Barbara Hunter’s homebred Keertana, winner of three in a row including the last two in stakes company, leads an evenly-matched field of eight 3-year-old fillies who will take to the Saratoga turf for the $150,000 Lake Placid Stakes (gr. IIT) Aug. 21.
Keertana and Mary's Follies, winner of Monmouth Park’s Boling Springs Stakes (gr. IIIT) in June and runner-up in the Lake George (gr. IIIT) July 31 at Saratoga, will each carry top weight of 120 pounds in the nine-furlong event. Casanova Move was entered for main track only. Post time is set for 4:56 p.m. EDT.
Keertana, a daughter of Johar—Motokiks, by Storm Cat, has finished in the money in all seven of her starts since breaking her maiden last fall on Arlington Park’s Polytrack, winning four of them. The Tom Proctor trainee has been flawless in her last three, beginning with an allowance score on the Churchill Downs grass in May. She then won her stakes debut in the $150,000 Regret Stakes (gr. IIIT) over the same course in June, and most recently scored by three parts of a length in the Indiana Downs Distaff June 6 going a mile at Indiana Downs.
Jose Lezcano will be aboard Keertana for the first time. They will break from post 5.
Paul Pompa Jr.’s Mary’s Follies has also been a model of consistency thus far, hitting the board in all seven starts. Previously trained by John Forbes when winning the June 27 Boiling Springs, she finished runner-up by four lengths in the main track Lake George in her first start for Dutrow.
A daughter of More Than Ready, Mary’s Follies made her turf debut in the Boiling Springs. Ramon Dominguez will have the call.
A wild card in the Lake Placid is Irish-bred Miss Keller, who makes her American debut after being recently purchased by Three Chimneys Racing and transferred into the bard of Roger Attfield. The bay filly won two of seven starts in Ireland, including the 1 5/16-mile E.B.F. Coolmore Stud Ulster Oaks Filly Handicap June 21 at Down Royal while beating 13 others.
“I’ve seen videos of her races, and (former trainer) John Oxx has talked to me about her,” Attfield said. “She’s a small filly, very compact. I know very little about her.”
Sagamore Farm’s Shared Account and Whitewood Stable’s Katara, second and third, respectively, in the Virginia Oaks (gr. IIIT) over soft ground July 18 at Colonial Downs, also are entered.
Shared Account, by Pleasantly Perfect, lost the Virginia Oaks by just a head after a strong stretch run. Edgar Prado will ride for Graham Motion.
Katara was 2 1/4 lengths back in that race after romping by seven in allowance company the previous month at Delaware Park. Trainer Michael Matz believes the daughter of Pulpit “just needs something with a little distance.”
Trainer Bill Mott will send out Lyon Stables’ Kiddari, a daughter of Smarty Jones making her first start on the turf after finishing fourth sprinting on dirt in a restricted stakes race July 15 at Belmont Park.
“She worked well here the other day (five furlongs in 1:00 around the dogs on the Oklahoma training track’s turf course, the second best of 21 works),” Mott said of Kiddari, who won her previous two starts before the stakes defeat. “She’s been running well. We’re just trying to figure out where she belongs; distance and everything else.”
My Magic Moment, who ran fifth in the Boiling Springs, and Consequence, fourth in the Lake George, are also in the mix.
$150,000 Lake Placid (gr. IIT, Race 8, 4:56 p.m.), 3YO Fillies, 1 1/8 Miles (Turf) PP. Horse, Jockey, Weight, Trainer 1. Miss Keller (IRE), K J Desormeaux, 116, R L Attfield
2. Katara (KY), A Garcia, 116, M R Matz
3. Consequence (KY), J R Velazquez, 118, C R McGaughey III
4. Shared Account (KY), E S Prado, 116, H G Motion
5. Keertana (KY), J Lezcano, 120, T F Proctor
6. Mary's Follies (KY), R A Dominguez, 120, R E Dutrow, Jr.
7. My Magic Moment (NY), R Maragh, 118, T Albertrani
8. Kiddari (KY), S Bridgmohan, 116, W I Mott
Also Eligible:
9. Casanova Move, (VA), (MTO), 116, T A Pletcher
