Early Saturday evening, the trainer Riley Mott made an unscripted appearance on national television as a relatively composed though clearly thrilled member of the victory entourage surrounding his father, Bill Mott, who had just sent Sovereignty out to win the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga.
The following afternoon, with two Saturday Grade 1 turf races at Saratoga bumped back one day because of a waterlogged course, the trainer Miguel Clement was not part of a victory entourage but the center of a smaller one. About a week earlier, Clement had taken the reins of the family stable after his father, should-be Hall of Famer Christophe Clement, died too young from cancer. It did not take long for the younger Clement to find Grade 1 glory: He ran first and third in the Manhattan Stakes with Deterministic and Far Bridge.
Now comes a post-Triple Crown pit stop – only the wheels of racing keep on turning, and both sons of trainers are right back in action with horses entered in the fifth race at Churchill Downs on Wednesday.
Clement, who has yet to start a horse at Churchill, entered In Time, apparently with the intent of shipping from New York for this second-level turf allowance restricted to older females, carded for 1 3/8 miles on grass and also open to $80,000 claimers. Six-year-old In Time, by Zarak, was bred in France and did most of her racing there before being imported to America late in 2023.
In Time is the 3-1 second choice on the morning line behind 5-2 favorite Partir, another French-bred and campaigned horse who’s also by Zarak. Partir is a 4-year-old with one American start, which came in April at Keeneland after Resolute Racing bought the filly and sent her to the younger Mott.
Partir’s performance suggested she won’t long remain at this allowance class. Partir did race with effectiveness over one mile during the European part of her career but ran her best French race going 1 1/4 miles last October. Going one mile at Keeneland, she broke somewhat poorly and settled last of 12 in the early stages before commencing a steady, sustained rally that carried her very wide into the homestretch and, by the finish, into third place. On the one hand, Partir caught a yielding course that might have boosted her chances given that her career peak came on heavy going. On the other, she hadn’t started since October.
Now it’s In Time who exits an eight-month layoff. She improved incrementally throughout her 2024 campaign, winning a first-level allowance at this 11-furlong trip before ending her season with a third in her first start facing second-level allowance foes. A new chapter opens Wednesday, as does the post-Triple Crown season for these next-generation trainers.
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