Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has changed his mind. Naughty Gal, the winner of the $200,000 Adirondack Stakes (G3) at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 7, is going to stick around.
Lukas said Aug. 10 that Naughty Gal may run next in the $300,000 Spinaway Stakes (G1) Sept. 4.
"I've got to change gears after I watched Naughty Gal run the other day," Lukas said outside his barn on the Oklahoma Training Track.
Originally, Lukas was going to run BC Stables' Summer Promise, third in the Schuylerville Stakes (G3) opening day, in the seven-furlong Spinaway. After Naughty Gal won the 6 1/2-furlong Adirondack, Lukas said he would likely run her in the $500,000 Darley Alcibiades (G1) Oct. 7 at Keeneland or the $300,000 Pocahontas Stakes (G3) Sept. 17 at Churchill Downs. Both races are 1 1/16 miles.
Those plans have shifted a little bit.
"I think Naughty Gal will have a better chance to win the Spinaway," said Lukas, who, along with Todd Pletcher, has won that race a record six times. "I think she has a better chance, physically, to get that extra distance. It's a better fit. I always treat them like I own them, I just have to convince the owners that it's the best thing to do."
Naughty Gal, winner of two of three career starts, is owned by Himanshu and Lisa Shukla's Holy Cow Stables. The daughter of Into Mischief was bred in Florida by Loren Nichols.
Summer Promise may end up running in the Pocahontas.
