By J. Keeler Johnson ("Keelerman") Twitter: @J_Keelerman
Summer is here, and so is
racing at Saratoga. The beloved New York race meet kicks off on Thursday, and
the first of many Grade 1 race on the agenda—the $500,000 Diana S. (G1)—is
slated for Saturday.
The 1 1/8-mile turf test for
fillies and mares has been dominated in recent years by trainer Chad Brown, who
won five straight editions from 2016 through 2020. He also picked up first
prize in 2011, giving Brown half a dozen Diana winners from the past 11 years.
Chances are, Brown will pick
up a seventh Diana victory on Saturday. Four of the six entrants are
conditioned by Brown, and they comprise a formidable quartet. All four are
graded stakes winners with encouraging credentials to offer.
First off, there's #1 Technical Analysis, a gate-to-wire
winner of the Gallorette S. (G3) at Pimlico two months ago. The four-year-old
daughter of Kingman brings a lot of tactical speed to the table and is 2-for-2
over the Saratoga lawn, having employed pacesetting and tracking tactics to nab
the Lake Placid S. (G2) and Lake George S. (G3) here last summer.
But Technical Analysis isn't
the only speedy filly in the Diana field. In addition to the Al Stall trainee #5 Dalika, the pacesetting runner-up in
the Mint Julep S. (G3) at Churchill Downs last month, Technical Analysis' own
stablemate #6 In Italian figures to
be prominent early. The improving four-year-old has carved out the pace in four
of her last five starts, wiring the Honey Fox S. (G3) at Gulfstream during the
winter and most recently coming home third in the one-mile Just a Game S. (G1)
at Belmont.
A contested pace in the
Diana could play to the strengths of Brown's #4 Rougir, who unleashed a sharp rally from behind a slow pace to
win the 1 1/16-mile Beaugay S. (G3) at Belmont two starts back. Winner of the 1
1/4-mile Prix de l'Opera (G1) in France last fall, Rougir disappointed over the
same trip in the New York S. (G1) at Belmont last month, finishing fifth as the
odds-on favorite. But Rougir was only beaten two lengths while attempting to
close into a pedestrian pace, so with quicker fractions in the Diana, she's
eligible to rebound under hot jockey Flavien Prat.
But the most formidable of
all the Brown trainees is surely #3
Bleecker Street. The unstoppable four-year-old is undefeated in seven
starts, including four consecutive graded stakes wins. After rallying to flashy
scores in the Endeavour S. (G3) and Hillsborough S. (G2) at Tampa Bay Downs,
Bleecker Street produced a fierce rally between rivals to overcome a slow pace
and win the Modesty S. (G3) at Churchill Downs by half a length.
These efforts preceded a
sensational victory in the New York S. (G1), in which Bleecker Street trailed
the slow pace for much of the journey before accelerating the final quarter-mile
in a freakish :21.70 per Trakus to get up and defeat a deep field (including
the above-mentioned Rougir) by half a length.
Bleecker Street doesn't know
how to lose, and her brilliant turn-of-foot has gotten more impressive with
every start this season. The only time she caught a quick pace this year, she
obliterated the Hillsborough by 3 3/4 lengths, so I'm optimistic a quicker
tempo in the Diana will help Bleecker Street deliver her most impressive
victory to date. Under three-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz, I
expect to see Bleecker Street visit the winner's circle again on Saturday.
Completing the field is the
Godolphin homebred #2 Creative Flair,
whose trainer—Charlie Appleby—won this race in 2021 with Althiqa. Creative
Flair has already run twice in the U.S., finishing third in the 1 3/16-mile
Saratoga Oaks (G3) and fourth in the 1 3/8-mile Jockey Club Oaks last fall.
Both races featured modest pace fractions, and it's possible the distances were
a bit farther than Creative Flair wants to run. She was a nice winner of the 1
1/8-mile Balanchine S. (G2) to kick off the year in Dubai, so if she encounters
a quick pace while sticking to the same distance in the Diana, I can envision
Creative Flair landing a top-four finish.
Selections
1st: Bleecker Street
2nd: Rougir
3rd: Technical Analysis
4th: Creative Flair
Now it's your turn! Who do
you like in the Diana Stakes?
*****
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J. Keeler Johnson (also known as "Keelerman") is a writer, videographer, voice actor, handicapper, and all-around horse racing enthusiast. A great fan of racing history, he considers Dr. Fager to be the greatest racehorse ever produced in America, but counts Zenyatta as his all-time favorite.
