NTRA WEEKEND STAKES RUNDOWN: FIVE ECLIPSE AWARD WINNERS ON THE BILL FOR SATURDAY’S TRAVERS DAY CARD AT SARATOGA

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 28, 2021) ― Travers Day at Saratoga will be nation’s focus on Saturday, as the historic Spa hosts five Grade 1 stakes races. Five Eclipse Award winners will be in action: Gamine (Ballerina), Whitmore (Forego), Swiss Skydiver (Personal Ensign), Channel Maker (Sword Dancer) and Essential Quality ― the odds on favorite in the $1.25 million Runhappy Travers Stakes. The Ketel One Ballerina, Personal Ensign and the Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer winners earn free berths into the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. A “Win and You’re In” starting position for the Grade 1 Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile will also be on the line in Del Mar’s Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes. Weekend graded stakes racing begins tonight at Hollywood Casino at Charlestown with the Grade 3 Charlestown Oaks followed by the Grade 2 Charlestown Classic for older horses.

Races in the rundown are listed in chronological order (all times Eastern). Full previews, when available, can be found through the link for each race.

TVG will be broadcasting racing throughout the weekend from Del Mar, Delaware Park, Gulfstream Park, Monmouth Park, Woodbine and more. Fans can tune in on TVG, TVG2 and the Watch TVG app, which is available on Amazon Fire, Roku and connected Apple TV devices.

“America’s Day at the Races” will be broadcasting live from Saratoga Race Course on Saturday, Aug. 28 on FS1 from 11:30-3 p.m.; on FS2 from 3-5 p.m.; on FOX from 5-6:30 p.m., featuring the Runhappy Travers, and concluding on FS2 from 6:30-7 p.m. America’s Day at the Races returns on Sunday, Aug. 29, on FS2 from 1-6:30 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 27

9:45 p.m. ―$400,000 Grade 3 Charlestown Oaks at Hollywood Casino at Charlestown Races on TVG

Godolphin’s Caramel Swirl ships in from Saratoga following a 3-length allowance win on Aug. 24, and is the 5-2 morning line favorite for the Grade 3 Charlestown Oaks for 3-year-old fillies. A field of 11 has been entered, including one also-eligible, for the 7-furlong race. Trained by Bill Mott, Caramel Swirl broke last of 12 in the Grade 2 Eight Belles Stakes at Churchill Downs on April 30 and wound up finishing seventh. Junior Alvarado rides from post 1. Louis Wright’s Inject, trained by Brad Cox, won an allowance at Keeneland in April, and the black type Goldfinch Stakes at Prairie Meadows in May, before finishing third in the Grade 3 Victory Ride at Belmont Park on July 10. Florent Geroux will ride Inject from post 6. Stonestreet Stables’ Pauline’s Pearl won the Grade 3 Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn Park in April. After chasing the pace and finishing eighth in the Grade 1 Longines Kentucky Oaks, Pauline’s Pearl returned with a third-place finish in the Iowa Oaks. Brian Hernandez Jr. has the mount from post 3.

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10:18 p.m. ―$800,000 Grade 2 Charlestown Classic at Hollywood Casino at Charlestown Races on TVG

Bruce Lunsford’s 4-year-old Art Collector, a winner of six races, leads 10 horses entered for the Grade 2 Charlestown Classic going 1 1/8 miles. Trained by Bill Mott, Art Collector won four straight races last year, including the Grade 2 Toyota Blue Grass and the Grade 3 Ellis Park Derby, before finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes. Art Collector won the listed Alydar Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 6, taking the 1 1/8-mile race wire-to-wire by 1 ½ lengths. Luis Saez has the mount from post 8. Florida-bred Rushie won last September’s Grade 2 Pat Day Mile at Churchill Downs but did not win in his next four starts. Owned by Jim and Donna Daniell and trained by Michael McCarthy, Rushie ships in from California where he finished sixth last time out in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap on July 17. Rushie will be ridden by Victor Espinoza from post 3. John Fanelli, Cash is King, LC Racing, Paul Barverman and Team Hanley’s Ny Traffic finished second by a nose to eventual Horse of the Year Authentic in last year’s TVG.com Haskell Stakes at Monmouth. Trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., and ridden from post 6 by Tyler Gaffalione, Ny Traffic has one win in three starts this year, and enters off fourth-place finish in the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup Stakes.

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Saturday, Aug. 28

1:17 p.m. ― $400,000 Grade 3 Ballston Spa Stakes at Saratoga on FS1

Chad Brown trains three of the six starters ― Viadera (GB), Kalifornia Queen (GER) and Tamahere (FR) ― in the Grade 3 Ballston Spa Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on the turf. Juddmonte’s Viadera, who closed out 2020 with a Grade 1 score in Del Mar’s Matriarch, finished fourth in her title defense in Saratoga’s listed De La Rose Stakes on Aug. 8. Joel Rosario has the mount from post 3. Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb and First Row Partners’ Kalifornia Queen was second in the Grade 3 WinStar Matchmaker Stakes at Monmouth Park on July 17. Flavien Prat rides from post 6. Swift Thoroughbreds, Madaket Stables and Wonder Stables’ Tamahere is seeking her first win this year after three defeats. She finished second in the Grade 1 Coolmore Jenny Wiley at Keeneland in April. Irad Ortiz Jr., who leads all North American jockeys in both wins and total earnings, has the mount from post 2.

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3:02 p.m. ―$500,000 Grade 1 Ketel One Ballerina Handicap at Saratoga on FS2

The Ketel One Ballerina is the first of five consecutive Grade 1 races on the Travers Day card at Saratoga. Michael Lund Petersen’s Gamine, the reigning female sprint champion, leads seven fillies and mares going seven furlongs as the 3-5 favorite. The race winner gets an automatic starting position into the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. Returning to the Spa where she won last year’s Grade 1 Longines Test Stakes, Gamine, 8 of 9 lifetime, is unbeaten in three starts in 2021, including a last-out score in the Grade 2 Great Lady M. Stakes at Los Alamitos for trainer Bob Baffert. Regular rider John Velazquez has the call, breaking from post 1. Bo Hirsch’s Ce Ce gained a “Win and You’re In” berth into the Filly & Mare Sprint when she won the Grade 2 Princess Rooney at Gulfstream Park on July 3 by 3 ¼ lengths. Trained by Michael McCarthy, Ce Ce, a 5-year-old facing six 4-year-olds, will be ridden by Victor Espinoza from post 7. Lloyd Madison Farms’ homebred Sconsin finished 1 ½ lengths behind Gamine in the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff at Churchill Downs on May 1. Since then, Sconsin, trained by Greg Foley, made two more starts at Churchill, winning the Grade 3 Winning Colors and finishing second in the black type Roxelana Stakes on June 19. Irad Ortiz Jr. will ride from post 5. Medallion Racing, Barry Fowler, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Little Red Feather Racing and BlackRidge Stables’ Estilo Talentoso has finished in the money in all six of her starts this year. Trained by Juan Arriagada and ridden from post Jose Ortiz, Estilo Talentoso won the Grade 3 Bed o’ Roses at Belmont and was second to Ce Ce in the Princess Rooney.

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3:47 p.m. ―$600,000 Grade 1 Forego Stakes at Saratoga on FS2

Veteran sprinters Whitmore, Firenze Fire and Mind Control have been battling against each other for the first part of the year, but it’s William and Corrine Heiligbrodt’s 4-year-old Yaupon who is the 5-2 morning line favorite leading eight horses in the $600,000 Grade 1 Forego Stakes at seven furlongs. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Yaupon won his first four races last year, including two at Saratoga, and went off as the 6-5 favorite in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland, but came up empty, finishing eighth. He finished eighth again as the favorite in the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen at Meydan in March, but got back to his winning ways in Pimlico’s black type Lite the Fuse Stakes on July 4, winning by 1 ¾ lengths. Ricardo Santana Jr. has the mount from post 6. Robert La Penta, Ron Moquett and Head of Plains Partners’ 8-year-old gelding Whitmore, the 2020 champion sprinter, is seeking his first win of the year. He finished third last time out in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt, won by Lexitonian, on July 21. Mr. Amore Stable’s 6-year-old Firenze Fire has won 14 races including Grade 3 Runhappy and the Grade 2 True North at Belmont Park. Trained by Kelly Breen, Firenze Fire will be ridden by Jose Ortiz from post 8. Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stables’ Mind Control won Saratoga’s Grade 1 Hopeful at age 2 and the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens at 3. He finished eighth in last year’s Forego. In his most recent start, Mind Control defeated Firenze Fire by a head in the Grade 2 John A. Nerud at Belmont Park on July 4 for trainer Todd Pletcher. John Velazquez will ride from post 4. Calumet Farm’s Lexitonian earned his biggest win to date when he took Vanderbilt by a head, scoring a 34-1 upset for trainer Jack Sisterson. Jose Lezcano has the mount, breaking from post 3.

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4:12 p.m. ―$500,000 Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes at Saratoga on FS2

Following a widening eight-length victory in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita Park on March 6, CHC Inc and WinStar Farm’s Life Is Good was the betting favorite for the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby. But after a workout at Santa Anita two weeks later, Life Is Good got knocked off the Derby trail with a minor foot injury. Saturday, Life Is Good, trained by Bob Baffert, returns against five rivals in the Grade 1, H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes at seven furlongs. Unbeaten in three starts, Life Is Good will be ridden by Mike Smith from post 6. Kirk and Judy Robison’s Jackie’s Warrior has won two Grade 2 races this year. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Jackie’s Warrior took the Pat Day Mile at Churchill Downs in May and captured the Saratoga’s Amsterdam Stakes by 7 ½ lengths over Drain the Clock on Aug. 1. Joel Rosario rides Jackie’s Warrior from post 2. Slam Dunk Racing, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables and Michael Nentwig’s Drain the Clock has won four of six starts this year for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. Three of those wins were in graded stakes, with the biggest being a neck win over Jackie’s Warrior in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens at Belmont Park on June 5. Irad Ortiz Jr. rides from post 1.

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4:37 p.m. ― $600,000 Grade 1 Personal Ensign Stakes at Saratoga on FOX

St. George Stable’s 5-year-old Letruska, rated No. 2 in the latest NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll, leads nine fillies and mares entered in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign at 1 1/8 miles. The Personal Ensign is a “Win and You’re In” for the Grade 1 Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Letruska, trained by Fausto Gutierrez, already earned a free berth into the Distaff when she captured the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park in June for her fourth graded stakes win in five starts this year. The Phipps victory came after she defeated the reigning older dirt female champion, Monomoy Girl, by a nose in Oaklawn’s Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap in April. In her most recent start, Letruska took the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis at Churchill Downs by 5 ¾ lengths on June 26. Irad Ortiz Jr. rides Letruska from post 6. Last year, Peter Callahan’s Swiss Skydiver became just the sixth filly to win the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes, and with a previous win in the Grade 1 Alabama at Saratoga, helped her secure the champion 3-year-old filly title. Trained by Kenny McPeek, Swiss Skydiver registered her third Grade 1 when she won the Beholder Mile at Santa Anita in April. Earlier this month in the Grade 1 Whitney, she took on males again, finishing fourth. Swiss Skydiver will be ridden by Jose Ortiz from post 4. Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and Mrs. John Magnier’s 4-year-old As Time Goes By finished second to Swiss Skydiver in the Beholder Mile, but went on to win two Grade 2 races at Santa Anita in the Santa Margarita and Santa Maria Stakes for trainer Bob Baffert. She stumbled coming out of the gate in the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 1 and came up empty in the lane, finishing fourth of five as the 3-2 favorite. Mike Smith rides As Time Goes By, breaking from post 2.

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5:25 p.m. ―$750,000 Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer Stakes at Saratoga on FOX

Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables and Michael Caruso’s 5-year-old gelding Tribhuvan (FR) is the 2-1 morning line favorite against six rivals in the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer at 1 ½ miles, with the winner earning a free berth into the Grade 1 Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf. Trained by Chad Brown, Tribhuvan won the Grade 2 Fort Marcy at Belmont Park in May, finished second to stablemate Domestic Spending in the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes in June and returned to the winner’s circle with a front-running two-length win in the Grade 1 United Nations Stakes at Monmouth Park on July 17. Flavien Prat rides from post 1. Otter Bend Stables’ 4-year-old Gufo returns to Saratoga where he finished second by a head last year in the listed Saratoga Derby Invitational. Trained by Christophe Clement, Gufo won the Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational last September. This year, Gufo has one win in three starts, coming from last of six to take the listed Grand Couturier Stakes at Belmont on July 5. Joel Rosario rides from post 2. From his base in Ireland, trainer Aidan O’Brien has entered Masaaki Matsushima, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith’s 5-year-old Japan (GB). A two-time Group 1 winner during his 3-year-old season, the 5-year-old Japan has won two races in 2021, taking the Group 3 Ormand Stakes at Chester in England in May and the Group 3 Green Room Meld Stakes at Leopardstown in Ireland on July 15. Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, R.A. Hill Stable and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing’s 7-year-old gelding Channel Maker, last year’s Eclipse Award-winning male turf horse, is seeking his first win this year. Trained by Bill Mott and ridden by Manny Franco from post 4, Channel Maker began 2021 in the Middle East, finishing second in the Neom Turf Cup at Abdul Aziz in Saudi Arabia and eighth in the Grade 1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan. He finished seventh in the Grade 2 Bowling Green Stakes at Saratoga on July 31. Manny Franco has the mount from post 4.

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6:12 p.m. ―$1.25 million Grade 1 Runhappy Travers Stakes at Saratoga on FOX

Godolphin’s Essential Quality, last year’s 2-year-old male champion and this year’s Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets winner, is the 4-5 morning line favorite leading seven 3-year-olds entered in the Grade 1, 1.25 million Runhappy Travers Stakes. Trained by Brad Cox, Essential Quality won the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes by a head over Keepmeinmind on July 31 in his first start since the Belmont. Luis Saez has the mount from post 2. Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Midnight Bourbon clipped heels with Hot Rod Charlie in the stretch of the Grade 1 TVG.com Haskell Stakes on July 17, unseating his rider Paco Lopez. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Midnight Bourbon won the Grade 3 Lecomte in January at the Fair Grounds, and was second in the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes. Ricardo Santana Jr. rides from post 1. Repole Stable, Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable’s Dynamic One took the listed Curlin Stakes at Saratoga on July 30 for trainer Todd Pletcher. Irad Ortiz Jr. rides from post 4. Cypress Creek Equine, Arnold Bennewith and Spendthrift Farm’s Keepmeinmind, trained by Mike Maker, finished fourth in the Preakness and third in the Grade 3 Ohio Derby prior to his runner-up finish in the Jim Dandy. Joel Rosario has the mount, breaking from post 3. FTGGG Racing’s Masqueparade won the Ohio Derby by a half-length over King Fury. Trained by Al Stall Jr., Masqueparade finished third in the Jim Dandy. He will be ridden by Miguel Mena from post 6. Three Chimneys Farm and Fern Circle Stables’ King Fury returns to the dirt after a 10th-place finish in the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational on Aug. 7 for trainer Kenny McPeek. Prior to the Ohio Derby, King Fury won the Grade 3 Stronestreet Lexington Stakes at Keeneland in April.

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9:30 p.m. ―$200,000 Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes at Del Mar on TVG

Defending champion C Z Rocket leads 10 horses entered in the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien at Del Mar going seven furlongs, with a free berth into the Grade 1 Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, also at Del Mar, on the line. After defeating last year’s male sprint champion Whitmore in the listed Hot Springs and the Grade 3 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap at Oaklawn Park, C Z Rocket, owned by Altamira Racing Stable, Madaket Stables, Gary Barber and Tom Kagele, finished second in the Grade 3 Steve Sexton Mile at Oaklawn and third as the 3-2 favorite in the Grade 1, 6-furlong Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar on July 31. Trained by Peter Miller, C Z Rocket will be ridden by Florent Geroux from post 9. Lane’s End Racing and Hronis Racing’s 7-year-old gelding Flagstaff finished second by a half-length to C Z Rocket in last year’s Pat O’Brien. This year, Flagstaff, trained by John Sadler and ridden from post 8 by Joe Bravo, had a successful spring campaign in Kentucky, taking the Grade 3 Commonwealth Stakes at Keeneland and capturing the Grade 1 Churchill Downs Stakes on May 1. He finished second to Firenze Fire in the Grade 2 True North at Belmont Park in his last start. Joe Bravo rides from post 3. Coolmore Stud, Golconda Stable, Madaket Stables, SF Racing and Starlight Racing’s 4-year-old Eight Rings finished second by a neck to Dr. Schivel in the Bing Crosby. Trained by Bob Baffert, the Bing Crosby was Eight Rings’ second start of the year after finishing fourth in the Grade 2 Triple Bend Stakes Santa Anita on May 29. Abel Cedillo rides from post 5.

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