SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – They rushed to the entry box for the Kentucky Oaks five weeks ago, as 17 3-year-old fillies were entered in a race that ultimately went to post with 13. The wide-open nature of the Oaks was reflected in a tote board that saw the top four choices go off at odds between $5.11-1 and $5.79-1.
Many have steered clear of the entry box for Friday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Acorn Stakes at Saratoga. Only five, albeit a very good five, are in the field set to run 1 1/8 miles over the main track – but there is no longer doubt regarding the horse to beat.
Always a Runner, the Kentucky Oaks winner as the third choice, is the 4-5 morning-line favorite in the Acorn. She is 3 for 3 with two wins at the Acorn distance of 1 1/8 miles, and her trainer, Chad Brown, already rates Always a Runner as one of the best fillies he’s ever trained – and that includes his many female turf stars.
“I’m talking about raw talent,” Brown said. “This horse, she has freaky ability – freaky ability. One of the best fillies ever to wear one of these saddle towels, period.”
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Always a Runner, a daughter of Gun Runner owned by Douglas Scharbauer and Three Chimneys Farm, rallied from eighth to win the Oaks by 1 1/4 lengths over Meaning, who, at $5.79-1, was the fourth choice in the race. The start of her career delayed by illness, Always a Runner is quite healthy now, and with only three starts, has room to improve.
“She doesn’t have to get a whole lot better,” Brown said. “For her to win the Oaks the way she did against a really strong group of fillies in only her third start goes to show you how much natural ability she has. There is the possibility, with only three starts under her belt, she could actually get a little bit better, which is scary to think.”
If there is anything that scares Brown about the Acorn, it’s the small field. Always a Runner figures to come from off the pace under Jose Ortiz.
“It would be nice if it was a conventional-run race, more bodies in there, some race flow that was familiar instead of a cat-and-mouse short field,” Brown said. “You never know with these short fields – the internal fractions, do they go [fast], do they slow down in the middle?”
The race could be reminiscent of last year’s Travers, when Sovereignty was up close, dropped back to last, and then came on again to win by 10 lengths.
Though the Acorn is short on quantity, it certainly doesn’t lack quality. Meaning, Counting Stars, and Prom Queen – the second-, third-, and fifth-place finishers from the Oaks – are back.
Of that group, Prom Queen may have had a compromised trip. Winner of the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks from a stalking position, Prom Queen found herself near the back of the pack in the Kentucky Oaks midway through the race. She was a bit headstrong and made a decent rally to finish fifth.
“We thought we’d be a little bit more involved early. It is what it is. She ran well,” trainer Brad Cox said. “I think it’s important we break and get some type of position. In a shorter field, she has the opportunity to have a better trip as opposed to having a bigger field like we ran against in the Kentucky Oaks.”
Prom Queen breaks from the rail under Flavien Prat, who replaces Javier Castellano.
Meaning, the Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks winner, appeared to have an uncomplicated trip in the Oaks, rating in fifth, then having to work hard to get by pacesetting Explora at the eighth pole. She fought on before giving way in the final sixteenth to Always a Runner.
“I think she ran a great race in the Oaks,” trainer Michael McCarthy said. “Did not see much of an excuse. Ran into a very good filly; come back and try to go one better.”
In the small field, McCarthy still hopes Meaning will “have a little bit of a target. Those are tactical races and oftentimes a jockeys’ race.”
Juan Hernandez, aboard Meaning in her last two starts, has the call again on Friday.
Counting Stars gets a new rider in Irad Ortiz Jr., who replaces Francisco Arrieta. Counting Stars had a ground-saving trip in the Oaks and held off Explora by a neck for third.
“She got behind horses and she wasn’t running. He finally got her out and she actually finished,” Casse said. “She galloped out pretty strong, too.”
Examining the past performances, Casse deduced, “We might be on the lead.”
Maximum Offer, a daughter of Maxfield trained by Kenny McPeek, is 2 for 2 on Lasix, 0 for 4 without it. Maximum Offer possesses some speed to potentially be on the lead.
Regardless of who’s on the lead, it’s Always a Runner who has the target on her back.