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Brown Trio Heads Ballston Spa

Trainer Chad Brown will saddle half of the six-horse field in the GII Ballston Spa S. at Saratoga Saturday. Brown's trio is led by GI Matriarch S. winner Viadera (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}). The 5-year-old mare opened her stateside campaign with a fourth-place effort in last year's GIII Intercontinental S. before culminating a three-race win streak in the Matriarch last November. In her lone start this year, she was a troubled fourth in the Aug. 8 De La Rose S.

“She had a lot of trouble last time, but she got something out of it and hopefully can move forward off short rest,” Brown said of the Juddmonte homebred.

Kalifornia Queen (Ger) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), a group winner in her native Germany last May, captured her first U.S. victory in a Belmont optional claimer over the Ballston Spa's 1 1/16-mile distance June 13 and is coming off a late-closing second in the nine-furlong GIII Matchmaker S. at Monmouth Park July 17.

“She ran great last time. Cutting her back and taking the blinkers off have done her well,” Brown said of Kalifornia Queen.

Brown's Ballston Spa trio is completed by Tamahere (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). Winner of last year's GII Sands Point S. at Belmont Park in her U.S. debut, the 4-year-old filly opened 2021 with a runner-up effort in the Apr. 10 GI Jenny Wiley S. at Keeneland. She was a well-beaten ninth in the June 5 GI Just a Game S. and is coming off a runner-up effort over the Ballston Spa's course and distance in a July 28 optional claimer.

Brown will be seeking his record-extending sixth victory in the Ballston Spa, having saddled Zagora (2012), Dacita (2015), Lady Eli (2017), Quidura (2018) and Significant Form (2019) to wins in the race.

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Gamine Waltzes into Ballerina

Michael Lund Petersen's Gamine (Into Mischief), last year's Eclipse champion female sprinter, aims for her fifth straight victory in the GI Ketel One Ballerina S.–a Win and You're In event for the GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint–at Saratoga Saturday. Gamine capped her championship campaign with a 6 1/4-length romp in last year's F/M Sprint and she has been largely unchallenged in three starts so far this term. The bay filly opened 2021 with a five-length score in the Apr. 4 GIII Las Flores S. and added the May 1 GI Derby City Distaff S. at Churchill before a 10-length victory in the July 5 GII Great Lady M S. last time out.

“She's filled out and she looks good and she's been working well, so we wouldn't send her unless we thought she was doing really well,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “We're excited about it. She always runs well when she goes back East. She likes the Eastern tracks.”

Gamine, a 'TDN Rising Star,' is a perfect three-for-three at the Ballerina's seven-furlong distance and romped home a seven-length winner of last year's GI Test S. in her only previous start at Saratoga.

“She's just brilliant, just a brilliant filly,” Baffert said. “She's fun to watch and people like watching her run. Fans love those kinds of horses, and they count on them.”

Also invading from the West Coast for the Ballerina is Bo Hirsch's Ce Ce (Elusive Quality). Fifth in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Distaff, the 5-year-old mare opened 2021 with an optional-claimer win going seven furlongs at Santa Anita in April. She bobbled at the break before tiring to fourth in the 1 1/16-mile GII Santa Maria S. May 22 and cut back and returned to the winner's circle with a 3 1/4-length win over Estilo Talentoso (Maclean's Music) in the July 3 GII Princess Rooney S. last time out.

“She came out of her race in Florida in good order and has trained forwardly,” trainer Michael McCarthy said. “This is a race we've had on her calendar for a while.”

Ce Ce won last year's GI Beholder Mile and GI Apple Blossom H. and will be chasing a third Grade I tally Saturday. She comes into the race off a bullet five-furlong drill in :59 flat (1/73) at Del Mar Aug. 20.

“She's always been good. She's caught a couple of racetracks that weren't to her liking, but she's been very good this year,” McCarthy said. “She's wonderful. She is just a treat to train. She enjoys her job and is very classy around the barn. We're very lucky to have one like her. It's a big thrill.”

Godolphin's Lake Avenue (Tapit), winner of the 2019 GII Demoiselle S., narrowly missed out on a second graded victory in both her most recent starts. She lost by a neck when second behind Estilo Talentoso in the June 4 GIII Bed o'Roses S. and was second again by that same margin behind Bell's the One (Majesticperfection) in the July 28 GII Honorable Miss S. last time out.

“She had a good trip the last couple of times. She did get beat both times, but not by much,” trainer Bill Mott said. “Hopefully, she'll put in that same type of effort again this weekend. We're going into a very tough spot, but we want to give her an opportunity in another Grade I. None of these Grade I races on Saturday are easy. They're all tough.”

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Jackie’s Warrior Favored in Jerkens Memorial

J Kirk and Judy Robison's Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music) puts his perfect three-for-three Saratoga record on the line when he faces five rivals in the GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S. at Saratoga Saturday. The bay colt won last year's GII Saratoga Special S. and GI Hopeful S. and returned to the upstate oval to annex the Aug. 1 GII Amsterdam S. last time out.

“He's done really well,” trainer Steve Asmussen said of Jackie's Warrior. “All three of his races at Saratoga were obviously very good. We're anxious to run him here again.”

A victory would make Jackie's Warrior the third horse in the last four years to capture both the Hopeful at two and the H. Allen Jerkens at three, joining Practical Joke (2018) and Mind Control (2019).

Jackie's Warrior will again match strides with Drain the Clock (Maclean's Music) in the Allen Jerkens. Drain the Clock outbattled Jackie's Warrior to win the June 5 GI Woody Stephens S. at Belmont before running a distant second in the Amsterdam.

“Obviously, last time he was well-beaten fair and square by Jackie's Warrior,” said trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. “We feel on his best day, he's just as good as others in the field. But we have a new challenge in Life Is Good. It should be quite a race, and hopefully he shows up and runs his race.”

'TDN Rising Star' Life is Good (Into Mischief) was considered a likely GI Kentucky Derby favorite before injury knocked him off the Triple Crown earlier this year. The bay colt is unbeaten in three starts having broken his maiden by a front-running 9 1/2 lengths going 6 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar last November and adding the Jan. 2 GIII Sham S. and Mar. 6 GII San Felipe S. He makes his first start for Todd Pletcher and his first start in nearly six months Saturday.

“It's a tall order going into a seven-furlong Grade I off a layoff,” Pletcher said. “The horse has trained extremely well, has been impressive in all his breezes and we like what we've been seeing from him.”

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Mind Control Seeks More Spa Glory in Forego

Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stables' Mind Control (Stay Thirsty) will attempt to win his third Grade I victory at Saratoga when he goes postward in the GI Forego S. Saturday. The 5-year-old pulled the 10-1 upset when going wire-to-wire in the 2018 GI Hopeful S. and returned to win the 2019 GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S., again at double-digit odds. His Spa streak was interrupted last year when he was third in the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. and eighth in the Forego, but he returned to the winner's circle for the first time in over a year when outbattling Firenze Fire (Poseidon's Warrior) in the July 4 GII John A. Nerud S. at Belmont Park last time out.

“He's good at the distance. He's won over the track and seems to be maintaining form,” trainer Todd Pletcher, who saddles Mind Control for the second time Saturday, said. “We expect a tough race, but he's doing good.”

Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect), who capped a championship season in 2020 with a win in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, has finished second or third in all four 2021 outings and seeks his first win of the campaign in the Forego. The 8-year-old was second in the Mar. 13 Hot Springs S. and again in the Apr. 10 GII Count Fleet Sprint S. He missed by just a head when third in the May 1 GI Churchill Downs S. and was most recently a rallying third behind Lexitonian (Speightstown) after a troubled trip in the July 31 Vanderbilt.

The speedy Yaupon (Uncle Mo) opened his career with four straight wins last year, including the GII Amsterdam S. over the Saratoga strip. The 4-year-old suffered his first loss when eighth in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint and he filled that same spot in the Mar. 27 G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen before returning to the winner's circle in the July 4 Lite the Fuse S. at Pimlico last time out.

“[The Breeders' Cup] was too much too soon,” Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen said. “He had run well at Pimlico previously and I thought it was a very fast race. He came out of it in good shape. Obviously, I think he deserves the chance in the Forego. He's run very well at Saratoga, as well.”

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