SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Every trainer cherishes the memory of their first Saratoga stakes victory, as Amelia Green will after sending out Minorinconvenience to a four-length victory over Fourth and One in Wednesday’s $150,000 Funny Cide.
Green may remember this particular victory more than most in light of the fact she is not only part owner of Minorinconvenience along with her assistant Amanda Gillman and Upland Flats Racing, but has raised the 2-year-old son of Mendelssohn ever since acquiring him for a bargain $20,000 at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October yearling sale.
Minorinconvenience was one of only four horses who left the gate for the six-furlong Funny Cide. The 4-5 favorite Toga Twist had his chances severely compromised after ducking in sharply at the break, giving away considerable ground to the others in the process.
Minorinconvenience broke quickest of all under jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. before swiftly ceding the lead to Toga Twist’s uncoupled stablemate Fourth and One. Minorinconvenience was put to steady pressure to go after the leader around the turn, gained command leaving the quarter pole, then drew off readily while under vigorous urging from mid-stretch to the wire.
Fourth and One, the only first-time starter in the very compact lineup, dug in gamely when headed by the winner at the top of the stretch and fought that one through the furlong grounds before proving no match at the end. Toga Twist recovered from his unfortunate beginning to move within striking distance of the leaders in early stretch and raced a bit greenly at that point before flattening out from the effort. Rumblyoungmanrumbl finished a distant fourth and last.
Minorinconvenience, who won a maiden race by 10 1/2 lengths going seven furlongs in a contest switched from the turf to a muddy main track four weeks ago, completed six furlongs over a fast strip in 1:11.56 and returned $7.10.
Green, who served as an assistant for trainer Todd Pletcher along with Gillman before striking out on her own last year, described winning her first stakes at Saratoga as “very exciting.”
“It’s especially so doing so with this horse since we’ve owned him and spoiled him rotten since he was a yearling,” Green explained.
Green said she thought coming into the race that shortening Minorinconvenience back to six furlongs after having gone seven-eighths in his previous start could be a bit of a disadvantage.
“I thought turning back to six furlongs might be an issue, but when he put his nose in front at the top of the stretch, I was quietly confident because I knew having already gone the further distance would be best for him,” said Green.
She also believes there’s still a lot of room for improvement from Minorinconvenience as the season progresses.
“He’s come a long ways since his first start, and I don’t think he’s actually clicked yet,” Green added. “He’s kind of a big baby and has a lot of learning to do. To see him run like this when he seems like a horse still figuring things out is very exciting.”
Jeremiah Englehart, who saddled both the second and third place finishers, was disappointed in the final result and circumstances surrounding the start, but the trainer was encouraged by the performances of both Fourth and One and the unlucky Toga Twist.
“That’s horse racing. They’ve got to come out of the gate,” Englehart said in reference to Toga Twist. “I really wasn’t thinking that would be an issue with him, but making just his second start, you never know. We’ve got to get back to work with him and see if we can fix that. You can’t spot the field five or six lengths at the start. I thought my other horse ran really well. He just got a little tired, as I suspected he might.”
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