Breeders’ Cup Challenge: Diana Stakes at Saratoga on Saturday, July 26

Posted on Thursday, July 24th, 2008

Saturday’s 70th edition of the $500,000 Diana Stakes (G1) will be run as the 7th race on the 11-race card. A win in the 9-furlong turf event, the first of four Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” horse races at Saratoga on Saturday, translates into an automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf on October 24 at Santa Anita Park.

Online Horse BettingSaratoga’s Diana Stakes field of fillies and mares with jockeys and weight:

  1. Bit of Whimsy under jockey Eibar Coa carries 120 lbs.
  2. Dynaforce under jockey Kent Desormeaux, 118 lbs.
  3. Bayou’s Lassie under jockey Robby Albarado, 118 lbs.
  4. Wait a While under jockey Rafael Bejarano, 120 lbs.
  5. Vacare under jockey Edgar Prado, 118 lbs.
  6. Criminologist under jockey John Velazquez, 118 lbs.
  7. Rutherienne under jockey Garrett Gomez, 120 lbs.
  8. Forever Together under jockey Julien Leparoux, 118 lbs.
  9. Chestoria under jockey Cornelio Velasquez, 118
  10. Lady Digby under jockey Ramon Dominguez, 118 lbs.

Two summers ago, Wait a While ran one of the biggest races of her life at Saratoga Race Course when she swept to a nearly 5-length victory in the Lake Placid (G2) on the turf, a performance which, along with her Grade 1 wins in the Yellow Ribbon and the American Oaks, helped earn her the Eclipse Award as the nation’s top three-year-old filly.

A year later, still competitive but not as consistent at finding the winner’s circle, she came back to Saratoga looking like her old self and ran her record here to 2-0 with a convincing win in the Ballston Spa (G2) over the firm inner turf course.

This year, not only will the Diana Stakes be the first start since January for Wait a While, she will be facing an extremely tough field that includes a phalanx of graded stakes winners, including three other Grade 1 heroines in Bit of Whimsy (2007 Queen Elizabeth II Cup), Rutherienne (2007 Del Mar Oaks) and Vacare (2006 Queen Elizabeth II Cup).

“She has been training well,” said race horse trainer Todd Pletcher of Wait a While, who has won 10 of her 20 starts and more than $1.8 million for Arindel Farm. “She prefers the courses at Hollywood Park and Saratoga, where she tends to perform extra well. At Belmont Park, even with firm turf, it’s not quite the same.”

Second to Precious Kitten in the Matriarch (G1) at Hollywood Park in her final start of 2007, Wait a While opened her 2008 campaign with another good-looking performance in winning the San Gorgonio Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita. However, she was sidelined with a stress fracture of her left tibia and after some time off, returned to training at Churchill Downs in late spring.

“She’s kind of an interesting filly,” said Todd Pletcher, who has named jockey Rafael Bejarano aboard for the first time. “She has a few little quirks, for instance, she is loaded into the gate blindfolded. We tend to let her do things her way. She is a bit of a tough filly to train, which is one of the reasons we kept her at Churchill Downs, where Kevin Wiley does a good job with her.”

With heavy rains pelting Saratoga the first two days of the meet, the turf course may not be quite as firm as Wait a While would like. Soft going is also a concern for race horse trainer Christophe Clement, who will saddle the talented duo of Rutherienne and Vacare in the Diana Stakes.

“I hope the ground is not too soft for either filly,” said race horse trainer Christophe Clement. “Fortunately we have plenty of time and can make the call on Saturday morning.”

Rutherienne, a four-year-old daughter of Pulpit who began her 2008 campaign with a win in the Jenny Wiley (G2) at Keeneland, is coming into the Diana Stakes off a pair of third-place finishes in the All Along (G3) and the Gamely (G1) at Hollywood Park.

“She’s consistent, and has been doing well,” said Christophe Clement of Rutherienne, who has 9 victories from 13 starts and earnings of more than $800,000 for Virginia Kraft Payson. “Garrett Gomez is flying in from California that day and will be riding her — he gets along well with her.”

Vacare, who was purchased in 2006 by Jon and Sarah Kelly and turned over to Christophe Clement after winning her first four starts, has run but once this year, finishing eighth behind Ventura in the Just A Game (G1) on Belmont Stakes day. However, she was beaten only four lengths in that race after racing wide throughout.

“I think she has improved from that race,” said race horse trainer Christophe Clement. “She had a horrible trip in that. Since then she has been doing very well, and I think she will be competitive.”

Bit of Whimsy, who followed the Queen Elizabeth II Cup with a win in the Mrs. Revere (G2) last fall at Churchill Downs, is 0-2 this year, having finished sixth in the Jenny Wiley and the Just A Game.

“She hasn’t shown me much this year, hopefully she’ll turn it around,” said race horse trainer Barclay Tagg. “But this is one tough race.”

The Diana Stakes is the 7th of 11 horse races in Saratoga’s July 26 card. Diana Stakes post time is 4:12 pm Eastern.

Horse racing news edited from www.nyra.com.

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"Breeders’ Cup Challenge: Diana Stakes at Saratoga on Saturday, July 26" was posted on Thursday, July 24th, 2008 at 7:45 pm and is filed under Horse Racing Industry, Horses, Race Tracks News, Saratoga, Stakes Races, USA Horse Racing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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