St. Elias Stable, Vicarage Stable, Ken Langone and C. Steven Duncker's Deterministic tracked the pace set by Mi Bago and kicked clear to defeat that rival by 1 1/2 lengths in Saturday's Grade 1, $750,000 Fourstardave, an inner turf mile for 3-year-olds and up, at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Miguel Clement, the 5-year-old Liam's Map horse earned a career-best 104 Beyer Speed Figure for his final time of 1:35.07 over the firm turf that was rained on immediately before and during the running of the race.
Deterministic won the Fourstardave last year, and entered this year's edition from successful title defenses in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Fort Marcy in May at Belmont at the Big A and the 1 3/16-mile Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan on June 6 here.
"He came out of the race great," said Clement. "It is just a blessing to have him taking us all on this tremendous ride. He means a lot to many of us, the world to some of us. He's without a doubt the leader of the division, time and time again, he keeps beating star-studded fields, beating them rather comfortably, no matter ground or distance, he finds a way to cross the finish line first."
Added Duncker, "Miguel is too humble to say it, but he's just done an unbelievable job. He's done a great job spacing his works, giving him all the care and he is always fit. He is fit to go a mile and three-sixteenths, fit to go a mile. He's got tactical speed, and Miguel is the one who taught him that."
The Grade 1 Woodbine Mile on September 12 is a likely next target, which is a "Win and You're In" for the Breeders' Cup Mile, which Deterministic already secured in winning the Fourstardave.
"Under heavy, heavy, heavy, strong consideration, but I need to speak with connections before I say 'Yes,'" Clement said. "I think we should definitely do it."
Elements Racing's debuting juvenile colt Oscar prevailed by a nose over Bold Leadership in Race 8 on Saturday, a 1 1/16-mile Mellon turf maiden for juveniles. The Oscar Performance bay rallied up the inside through a narrow opening between the pacesetting Time in Motion and the hedge.
"He is a homebred for Mesingw Farm and a great addition to our stable. He was unbelievably professional, he broke out of the gate like a dream, took a stalking position, waited, and was probably the most professional 2-year-old I've run in a long time," said Clement. "Not many horses would split through that gap he went for. That wasn't much of a gap."
Possible options for Oscar include Woodbine Racetrack's Grade 1 Summer on September 12, a "Win and You're In" for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, and the Kentucky Downs' Juvenile Mile on September 9.
"Maybe Kentucky Downs or the Summer Stakes," Clement said. "The stable has been successful in the Summer Stakes with [late father Christophe Clement-trained] Carson's Run and Decorated Invader, so I wouldn't mind going for a three-peat there, but we'll see."
Explora Earns Career-Best BSF in Test
Michael Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman's Explora secured her first top-flight win with a five-length romp in Saturday's Grade 1, $500,000 Test presented by Ticketmaster, at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, the daughter of Blame stretched her speed previously to win a pair of 1 1/16-mile graded tilts in the Grade 2 Oak Leaf in October at Santa Anita Park and the Grade 3 Honeybee in March at Oaklawn Park en route to a pacesetting fourth in the nine-furlong Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks in May at Churchill Downs.
Baffert cut Explora back in distance to win the Listed Leslie's Lady traveling seven-furlongs in June at Churchill and the talented dark bay, runner-up in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies in October at Del Mar, again relished a sprint in her Spa debut.
With Flavien Prat up from post 7-of-8, Explora showed good speed from the gate before settling into third position as Movie Night showed the way through splits of 22.51 seconds and 45.08 over the fast track while pressured by Goodall. Explora advanced willingly through the run and was in command at the three-sixteenths, powering away under left-handed urging to score comfortably in a final time of 1:22.42. The winning effort earned a 97 Beyer Speed Figure, a six-point improvement on her previous best earned in the Leslie's Lady.
"She's loved the cut back in distance," Baffert said.
Baffert credited a head's up ride by Prat to extract Explora from a potential pace battle.
"We had a great post where you could do that. We weren't stuck inside," Baffert said. "She had a beautiful trip with great options, and he rode her with a lot of confidence. It worked out. She showed up."
Baffert said that Explora, "looked good this morning," but he hasn't decided on any next steps yet as part of a campaign he indicated Saturday could lead to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint in October at Keeneland.
The same connections sent out Grade 1-winning New York-bred Usha to a third-place finish with Prat aboard as the mutuel favorite in the state-bred Johnstone on Wednesday here.
The 4-year-old Tiz the Law chestnut captured the Grade 1 La Brea in December at Santa Anita and added the Grade 3 Winning Colors to her ledger in May at Churchill Downs.
"She just did not run the other day. She was very flat," Baffert said. "She looks good now. She's woken up. Maybe it was the ship up here, but she did not run her race at all. She looked fresh and happy today.
"I'll leave them both here for about a week and decide what to do," concluded Baffert.
Gaudreau Likely for Champagne; Sea Strike, Emerging Market Eye Travers
Gaudreau, named for the late seven-time NHL all-star Johnny Gaudreau, posted an impressive half-length debut victory under Flavien Prat in Saturday's opening race on a stacked Whitney Day card at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by five-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown for Tanglewood Thoroughbreds, Thirty Year Racing, Bradley Thoroughbreds, Rodeo Creek Racing, Laura Leigh Stable, and Swift Thoroughbreds, the Louisiana-bred Nyquist colt pressed the pace from second position in the 6 1/2-furlong sprint for 2-year-olds through a half-mile in 45.23 seconds and took command turning for home with plenty in the tank to stave off the onrushing Coach Pope, who was a neck better than U. S. S. Valor.
The final time of 1:16.41 was markedly faster than the 1:17.24 recorded by Admiralty one race later over the same conditions for trainer Kenny McPeek.
"He had trained like one of our better colts," Brown said. "We have a nice group of 2-year-olds of all genders and surfaces. He was in the top group of the colts so far. I was happy to see him show a lot of heart and ability. Not only to attend a hot pace but to have enough to kick on and keep going through the wire. Nice performance.
"They ran a little faster than the other division," Brown added. "He's a promising horse. He came out of it well so far."
While the next local spot for 2-year-olds is the seven-furlong Grade 1, $300,000 Spendthrift Farm Hopeful on September 6, Brown said Gaudreau will wait for the Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne, a one-turn mile on October 3 at Belmont Park which offers a "Win and You're In" berth to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile in October at Keeneland.
Brown has won the Champagne five times, including with Practical Joke [2016], Complexity [2018], Jack Christopher [2021], Blazing Sevens [2022] and Chancer McPatrick [2024].
"I'm unlikely to run him back in the Hopeful, it just comes up too fast. He sure looks like one of those Champagne horses we've had in the past," Brown said. "I know there's a little bit of gap there, but I'm more inclined to do that. I've always thought the longer the better with him."
Gaudreau, out of the stakes-placed Congrats mare Free Cover, was purchased for $220,000 from the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale.
Brown has a pair of contenders in Sea Strike and Emerging Market as he looks for his first win in the Grade 1, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers on August 29 at the Spa.
Flanagan Racing's Sea Strike, by Midshipman, made his first two starts in sprint races, scoring on debut in April at Aqueduct Racetrack and following with a rallying fifth in a key allowance sprint versus elders on June 6 here won by New York-bred Buttah, who exited that event to win Thursday's state-bred John Morrissey here. The third-place finisher, Local Knowledge, came back to win the Grade 2 Amsterdam on July 31 here; and fourth-place finisher Yo Banana Boy won the Leon Reed Memorial at Finger Lakes.
Sea Strike also exited to win, stretching out to nine furlongs and romping to an 8 1/4-length score in the Spa's restricted Listed Curlin presented by Casamigos on August 2. The Curlin effort earned a 102 Beyer.
"Very pleased with this horse. He's back galloping and moving well. Definitely headed to Travers with that horse as long as he's healthy," Brown said.
Brown said he had a feeling Sea Strike would appreciate the added ground last out.
"He's been powering away in his gallop outs. He likes to be taking the rider somewhere," Brown said. "In his second start, he found himself against good horses and scrambling a little bit with the pace and catching some dirt. He was being asked at different parts of the race early and he really doesn't want to be rushed that horse. He wants to get in a rhythm and take a rider around there. Going long, he definitely achieves that."
Klaravich Stables' Emerging Market, by Candy Ride, captured the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby in March at Fair Grounds ahead of an off-the-board try in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby when 10th-of-18. He landed fifth in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets here in June and was last seen finishing a wide-rallying second in a nine-furlong optional-claimer versus elders here on July 25 won by Grade 2-winning New York-bred Wynstock [25-7-1-0, $493,587]. Emerging Market earned a 91 Beyer in defeat.
"It was not a good trip. He was off a slow pace and three-wide," Brown said. "It was just the worst place to be off a slow pace, and it just didn't work out for him. He got beat by a cagey older horse with a lot of career wins. The number came back fast."
Emerging Market returned to the work tab here Saturday, breezing a half-mile in 48 flat over the Oklahoma dirt training track.
"He had a terrific breeze," Brown said. "He's always a good work horse. I'm inclined to head to the Travers and give him one more try, see if we can work out a different trip where he can save some ground and come with one run."
Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, William Strauss and Michael Caruso's multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Zulu Kingdom landed third in Saturday's Grade 1 Fourstardave.
With Prat aboard, the 4-year-old Ten Sovereigns ridgling saved ground in third position and was in need of racing room in the final sixteenth, trapped behind the pacesetting Mi Bago and to the inside of Lagynos. When the opportunity to tip out came, it was too late and Zulu Kingdom closed to complete the trifecta a head in front of Rhetorical.
Brown tipped his cap to the victorious Deterministic, who successfully defended his Fourstardave title.
"The winner was very impressive and clearly the leader of the division," Brown said. "I thought my horse could have been closer if he hadn't been stymied in the lane. I don't know if he would have been close enough to win, but he certainly would have been right there. He's a tough customer and came out of the race in good shape. He lays it all on the line that horse and I'm very proud of him."
Zulu Kingdom will now target the Grade 1 Coolmore Turf Mile on October 3 at Keeneland.
Brown sent out a trio of competitors in Friday's Grade 2 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Oaks at 1 3/16-miles for sophomore fillies in third-place Fitz Right, sixth-place Consensus View and seventh-place Just Aloof.
Michael Dubb, William Lawrence, The Elkstone Group, and Michael Kisber's Fitz Right made the grade in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Wonder Again here in June. The Charlatan chestnut followed with a third-place try in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks ahead of her Spa Oaks effort.
Brown noted he had considered shorter distances for Fitz Right, including the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Lake George presented by Surfside won by Amberglen here on August 1 and the Grade 2 Lake Placid at one-mile on August 29.
"The race was coming up not the toughest edition of this race, so I thought I would take a chance and not wait for the Lake Placid, skip the Lake George and give it a shot," Brown said. "She got a great trip. She's another one that was never able to get out in the clear. When she won the Wonder Again, she was able to get out to the center of the track. I don't think she was winning at that distance."
Fitz Right exited post 2-of-8 under Prat and saved ground before making a strong inside rush down the lane.
"She was posted well, and he gave her a great pocket trip," Brown said. "You can't have it all. I'd rather have the trip I got and have her run well than be in the clear for too much of the race with a horse that's probably a mile and a sixteenth horse and not run as well. We'll cut her back but probably not at this meet."
Brown said he had no excuses for his other Saratoga Oaks competitors.
"Just Aloof got a nice trip and wasn't good enough. I think we need to retreat to something easier with her," Brown said. "With Consensus View, I think that was a lot to ask for her. She tried to follow a good horse and just couldn't pick it up half way through the race. I'll regroup with her. I think her best days are ahead of her going longer with some give in the ground. Ultimately, I think next year she's a mile and three-eighths, mile and a half horse."
West End Kid to Be Turned Out; Rhetorical Eyes Turf Mile
Mo Speed Racing's West End Kid, second in the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby presented by Qatar Racing on Saturday, will now be turned out after making five starts in less than four months, trainer Will Walden said on Sunday.
The 1 3/16-mile Saratoga Derby for 3-year-olds on turf was the third consecutive start in a Saratoga stakes for West End Kid, who won the Grade 3 Pennine Ridge by 1 1/4 lengths in June and missed by a nose when second in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby on July 4. On Saturday, West End Kid raced in third behind the clear leader Glacius through the early stages and chased home the pacesetter to finish second once again, this time by 1 1/4 lengths. The Saratoga Derby was West End Kid's first start ever with jockey Flavien Prat aboard and his first without blinkers since his debut fourth in February at Gulfstream Park.
"Maybe he was a little less aggressive in the early stages [without blinkers]," said Walden. "That being said, Flavien had a lot of horse going down the backside. He just didn't expect the speed to continue."
Rhetorical, fourth in the Grade 1 Fourstardave at one mile on the grass, likely will make his next start on October 3 in Keeneland's Grade 1 Coolmore Turf Mile, a race he won last year. The New York-bred 5-year-old Not This Time gelding entered the Fourstardave off a win in the Grade 1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic in May at Churchill Downs and a fourth in the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan in June at Saratoga. He races for Gary Barber, Cheyenne Stable, and Wachtel Stable.
Prior to the Fourstardave, Rhetorical was fractious in the paddock, post parade, and in the starting gate. Like in the Manhattan, he competed in an aluminum pad.
"Very tough yesterday, just kind of went from bad to worse," said Walden of Rhetorical's pre-race behavior. "Those things happen. We are going to try to do what we can between this start and the next one to try to prevent what happened yesterday from happening again."
Walden offered no excuse for Movie Night's performance in the Grade 1 Test presented by Ticketmaster, in which the WinStar Farm homebred finished sixth, beaten 17 1/4-lengths by Explora.
"The only thing I can come up with is I don't think the rail was favorable to speed yesterday, but I'm reaching," said Walden. "She scoped clean, jogged well on the road this morning, sound, happy, ate her dinner last time. It was a one-off."
Walden said he entered OXO Equine's Minaret Station in this Saturday's Grade 1 Christophe Clement Turf, a 1 1/2-mile race for 3-year-olds and up that serves as a "Win and You're In" race for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf. The 4-year-old Minaret Station, a graded stakes winner at 2, enters the Clement Turf off a third in the 1 3/8-mile Bowling Green presented by Emerald Ecovations on July 11 at Saratoga.
"He's a super easy horse to train," said Walden. "Very straightforward, very easy to be around. He does everything the way it's supposed to be done. We're excited to be running him at a mile and a half. I thought he ran great [in the Bowling Green]. It was his first time going that far, a little new going three turns, but I thought he ran great."
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