Morticia seeks a better trip

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Neither Morticia nor Oleksandra had the trip their connections were hoping for in their most recent start. Each 5-yearold mare will have a different jockey on her back when they meet in the $100,000 Smart N Fancy Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga.

Morticia was stuck between horses and then behind horses under Tyler Gaffalione when she dead-heated for third with Broadway Run in the $200,000 Caress Stakes here July 21. Trainer Rusty Arnold has reunited Morticia with Irad Ortiz Jr. for the Smart N Fancy. Earlier this year, Ortiz rode Morticia to a victory in

the Giant’s Causeway Stakes at Keeneland and to a neck loss in the Unbridled Sidney at Churchill Downs.

“He rode her great at Keeneland, he rode her perfect at Churchill. She just got caught there,” said Arnold. “I love Tyler, but I thought he made a bad decision to tuck her in, she’s so quick. It’s just one of those things.”

Morticia finished third in this race last year after running fourth in the Caress Stakes. The Caress was run over a soft turf course. Arnold said he would likely scratch Morticia on Saturday if the course is soft. Morticia won the Coronation Cup Stakes here two years ago as a 3-year-old.

Broadway Run, who won the 2018 Coronation Cup, is adding blinkers for this race after finishing in a dead heat with Morticia in the Caress.

Oleksandra, trained by Neil Drysdale, won two allowance races at Belmont Park, including one against males. On July 1, she shipped to Woodbine for the Grade 2 Royal North Stakes, where she raced wide throughout under Luis Contreras and finished third, beaten 2 1/2 lengths.

In the Smart N Fancy, Oleksandra will be reunited with Joel Rosario, aboard for those wins at Belmont.

“Rosario’s ridden her well,” Drysdale said. “In Canada, she didn’t have the best of trips.”

Drysdale did express concern about the 5 1/2 furlongs of the Smart N Fancy as both of Oleksandra’s wins at Belmont came at six furlongs.

Fire Key enters the Smart N Fancy in good form with a win in the License Fee at Belmont in April followed by runner-up finishes in the Grade 3 Intercontinental and the Caress.

Too Much Tip, Miss Gossip, and Ruby Notion complete the field on turf. Lady’s Island and Lezendary are entered to run if the race is transferred to the main track.