SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – When she isn’t facing Thorpedo Anna or having to contend with a wet track, Leslie’s Rose can be pretty good.
Friday, with Thorpedo Anna comfortably in her stall in the annex by the Oklahoma training track and under the most pristine conditions there have been at this young meet, Leslie’s Rose was too good for her seven rivals in the Grade 3, $200,000 Shuvee Stakes at Saratoga.
Getting an up-close, ground-saving trip for most of the journey under Irad Ortiz Jr., Leslie’s Rose came off the fence turning for home, reeled in pacesetting Dazzling Move inside the sixteenth pole and drew clear to a 3 3/4-length victory in the Shuvee. Dazzling Move, who had some early pressure from Malibu Beauty, finished second, 9 3/4 lengths clear of 3-5 favorite Raging Sea.
The win was the first for Leslie’s Rose since she captured the Grade 1 Ashland at Keeneland in April 2024. Her next three starts came against Thorpedo Anna, the 2024 Horse of the Year to whom she finished second in the Grade 1 Acorn, but to whom she was soundly defeated on two wet tracks.
Following a fourth-place finish to Thorpedo Anna in last year’s Coaching Club American Oaks, Leslie’s Rose was given a break with the idea of returning for a 4-year-old campaign. A narrow defeat in the Grade 3 Vagrancy in May was followed by Leslie’s Rose being eased in the slop in the Phipps. The fear of wet weather – it can rain any time at Saratoga, can’t it? – led trainer Todd Pletcher to cross-enter Leslie’s Rose in Saturday’s $500,000 Molly Pitcher at Monmouth Park, though he was hopeful of staying home.
“We were happy to see dry conditions and it turned out to be a terrific day weather-wise,” Pletcher said. “This time of year, you worry about, like last time, a pop-up storm 30 minutes before the race. It kind of compromises her chances, so we’re happy to have it work out today.”
The race shape also worked out the way Pletcher and Ortiz thought it would. Dazzling Move and Malibu Beauty, breaking from posts 6 and 7, were the speed and they went. Leslie’s Rose actually broke on top, but Ortiz reined her in to sit third, never more than 1 1/2 lengths off the pace.
“I want to break running and I want to have, at most, two horses in front of me, and it worked out beautifully because those two horses go outside and I ended up right where I wanted,” Ortiz said. “From there, I take my time and it worked out great. The filly was ready when I asked her.”
Leslie’s Rose, a daughter of Into Mischief owned by Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm, covered the 1 1/8 miles over a fast track in 1:50.77 and returned $10.40 as the second choice. For Pletcher, it was his record sixth victory in the Shuvee, a mark he previously shared with fellow Hall of Fame trainer H. Allen Jerkens.
Raging Sea, last year’s Shuvee winner, was coming off a third-place finish in the Phipps. Trainer Chad Brown was expecting a bounce-back performance Friday, but Raging Sea, under Flavien Prat, was last until going into the far turn, and though she managed third, she was beaten 13 1/2 lengths.
“She just was flat today. She was off the bridle and not involved,” trainer Chad Brown said. “I was surprised she was that flat today. He was asking, trying to stay closer, but he couldn’t. Go back to the drawing board with her.”
Pletcher said Leslie’s Rose would target the Grade 1, $500,000 Personal Ensign here on Aug. 23, the expected next target of Thorpedo Anna.
Here’s hoping it doesn’t rain.
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