SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Midway through training hours on the morning of July 12, the skies opened and heavy rain turned Saratoga’s main track into a sea of slop. That didn’t deter trainer Phil Bauer from working his two stakes fillies Halina’s Forte and Little Prankster.
Midway through the Sunday card at Saratoga, the skies again opened and heavy rained turned Saratoga’s main track into a sea of slop. That didn’t deter Bauer from running Halina’s Forte and Little Prankster in the Grade 2, $200,000 Honorable Miss Stakes.
That practice in the slop paid dividends for Halina’s Forte at least, as she rallied along the rail under Irad Ortiz Jr. to run down the pacesetting R Disaster to win the Honorable Miss by a half-length. It was another 1 1/2 lengths back to Scylla, the 6-5 favorite, who may have found the six furlongs of this race a tad too short.
Halina’s Forte won for the fourth time in 14 starts, one of those wins coming in the off-the-turf Galway Stakes here last summer.
Bauer said he decided to work Halina’s Forte and Little Prankster over that wet track eight days ago just to keep them on their regular training schedule.
“Our intended move wasn’t going to be that flashy, we just kept to the schedule,” Bauer said. “They both handled it well and I was excited to try it today. I know it was probably a little quick back for Little Prankster.”
Little Prankster, coming off an allowance win at Churchill on June 27, finished last in this field.
Halina’s Forte, meanwhile, raced in midpack, about four lengths off R Disaster, who zipped along under Jose Ortiz through fractions of 21.72 seconds for the quarter and 44.50 for the half-mile.
Halina’s Forte, breaking from the rail, held her inside position and in the stretch a large opening presented itself. Ortiz guided Halina’s Forte right on through inside the sixteenth pole to beat R Disaster.
“I was hoping to break good and bide my time from there, if I can stay on the rail that would be beautiful if I can get through because I know she can do that,” said Ortiz, who rode Halina’s Forte in last year’s Galway and in last week’s workout. “It worked out beautiful, the rail opened, I got horse, moving great so I go for it. She worked the other day on this same track she worked great. Look how the track is today, they sealed it again and she liked it like that.”
Halina’s Forte, a daughter of Mitole owned by Rigney Racing, covered the six furlongs in the slop in 1:09.87 and returned $50 as the second-longest shot in the eight-horse field. It gave Bauer his first Saratoga graded stakes victory after getting his first Saratoga stakes win with this same filly last year.
R Disaster, coming off a big win in the Rehoboth Stakes at Delaware Park, finished second, meaning she now has 5 wins and 5 seconds from 10 lifetime starts.
“She ran well, tough beat, I said if she runs first or second I won’t have any complaints, I can’t complain,” trainer Saffie Jospeh Jr. said. “I don’t think she’s best on a wet track, but her record says she was 2 for 2 on it. She runs on anything, she ran huge, the winner just beat her.”
The Honorable Miss is the prep for the Grade 1 Ballerina on Aug. 23. It remains to be seen if Halina’s Forte would come back in that spot against Ways and Means.
“If she continues to move forward we might consider it,” Bauer said.
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