Photo:Eclipse Sportswire - edited
Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
It may not have division leader Thorpedo Anna, who will go next weekend against males in the Travers (G1). But the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama Stakes on Saturday stilldrew a field of eight 3-year-old fillies featuring top-level winner Candied from the barn of Todd Pletcher.
In the 1 1/4-mile feature on the main track at Saratoga, six of the fillies are stakes winners, including three who have Grade 2 victories. Five won their most recent start.
Click here for Saratoga entries and results.
Here is a full-field analysis for the Alabama with morning-line odds from the Horse Racing Nation staff. Horses are listed in post-position order with their sires, trainers, jockeys, records and purse earnings. The Alabama is carded as race 10 of 12 with post time scheduled for 5:43 p.m. EDT.
1. Intricate, 8-1.Gun Runner –Brendan Walsh,Tyler Gaffalione – 7: 2-2-1 - $465,180. Intricate became a Grade 2 winner last year in the third start of her career in the Golden Rod at Churchill Downs. This year in four starts she is winless with a pair of seconds and a third. Last month she was third in the Coaching Club America Oaks (G1) behind the division leader Thorpedo Anna. Use underneath.
2. Chatalas, 8-1.Gun Runner –Mark Glatt,Frankie Dettori – 7: 3-1-1 - $370,000. Chatalas ships to Saratoga from Kentucky for trainer Mark Glatt. As a 2-year-old she was a debut winner who went on to win the Chandelier (G2) at Santa Anita in the fall followed by a ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. She ended the year with a third in the Starlet (G2) at Los Alamitos and then just missed the win on the turf. Her lone start of 2024 was a front-end win in the Indiana Oaks (G3) last month. Use underneath.
3. Power Squeeze, 4-1.Union Rags –Jorge Delgado,Javier Castellano – 9: 5-1-1 - $567,450. Power Squeeze ships to the Spa from Monmouth Park, where Jorge Delgado is currently third in the trainer standings. She broke her maiden in her third start to finish 2023. This year in six starts Power Squeeze won four stakes, including the Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) and the Delaware Oaks (G3) by nose in July. Win contender.
4. Just Basking, 5-1.Arrogate –Ian Wilkes,Chris Landeros – 5: 2-2-0 - $239,506. Just Basking became a stakes winner when she won the Iowa Oaks last month with the best performance of her career, earning the top speed figure in her five races. She broke her maiden at Churchill racing the Alabama distance of 10 furlongs. Now in the Alabama she will have to face the toughest field of her career. Toss.
5. America’s Vow, 12-1.Constitution –Tim Hamm,Junior Alvarado – 10: 2-0-2 - $112,554. America’s Vow broke her maiden in her fifth start, which was at Tampa Bay Downs to end her 2-year-old campaign. This year she was third in the Suncoast at that Florida track and then finished far behind in the Gulfstream Park Oaks. After a pair of sixth-place finishes at Churchill she won a first-level allowance at Saratoga. Toss.
6. Miss Justify, 9-2.Justify –Todd Pletcher,Flavien Prat – 5: 3-0-1 - $192,010. Miss Justify won for the second time in a row in the Wilton at Saratoga on the second day of the meeting with a late rally. She began her career racing at Laurel and moved to the barn of Todd Pletcher for 2024. Use underneath.
7. Candied, 5-2.Candy Ride –Todd Pletcher,Manny Franco – 6: 3-1-1 - $784,675. Candied is the only Grade 1 winner in the Alabama field, having taken the Alcibiades as a 2-year-old before running a close third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. Her 2024 campaign started with a fifth in the Ashland (G1) and then moved to Monmouth Park, where she won the Lady’s Secret by more than four lengths as the odds-on favorite. Candied was second behind Thorpedo Anna in the CCA Oaks but was well clear of the rest of the field. Top choice.
8. Neon Icon, 12-1.Arrogate – RustyArnold,Luis Saez– 3: 2-0-0 - $140,127. Neon Icon is lightly raced with just three starts since winning her debut at Keeneland in April. She moved to Churchill to win an allowance by a clear margin going the 1 1/4-mile distance of the Alabama. In the Indiana Oaks (G3) she got farther behind than usual, and the best she could do was fifth. Toss.
Summary: Candied is the only Grade 1 winner in the Alabama field and has the most earnings in her career. The daughter of Candy Ride will move out of the very large shadow that Thorpedo Anna cast in the CCA Oaks. Although Candied was second in that Saratoga Grade 1, she did beat the rest of the strong field easily. Candied will be the top choice.
