SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Three months after bombing as the favorite in the Astoria Stakes, The Queens M G stands on the brink of making history Saturday when she starts in the Grade 1, $300,000 Spinaway Stakes at Saratoga.
Should The Queens M G win the Spinaway, she will become the first 2-year-old filly since Over All in 1987 to sweep the Schuylerville, Grade 3 Adirondack, and Spinaway, the traditional stakes run for juvenile fillies during the summer meet. According to Equibase, Over All is the only filly to have accomplished that feat since 1976. Since then, only eight horses have even participated in all three, the last being Saucy Lady T who finished third in each race in 2021.
Considering The Queens M G finished last as the 2-1 favorite in the Astoria here on June 6 as part of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, it would have been hard to imagine The Queens M G running in all three, no less possibly winning them all.
Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said The Queens M G got bumped twice and possibly lost her air in the Astoria. He said The Queens M G was bought privately after her first race – a maiden win going 4 1/2 furlongs at Keeneland in April – to be an early type 2-year-old. When Joseph ran her in the Schuylerville, he was hoping to finish third or fourth.
“Didn’t think we had any chance of winning,” Joseph said.
In the Schuylerville, The Queens M G got a sweet outside stalking trip and beat Sherbini, who got away slow, by 2 3/4 lengths. Long Neck Paula and Aoraki, third and fifth, respectively, in the Schuylerville, came back to win stakes at Prairie Meadows.
Meanwhile, The Queens M G came back 23 days later to win the Grade 3 Adirondack by nine lengths.
“Both her races had fast pace tempos, if you use Daily Racing Form biases it cited that it favored closers but she was on the pace and she kept going,” Joseph said. “In the Adirondack they said the last furlong was slow but I thought the track was playing pretty dead time-wise. For me, I thought her Adirondack was a lot better race than the Schuylerville.”
Joseph said the fact the Spinaway is a Grade 1 is among the reasons he’s running her back.
“She proved she likes the track, she won the last two,” Joseph said. “And she’s ahead of the company right now, why are we going to let them catch up in that aspect? She’s doing well and if they’re doing well, continue on and hopefully we have enough to be able to get it done again.”
The Queens M G, who has Dylan Davis to ride, will break from post 8 in the 11-horse field.
Between the United States and Canada, trainer Mark Casse has won 35 races for 2-year-olds in 2024, nine of those wins coming at Saratoga. Saturday, he’ll send out Sherbini and the maiden Salted in the Spinaway, a race Casse won in 2019 with Perfect Alibi and in 2016 with Pretty City Dancer.
Casse said after Sherbini handled dirt being kicked back at her to win her debut at Churchill Downs, he was surprised to see her so far back early on in the Schuylerville under Florent Geroux.
“Flo said he couldn’t get her to engage the first part of it. She was way back,” Casse said.
Since that race, celebrity chef Bobby Flay has purchased part interest in Sherbini, a daughter of Cairo Prince who will break from post 2 under Geroux.
Salted, a daughter of Tapit, is a maiden, but Casse felt a bad stumble at the start cost her the win here on July 21 when she finished second to Immersive in a six-furlong maiden race.
“She should have won her last start, she stumbled badly,” Casse said. “Jose [Ortiz] said he went to plan B, he was letting her gallop along and she just started passing horses on her own. He said all of a sudden he thought she may win. We’re treating her like she did win.”
Salted will get Javier Castellano aboard this time.
Immersive, who beat Salted, is back in this spot for trainer Brad Cox and Godolphin. Pondering, also owned by Godolphin but trained by Brendan Walsh, won her debut impressively at Ellis Park on July 22.
Quietside, a daughter of Malibu Moon, won her debut here by 6 1/4 lengths on Aug. 4, earning a field-best Beyer Speed Figure of 80. She is trained by John Ortiz, who won last year’s Spinaway with Brightwork, who will make her seasonal debut in Saturday’s Prioress.
Bellacose, a 10 3/4-length debut winner against New York-breds, is another contender in this deep field. Strong State, second to Sherbini at Churchill, won a maiden auction race restricted to 2-year-olds who sold for failed to reach their reserve of $50,000 or less at their most recent sale.
Reliable Source, Slang, and Tiz Purple complete the field.
The Spinaway goes as race 11 on a 13-race card that begins at 12:05 p.m.
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