kentucky-breds will now offer a purse of $135,000; first-level allowance race $145,800 and second-level allowance races $156,600. The increase applies to every non-stakes race at the meet except the four starter-allowance races carrying $100,000 purses as qualifiers for the Claiming Crown later this year at Gulfstream Park.

The country's most celebrated turf meet runs Sept. 5, 6, 8, 9, 11 and 12 over America's only European-style course. Tickets for reserved seating and dining can be purchased at https://www.tickettailor.com/events/kentuckydowns/.

“Not everybody has stakes horses, and Kentucky Downs gives those owners an opportunity to run for as much money as some stakes offer,” said Ted Nicholson, Kentucky Downs' Vice President for Racing. “We know much of the money earned will be reinvested in the industry, starting at the horse auctions in Lexington that come right after our meet.

“Money attracts horses, and horses mean jobs. Every horse that comes to Kentucky Downs to race is a benefit to area businesses, including hotels and restaurants.”

The additional funds for overnight races are split evenly between association money, which can be used on any race and for which every horse competes, and purse supplements from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) for horses born in the state and sired by a Kentucky stallion. Such Kentucky-breds reflect the majority of horses racing.

The additional Kentucky-bred purse supplements were approved last week by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's KTDF advisory committee.

Said KTDF committee chair and commission member Bill Landes: “Kentucky Downs' additional positive adjustment to their KTDF overnight purses is a symbol of their good stewardship of KTDF funds but also recognizes their dedication to making Kentucky the pre-eminent racing jurisdiction in America.”

Overall purses offered at the meet now are scheduled to total $15,259,400, which includes $10 million spread among 16 stakes races. The meet's overnight (maiden, allowance and claiming) races are scheduled to average $876,000 a day.

“But there's more to the owner's experience than purses,” Nicholson said. “We've got some surprises in store this meet for the owners who put on our show. We want Kentucky Downs to be a track that, win or lose, owners can't wait to return to run their horses.”

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Purse Increase for Non-Stakes Races at Kentucky Downs

Kentucky Downs will increase purses 8% in non-stakes races for the upcoming September meet from what was announced previously in the condition book. Maiden special weights for Kentucky-breds will now have purses of $135,000; first-level allowances are set at $145,800; and second-level allowances at $156,600. The increase applies to every non-stakes race at the meet except the four starter-allowances carrying $100,000 purses as qualifiers for the Claiming Crown later this year at Gulfstream Park.

“Not everybody has stakes horses, and Kentucky Downs gives those owners an opportunity to run for as much money as some stakes offer,” said Ted Nicholson, vice president of racing at Kentucky Downs. “We know much of the money earned will be reinvested in the industry, starting at the horse auctions in Lexington that come right after our meet. Money attracts horses, and horses mean jobs. Every horse that comes to Kentucky Downs to race is a benefit to area businesses, including hotels and restaurants.”

Kentucky Downs operates a turf-only meet, which will be held Sept. 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, and 12. Overall purses will total $15,259,400, which includes $10 million for 16 stakes races. Overnight races are scheduled to average $876,000 a day.

The additional funds for overnight races are split evenly between association money and purse supplements from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF). The additional Kentucky-bred purse supplements were approved last week by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's KTDF advisory committee.

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