Catherine the great all the way in The Schuylerville
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » After Catherine the great made her first two starts on a sloppy track, her connections were probably wondering how she would fare on a fast, dry surface in Friday’s $150,000 Schuylerville Stakes, Saratoga’s opening day co-feature.
The answer turned out to be “just fine, thank you.” Breaking on top from her inside post, the daughter of Uncaptured led nine other 2-yearold fillies on a merry chase, drawing off late despite taxing early fractions (:21.78, :44.64) to post a 4¼-length victory in the 100th edition of the Schuylerville. The running time of 1 minute, 9.98 seconds was the fastest in 30 years.
Drawing the no. 1 post left winning trainer Mark Casse with few options. “I talked to[ winning rider] Jose[ Ortiz] about[ Catherine the great] this morning, and I said ‘if she breaks, you might have to go,’” said Casse. “It didn’t hurt our feelings that [Nonna Madeline} got away a little slow because she most likely would have hooked up with her early.
“Jose’s a top rider,” Casse added. “He’s one of the best in the world. I don’t try to give too many instructions.”
After dropping back to last early, Nonna Madeline (the 2-1 favorite), was hustled up the rail by jockey John Velazquez, reaching contention late on the turn. Meanwhile, Catherine the great was cruising along
on the front end. Cornering well, she took a two-length into upper stretch. Nonna Madeline, who had moved up to second, looked to still have a chance in midstretch but, perhaps done in by having to make up ground on the backstretch, was unable to sustain her bid.
Ortiz, who was aboard the winner for the first time, had good things to say about his filly. “We went pretty fast, but she was there doing it on her own,” said Ortiz. “I didn’t push her to do it. We had a very good trip, and she’s a very nice filly. I was just a passenger.”
Nonna Madeline held second by three-quarters of a length over Congrats Gal. They were followed by Serengeti Express, Lady Apple, Eye in the sky, Fightress, Lonely Road, Tapping Pearl and Blame the Frog.
The victory was Catherine the gr ea t’ s second in three career starts. After finishing a distant second in her Gulfstream debut on May 26, the John C. Oxley standard-bearer romped by 10 ¼ lengths four weeks later on the same Gulfstream surface. With the Schuylerville win, the Florida-bred filly has earned $136,300.
Catherine the great paid $8.40 to win as the 3-1 second choice. The exacta with Nonna Madeline was worth $30.20.