SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Six weeks after coming out on the wrong end of a nose-bobbing finish, Leon Blue rebounded to win a similarly heart-throbbing battle to the wire, outgaming odds-on Smooth Breeze to register a hard-fought neck victory Thursday at Saratoga in the $150,000 Rick Violette Stakes.
The final result of the Rick Violette, named after the late longtime president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, was a special one for many of the connections of Leon Blue, according to his trainer Melanie Giddings, who recorded her first Saratoga stakes win.
“I have some of the best of Rick’s crew working for me and they miss him a lot every day,” said Giddings. “They talk about him all the time still, so it was meaningful that we could win this race for him today. I feel like he was looking down.”
Among the employees Giddings was referring to were her Belmont Park-based assistant Melissa Cohen, who served in a similar capacity for Violette for many years, and Fausto Flores, longtime foreman for the Violette barn, who brought Leon Blue to the paddock for the race.
After leading at every call in his previous start before being run down in the final stride by the 56-1 Outsource, Leon Blue was rated off the pacesetting Sounds Like a Plan by apprentice Chris Elliott during the early running of the mile and one-sixteenth turf race. Leon Blue was put under strong handling approaching the stretch, rallied on even terms just inside Smooth Breeze through the final three-sixteenths, and ultimately overtook the tiring leader in late stretch while narrowly holding the favorite safe to the wire.
Smooth Breeze, unhurried early, came wide rallying into the stretch, then finished willingly outside Leon Blue but could not quite get to the winner. It was another three parts of a length back to the tiring Sounds Like a Plan, who finished third. Outsource and I’m Due rounded out the complete order of finish. River of Time was scratched.
Leon Blue is named after the charismatic, longtime trainer Leon Blusiewicz, who passed away at the age of 92 in 2023. He is a son of Mo Town owned in partnership by AWC Stables, Gold Square LLC, and Paul Braverman.
Leon Blue completed the distance over a firm course in 1:41.34 and paid $15.60 for his second victory in six starts.
“It’s a really good group of people that own this horse and they have been super, super patient with him,” said Giddings. “He lost a very unlucky head bob last time but he was a little sharp going two turns off the layoff and was bound to be fresh, and I think he got a little tired late.
“We made a couple of equipment adjustments, we cut back the blinkers, and he was fitter today to go the two turns. We knew we were sitting in a good spot.”
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