Saratoga: Multiple Grade 1 winners highlight New York Stakes

Multiple
Grade 1 winners War Like Goddess, Fev Rover and Didia top a classy renewal of
Friday’s Grade 1, $750,000 New York Stakes, a 1 3/16-mile turf test for older
fillies and mares Friday at Saratoga.

With 12
Grade 1 wins or placings among them, the talented trio lead a competitive field
of 13 that includes no less than a dozen graded-stakes winners and smart form
on three continents.

Click here for Saratoga entries and results.

Unraced
since a 4 1/4-length seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Turf in November, George
Krikorian’s Bill Mott-trained War Like Goddess was never better than when
successfully defending her Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (G1) win , also against
males, one effort prior.

The beaten
favorite when sixth in last year’s New York, the now 7-year-old daughter of
English Channel owns a Saratoga record of 5: 3-2-0. She will break from post 10
and carry Júnior Alvarado as part of her 124-pound assignment.

The 11-time
victor must win at shorter than 1 3/8 miles for the first time since her 1
1/8-mile debut in September 2020. She seeks to land her trainer a fourth New
York and first since Riposte in 2014.

“She’s aged
like fine wine,” Mott said. “When they get to this age, it’s one race at a
time. As long as she’s willing to do it and she’s sound, we’ll continue on
through the end of the year. Júnior has won on her, and he knows her now, which
is good.”

A top-class
performer all four of her seasons thus far, Tracy Farmer’s Mark
Casse-conditioned Fev Rover will go from post 6 with 124 pounds including
Javier Castellano. She also returns after a post-Breeders’ Cup hiatus, having
disappointed when 11th of 12 in the Filly & Mare Turf.

The
6-year-old daughter of Gutaifan won the Nassau (G2), Beverly D. (G1) and Grade
1 E. P. Taylor (G1) last year but was unable to string together consecutive
victories among her six races. Her lone Saratoga run was a third in last summer’s
Grade 1 Diana behind the Chad Brown-trained pair of Whitebeam and In Italian.

“Her wins
in the Beverly D. and E. P. Taylor were big races,” Casse said. “Her race at
Saratoga in the Diana, she just got a little unlucky. I was disappointed with
her effort in the Breeders’ Cup. She just didn’t show up. I don’t know why. She
had trained really well into it. She’s training very well. She loves to train
on the (Woodbine) synthetic.”

Merriebelle
Stables and Resolute Racing’s Ignacio Correas-trained Didia will break from post
3 with José Ortiz part of her 122-pound impost. She brings ample class into the
New York, having finished second in last year’s edition and third in the Jenny
Wiley (G1) last out.

A dual
Grade 1 winner in Argentina, she was a disappointing 10th in the Breeders’ Cup
Filly & Mare Turf, an effort sandwiched by a pair of Grade 2 victories,
including the Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf Invitational in January
and Rodeo Drive in October.

“She’s
doing great, and she shipped very well,” Correas said. “I think it’s a bigger
field this year, and there will be more pace, hopefully. Last time at
Keeneland, the turf was a little soft for her, and I don’t think she enjoyed
it. She put forth a good effort to be third against very good fillies, but more
than anything to me, it was the surface. I think she’s the same or better than
last year and could even improve again as the season goes, hopefully peaking
with the Breeders’ Cup.”

Brown seeks
his sixth New York in 10 editions when he saddles Klaravich Stables’ Grade 1
winner McKulick and Grade 3-winning rising talent Royalty Interest.

The New
York presented is the 11th of 12 races Friday.