Making her second start this year, 4-year-old Ways and Means leads a field of seven fillies and mares in the seven-furlong, $300,000 Bed o’ Roses Stakes (G2) June 6 at this year’s Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course.
The daughter of Practical Joke has earned more than half of her $832,500 at the upstate track where she began her career in 2023 with a 12 3/4-length win. She followed that up with a narrow loss in the Spinaway Stakes (G1) and hit the Kentucky Oaks (G1) trail the next year but was unable to get back to the winner’s circle until last June, when, back at Saratoga, she won an allowance race by 8 1/4 lengths, then went on to take the Test Stakes (G1) over a muddy Saratoga track in August.
With rain a possibility for Friday, that off-track experience may serve her well; she also won the 2024 Gallant Bloom Stakes (G2) over a sloppy surface at Aqueduct Racetrack. Trained by Chad Brown and owned and bred by Klaravich Stables, Ways and Means will be ridden by Flavien Plat and break from post 3. She’s the 6-5 morning-line favorite.
Irish Maxima makes her Saratoga debut after winning the Distaff Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct in early April, her first graded stakes win. The Maximus Mischief filly is owned by Irish Three Racing and has raced primarily in the Mid-Atlantic for trainer John Servis. With six wins and a second in her last seven races, including a 13 3/4-length win in the muddy Mrs. Claus Stakes Dec. 31 at Parx Racing, the bay filly will need to overcome the inside post to make best use of her speed and front-running style.
“I hate it,” Servis said of the post position. “I hate the 1 hole sprinting. She’s got speed, and she’s got to go. We don’t have much choice.”
Regular rider Frankie Pennington will be in the irons. Purchased for $50,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale in 2023, Irish Maxima has earned $516,165.
A $725,000 purchase from the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Justique began her career in the barn of John Shirreffs, and on dirt, winning two of her first three starts and finishing third in the 2022 Chandelier Stakes (G2). When her form tailed off, Shirreffs switched her to grass, but when Justique was transferred to Cherie DeVaux, the trainer was impressed enough by her early form to put her back on the dirt.
“We went back to what worked for her,” DeVaux said, “and that’s one turn on dirt. We didn’t want to overthink it too much.”
The daughter of Justify won her first two starts for DeVaux before finishing sixth in the Madison Stakes (G1) at Keeneland.
“That race was a real head-scratcher,” the trainer said. “So we gave her some time and she’s back to breezing well. She looks really healthy and fantastic, so we figured we’d give this race a chance.”
Justique will break from post 5 under Jose Ortiz. Owned by C R K Stable, she’s 12-1 on the morning line.
Trained by Bill Mott and owned and bred by Juddmonte, Scylla is the morning-line second choice at 5-2 and will be ridden by Joel Rosario, breaking from post 2. The daughter of Tapit and multiple grade 1-winning race mare Close Hatches, Scylla is making her second start of the year following a fourth-place finish in the Derby City Distaff Stakes (G1). She finished second in the Ballerina Handicap (G1) at Saratoga last year, her only start over the track.
Completing the field are Jody's Pride (post 4, 9-2), Miss Justify (post 6, 12-1), and St. Benedicts Prep (post 7, 20-1).
Saratoga Race Course, Friday, June 6, 2025, Race 6Entries: Bed o' Roses S. (G2)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Irish Maxima (KY) Frankie Pennington 124 John C. Servis 6/1 2 2Scylla (KY) Joel Rosario 124 William I. Mott 5/2 3 3Ways and Means (KY) Flavien Prat 124 Chad C. Brown 6/5 4 4Jody's Pride (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 124 Jorge R. Abreu 9/2 5 5Justique (KY) Jose L. Ortiz 122 Cherie DeVaux 12/1 6 6Miss Justify (KY) Dylan Davis 118 Todd A. Pletcher 12/1 7 7St. Benedicts Prep (KY) Jose Lezcano 118 Linda Rice 20/1
