SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – American Sonja, a Group 1-placed runner in Europe, makes her third sojourn to Saratoga when she runs in a third-level allowance scheduled for 1 1/8 miles on turf Thursday.
Previously in the barn of Joseph O’Brien, American Sonja has been with trainer Brendan Walsh since last winter. She had worked twice at Palm Meadows in Florida when Walsh had to stop on her and give her some time.
Since July, American Sonja has worked seven times over the synthetic surface at Turfway Park leading to her seasonal debut. She has not run since finishing sixth in the Group 1 Prix de l’Opera at Longchamp in October. Two starts before that, American Sonja was beaten a head in the Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet at Deauville in August 2024.
“She had a setback, we had to give her a little time, and here she is,” Walsh said by phone from Kentucky. “She’s doing well. She seems like she’s good now. Her form is very good from Europe. She has run here a couple of times, so it’s not completely new to her.”
In 2023, American Sonja ran second in the Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks over a very soft turf course. In June 2024, she finished eighth, beaten 6 1/2 lengths by Didia, in the Grade 1 New York, rallying widest of all after trailing the field.
“Any time she came over here, I don’t think the ground was really right for her. Hopefully, we get some decent ground,” Walsh said. “If she runs to her European form, she should be pretty tough.”
Noir is another former European-based runner, this one making her U.S. debut. She has not been out since November when finishing third in the Group 3 Prix Fille de l’Air and has since been purchased by Mike Repole and transferred to Todd Pletcher.
Trainer Chad Brown has two in this race making their first start for him. One is Kathynmarissa, who won the Dueling Grounds Oaks when with Rick Dutrow. She has not been out since finishing fifth in the Grade 3 Santa Ana at Santa Anita in March. The other is Dona Clota, a multiple stakes winner in Chile who finished 10th off 11 in the Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Gulfstream for Ignacio Correas in January.
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