Technical Analysis Takes Lake Placid At Saratoga

Klaravich Stables' even-money favorite Technical Analysis again displayed an affinity for the turf at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., improving to 2-for-2 this meet after leading gate-to-wire for a 3 1/2-length victory in Saturday's $200,000 Grade 2 Lake Placid for sophomore fillies contesting 1 1/16 miles on the Mellon course.

The 38th edition of the Lake Placid saw Technical Analysis build on her 1 1/4-length score in the one-mile Grade 3 Lake George over firm going on July 23 by relishing a yielding turf course. Breaking alertly from post 2 under jockey Jose Ortiz, the Irish-bred daughter of Kingman led the six-horse field through the opening quarter-mile in :24.68 and the half in :50.03 with Spanish Loveaffair in close pursuit.

Technical Analysis maintained the lead out of the final turn, swinging wide entering the top of the stretch but undeterred. Ortiz helped the pacesetter maintain her advantageous position, using right-handed encouragement that kept Technical Analysis to task. She drew away in the final furlong, completing the course in 1:46.49 in outkicking a charging Runaway Rumour.

“We knew there was no speed in there, so our options were limited,” Ortiz said. “We didn't want to get stuck being behind a slow pace. The turf was pretty soft, but this filly is bred in Ireland and she liked it. I've ridden her before on [good] turf and I knew she was going to handle it well. I knew it would be to our advantage.”

Trainer Chad Brown captured the Lake Placid for the third time in the last four runnings, while Technical Analysis won for the fourth time in six career starts and for the third time in four races as a 3-year-old.

“The more we work with this horse, she just keeps getting faster and stronger and bigger,” Brown said. “I can see that she's willing in her works and I just don't want to take anything away from her. Too often, we've been caught in these paceless races where sometimes we have the best horse and it blows up on you. So, if my horses have some speed, like this one, I'm going to send them out there.”

Technical Analysis returned $4.20 on a $2 win wager. She improved her career earnings to $298,200.

Brown compared Technical Analysis to Dayatthespa, who won the 2014 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf in gate-to-wire fashion en route to Champion Grass Mare honors that year.

“This filly is starting to remind me of a nice horse we used to train named Dayatthespa and I told Jose that in the paddock,” Brown said. “She ended up being a champion horse for us down the road and as she got older, she showed a lot of speed and went to the lead. I can see a lot of similarities with this horse, so I'm not going to take anything away from her.

“She's a high-energy horse and my team has just done a fabulous job with her,” Brown added. “We've found a few things to sweeten her up and get along with her and it's really working.”

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Lawrence Goichman's New York homebred Runaway Rumour, ridden by Jose Lezcano, bested Ego Trip by a half-length for runner-up honors. The Jorge Abreu trainee earned her first graded stakes placing after running a competitive fourth in the Lake George last month.

“She's a nice filly. She struggled today with the track, but she still tried very hard to run a good race,” Lezcano said. “Whenever I asked her, she kept on trying. The turf is very soft. My filly was never comfortable the whole way.”

Spanish Loveaffair, Illogami, and Lovestruck completed the order of finish.

Live racing resumes Sunday at Saratoga with a 10-race card featuring the $120,000 Summer Colony, a nine-furlong main track event for older fillies and mares who have not won a graded stakes race in 2021. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

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Half-Sister To Scat Daddy, Lovestruck Stays Undefeated In Tepin Stakes

Godolphin Stable's Lovestruck, the half-sister to the late stallion Scat Daddy, won her first stakes appearance in similar fashion to her career debut on Sunday. The 2-year-old filly stayed off the pace before a strong stretch-drive kick to post a one-length victory in the $100,000 Tepin Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The Kentucky homebred was a one-length winner going 1 1/16 miles over the firm inner turf at Saratoga Race Course on Sept. 7. Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott elevated the Tapit filly to stakes company for her second start, where she again won at the same distance, this time over an inner turf course rated good.

Lovestruck broke sharp under jockey Junior Alvarado from post two, being forwardly placed in third position as 20-1 longshot Big Time Lady led the eight-horse field through the opening quarter-mile in 24.05 seconds, the half in 50.50 and three-quarters in 1:16.21.

Turning for home, Big Time Lady was kept inside by jockey Eric Cancel, but Lovestruck pressed on and overtook the pacesetter from the outside. Invincible Gal, piloted by Jose Ortiz, made a strong bid near the rail, but Alvarado set down Lovestruck to repel the threat and hit the wire in 1:47.14.

A stewards' inquiry focused on bumping at the head of the stretch between Big Time Lady and Lovestruck resulted in no change to the order of finish.

“She's been ready for quite a while,” Alvarado said. “We were expecting the kind of run from her that we saw today. There's still room for her to improve. She's still a little bit green and when she got to the lead she was wandering around the track, which is fine. When she puts it all together, we'll get a little more from her.”

Off as the even-money favorite, Lovestruck returned $4.20 on a $2 win wager. She more than doubled her career earnings to $94,600.

“I knew she was going to be sharp, but I like to teach them to relax behind horses and have a nice finish,” Alvarado said. “I didn't want to just let her go. Even though it was a slow pace, I knew I was close enough that she wouldn't have too much to do at the end.”

Invincible Gal, fresh off an 11th-place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Nov. 6 at Keeneland, outkicked Big Time Lady by 1 ½ lengths for second. The Graham Motion trainee has run second in three of her four stakes starts, adding to her runner-up efforts in the Sorority in September at Monmouth Park and the Selima on Preakness Day, Oct. 3, at Pimlico.

“I had a beautiful trip. I found an opening on the inside in the stretch and I thought I had a shot to get there but the winner, she showed up,” Ortiz said. “She's the real deal.”

Island Treasure, Fifth Risk, Bravo Regina and Lexinator completed the order of finish. Thursday was pulled up and vanned off.

Frost Me was scratched, as were main-track only entrants Hit the Woah, Dollar Mountain and Malibu Curl.

Live racing resumes Thursday at Aqueduct with a nine-race card that features a 12:20 p.m. Eastern first post.

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Half to Scat Daddy Stays Undefeated in Tepin S.

TEPIN S., $100,000, Aqueduct, 11-29, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:47.14, gd.
1–LOVESTRUCK, 120, f, 2, by Tapit
     1st Dam: Love Style, by Mr. Prospector
     2nd Dam: Likeable Style, by Nijinsky II
     3rd Dam: Personable Lady, by No
     Robbery
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O/B-Godolphin, LLC (KY); T-William I. Mott;
J-Junior Alvarado. $55,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $94,600. *1/2 to Scat Daddy (Johannesburg), Among the Leading Sires-U.S., Leading Sire-Chi, MGISW, $1,334,300;
1/2 to Antipathy (A.P. Indy), GSW & GISP, $341,784; 1/2 to Grand Daddy
(Johannesburg), SW, $151,669.
2–Invincible Gal (GB), 120, f, 2, Invincible Spirit (Ire)–Alsindi
(Ire), by Acclamation (GB). (200,000gns Ylg ’19 TATOCT).
O-Michael J. Ryan, Jeff Drown, & Team Hanley; B-Rabbah
Bloodstock Limited (GB); T-H. Graham Motion. $20,000.
3–Big Time Lady, 120, f, 2, Big Brown–Liza Lu, by Menifee.
($100,000 Ylg ’19 SARAUG). O-Repole Stable; B-Spruce Lane
Farm, et al (NY); T-Rudy R. Rodriguez. $12,000.
Margins: 1, 1HF, 3/4. Odds: 1.10, 2.30, 26.75.
Also Ran: Island Treasure, Fifth Risk, Bravo Regina, Lexinator, Thursday. Scratched: Dollar Mountain, Frost Me, Hit the Woah, Malibu Curl.

Lovestruck didn’t bat an eye over the leap from a Sept. 7 maiden special weight win over this distance at the Spa into black-type company in the Tepin S. Her one-length maiden victory notched a solid 75 Beyer Speed Figure and she’d been entered twice prior to the Tepin, including the rained-affected Chelsey Flower S. earlier in the month.

Eager out of the gate in the Tepin, Lovestruck was kept under a hard hold by rider Junior Alvarado. He kept the gray reserved in third on the inside through a quarter in :24.05 and a half in :50.50. Looking for room, she moved out several paths to find a seam in upper stretch. Lovestruck was sitting on go and once she found the front about a sixteenth from home, a couple of right-handed taps was all she needed to edge away with authority and remain undefeated in two starts.

“She’s been ready for quite a while,” said Alvarado. “We were expecting the kind of run from her that we saw today. There’s still room for her to improve. She’s still a little bit green and when she got to the lead she was wandering around the track, which is fine. When she puts it all together, we’ll get a little more from her.

“I knew she was going to be sharp, but I like to teach them to relax behind horses and have a nice finish. I didn’t want to just let her go. Even though it was a slow pace, I knew I was close enough that she wouldn’t have too much to do at the end.”

The 140th stakes winner for Tapit, Lovestruck is a Godolphin homebred and is the fourth black-type winner out five foals to race for her unraced dam. Love Style, herself out of GISW Likeable Style, is best known as the dam of the late MGISW and stellar sire Scat Daddy. The 21-year-old mare has a weanling filly by Into Mischief and has been bred back to Frosted for next term. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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