Classic Q Gate To Wire In The Wild Applause

[Wandering Eyes]

Having beat older horses in an allowance at Churchill downs in course record time Apr. 30, Classic Q stepped up to contest the 1 1/8-mile GIII Regret Stakes but faded from the lead as the favorite when last seen May 31. Dropped back to the flat mile Thursday, the 8-5 favorite put in a stellar effort to earn her first black type win in the Wild Applause on the opening day of the July 4th Racing Festival at Saratoga. Sent to the lead just as she was in the Regret under Jose Ortiz, Classic Q gunned it from the outside in a duel with Lavender Disaster into the first turn. The pair opened up several lengths back to the rest of the field before Lavender Disaster backed up, letting Classic Q go solo up front through fractions of :23.34 and :46.46. Still needing to be caught at the quarter pole, the leader had a host of challengers making bids led by Play With Fire who was set down inside the final furlong. But Classic Q had something left and was able to keep her rival from getting by to earn the win.

“I was good with the first one [opening fraction], not so good with the second one,” admitted winning trainer Mark Casse. “Then honestly, at about maybe the half-mile pole, I was a little concerned because it looked like they were coming to her, but he [Jose Ortiz] had something in reserve. She was a different horse today. At Churchill, she was just a mess. Today, she was calm and obviously the mile is pretty good for her.”

The 25th stakes winner for Classic Empire, Classic Q is out of Lovely Em who last sold at KEENOV last year for $38,000. This is her second stakes runner joining Untapable Stakes runner up Copper Em (Copper Bullet) who just sold through the Fasig-Tipton May Digital Sale for $44,000. Lovely Em has a 2-year-old Mo Town filly who was exported to Saudi Arabia and reported a Vekoma filly this year.

WILD APPLAUSE S., $150,000, Saratoga, 7-3, 3yo, f, 1mT, 1:33.21, fm.
1–CLASSIC Q, 120, f, 3, by Classic Empire
          1st Dam: Lovely Em, by Scat Daddy
          2nd Dam: Milagra, by Maria's Mon
          3rd Dam: Tatiani, by Fappiano
($40,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O-Hugh
Dailey, Gary Barber and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners;
B-Winning Bloodstock (KY); T-Mark E. Casse; J-Jose L. Ortiz.
$82,500. Lifetime Record: 7-3-0-0, $218,285. *1/2 to Copper
Em (Copper Bullet), SP, $276,741.
2–Play With Fire, 120, f, 3, Oscar Performance–Streaming Fire,
by Street Sense. ($85,000 2yo '24 OBSMAR). O-LSU Stables;
B-Lothenbach Stables Inc (MN); T-Chad C. Brown. $30,000.
3–Lavender Disaster, 120, f, 3, Into Mischief–Cafe Americano,
by Medaglia d'Oro. 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Peter M. Brant;
B-White Birch Farm, Inc. (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $18,000.
Margins: HF, 1 3/4, 5HF. Odds: 1.65, 2.65, 2.65.
Also Ran: Fixin to Bee, Midway Memories, Love and Poetry. Scratched: Especially, Ruth. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

 

Classic Q takes the Wild Applause S. at Saratoga for trainer @markecasse with @jose93_ortiz aboard! pic.twitter.com/1yDU5ZFtSo

— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) July 3, 2025

The post Classic Q Gate To Wire In The Wild Applause appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

View the full article