Fitz Right surged home in the stretch to earn her first graded victory in the $300,000 Wonder Again Stakes (G2T) June 5 at Saratoga Race Course.
Under jockey Flavien Prat, the 3-year-old daughter of Charlatan rated in third behind pacesetter Coach Mazzula, who set fractions of :24.42, :48.48, and 1:11.61, and the Brendan Walsh trainee Lion Lake. She continued to travel well in hand down the backstretch, waiting patiently. On the far turn, she got her cue to take the lead and did so as the field hit the stretch. Lion Lake battled back on the inside, but Fitz Right finished up strongly and hit the wire a length in front. Lion Lake settled for second, and the Todd Pletcher-trained Time to Dream finished third. Fitz Right completed the 1 1/16 miles on the firm turf in a final time of 1:40.39, and paid $8.18 for the win.
"I'm very pleased," winning trainer Chad Brown said. "She got a dream trip with a nice pace duel in front of her between two good fillies. There was no sure thing they would come back to us, but Flavien saved all the ground, was able to get out and give her at least a chance. When the two fillies came to even terms at the end of the race, our filly just had a little more want. I'm very proud of her.
"She's really developed from 2 to 3. I want to congratulate and thank the owners for their patience. She trained sort of middle of the road as a 2-year-old, they let me back up on her, rest her this winter and, sure enough, she got a lot stronger, and a lot faster."
Fitz Right made it three wins in a row, scoring her first graded stakes victory. Prat guided her to her last win in the listed Memories Of Silver Stakes, which she won by 3 1/2 easy lengths, prompting her connections to move her into graded stakes company.
"I had a good draw, so I wanted to take advantage of it," Prat said. "I didn't feel like we were going that fast for the way the track was playing. I thought we were going quite easy. I felt like I was the only one who could keep up with the pace and second-guessed myself, briefly, but then I thought I was behind good horses, so I wanted to stay there and be involved. I was able to save ground all the way around and tip out when I wanted to, then she made a good run."
Owned by Michael Dubb, William H. Lawrence, The Elkstone Group, and Michael E. Kisber, Fitz Right was purchased for $200,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. She was bred by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings out of the graded stakes-winning dam I'm a Looker.
Brown holds the record for the most wins in the Wonder Again after nailing his seventh victory with Fitz Right.
