When Scottish Lassie enters the starting gate for the $250,000 Shuvee Stakes (G2) July 24, it will be just over a year since she wowed the Saratoga Race Course faithful with a dazzling display in the Coaching Club American Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1). Trainer Jorge Abreu is confident she can do it again.
The daughter of McKinzie raced once more last season after that 15 1/2-length romp, finishing fourth, beaten 2 1/4 lengths, in Parx Racing's Cotillion Stakes (G1) before being scratched from the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) with a minor foot issue.
Given a winter break by Abreu—who co-owns the filly with Sportsmen Stable, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Photos Finish, and Corms Racing Stable—the dual grade 1 winner showed she was back to full strength June 7 when she cruised on the lead and romped against allowance foes by 8 1/2 lengths at the Spa; oddly enough her first career victory outside of grade 1 competition.
"She's coming into the (Shuvee) in really good shape," Abreu said. "She's been breezing very well, she's been training very, very well, she's got a good post. I feel very confident. The way she looks and the way she's training, I expect a good performance from her."
That good post, 4, is right in the middle of the field of seven 4-year-old fillies, and Scottish Lassie was given the nod for morning-line favoritism at 9-5 at the track she's done some of her best work.
"For some reason, she kind of likes this track a lot. I don't know if it's the air, the track, or something else," Abreu said. "She hasn't run a bad race here—she hasn't run a bad race, period—but over here she seems to like it a lot."
Scottish Lassie will be ridden by Jose Ortiz in a race for the first time Friday, but Abreu said the two have gotten acquainted in her past few morning breezes. She was ridden in that June 7 victory by Flavien Prat, who will instead retain the mount on 2-1 second choice Fully Subscribed. As of July 21, Prat and Ortiz are tied for the meet lead with 19 wins each.
A daughter of Tiz the Law , Fully Subscribed came on the scene late last year sweeping the Mother Goose Stakes (G2) and Comely Stakes (G3) for Klaravich Stables and trainer Chad Brown. She's kicked off this season with a pair of runner-up finishes, by a length to Shred the Gnar in the May 1 La Troienne Stakes (G1) at Churchill Downs, and by 12 3/4 lengths to Nitrogen in the June 5 Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1) at Saratoga.
Brown said the filly trains very well, and he's waiting for that to come through with a victory at these high levels this season.
"She did run into two very good horses, but I thought she ran well," Brown said. "I want her to break through in this race and run to her training and see where she takes us. I have very high hopes for her the way she looks in her training."
Brown also has a newcomer to the graded stakes ranks in Gainesway Stable homebred Aeolian, a 15-1 longshot with Dylan Davis aboard. She made three starts as a maiden late last year, culminating with a 6-length triumph in November at Churchill Downs. She then was on the sidelines for seven months until she returned June 27 to run second by a neck in a 1-mile allowance at Aqueduct Racetrack, but was placed first via a disqualification as she was impeded in the stretch.
Brown said Aeolian initially was entered in the Shuvee to see how the competition came out, and that he does plan to start the filly in her first attempt at 1 1/8 miles. A homebred for Gainesway, Aeolian is out of the multiple stakes-winning Dunkirk mare Danzatrice, making her a full sister to grade 1 winner Tapit Trice .
"I've always thought a lot of this filly," Brown said. "She has had some minor setbacks along the way, which is why she's had interruptions in her development. Right now, she's at her very best. It's a big step from an allowance race into this race, but I do think she wants a mile-and-an-eighth. I have her in a window right now where she's very healthy and looking good."
Also in the field at 7-2 is Qatar Racing, Mountmellick Farm, and Fergus Galvin's Bless the Broken. The stakes-winning Laoban filly has placed in three consecutive grade 1 contests, including a dead heat for second with Fully Subscribed in the Ogden Phipps. Brad Cox trains and has Irad Ortiz Jr. scheduled to ride.
Grade 1-placed Snowyte and stakes winners Eunomia and Valtellina round out the field.
Saratoga Race Course, Friday, July 24, 2026, Race 8Entries: Shuvee S. (G2)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Snowyte (KY) Luis Saez 120 Danny Gargan 6/1 2 2Aeolian (KY) Dylan Davis 120 Chad C. Brown 15/1 3 3Fully Subscribed (KY) Flavien Prat 124 Chad C. Brown 2/1 4 4Scottish Lassie (KY) Jose L. Ortiz 124 Jorge R. Abreu 9/5 5 5Bless the Broken (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 120 Brad H. Cox 7/2 6 6Eunomia (KY) John R. Velazquez 122 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. 8/1 7 7Valtellina (NY) Tyler Gaffalione 120 Raymond Handal 20/1
