Saratoga Notebook, presented by NYRA Bets: La Cara “Perfect” Heading into Next Weekend’s Alabama

[Wandering Eyes]

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse needed a very good reason to miss next weekend's prestigious $1-million Listed King's Plate at Woodbine.

Actually, he has two of them.

Casse will miss Canada's oldest thoroughbred horse race–one has won three times–because he's staying in Saratoga to try and win the $600,000 GI Alabama Stakes for the first time. He will be well represented by La Cara (Street Sense) and Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro) in Saratoga's premier race for 3-year-old fillies.

The King's Plate at Woodbine and Alabama are both being run next Saturday.

La Cara, who has had a up and down summer at Saratoga, had her final Alabama work Friday morning, going four furlongs on the main track in :49.77 (28/52) with regular exercise rider Mary Rose Hitt on board.

“She went perfect,” Casse said outside his barn on the Saratoga backstretch. “She is always that way. The crazy thing is that she could go in 46 and still do it effortlessly. I told Mary to go in about 50 and she went in 49.3 so that is pretty good.”

Hitt has been La Cara's partner all summer. She has also exercised her as a 2-year-old and out in California last year for the Breeders' Cup.

“I love riding her,” Hitt said after the work. “She loves to train; she knows her job and you always know what you're going to get with her. Every work, you are sitting against her the whole time. She always wants to do more.”

La Cara won the GI Acorn Stakes at Saratoga on June 6 and was being pointed to the GI Coaching Club American Oaks on July 19. She was the 8-5 morning-line favorite in that race, but a quarantine placed on her barn because of a case of strangles on another horse put the kybosh on that.

Casse then refocused and pointed La Cara, owned by bred by Tracy Framer, to the Alabama.

“The quarantine was definitely a crazy deal,” Casse said.

La Cara has won three of five starts this year. She also won the GI Ashland. A win in the Alabama would put her squarely in front of the division. She also ran in the GI Kentucky Oaks but tired over the sloppy Churchill Downs strip after setting the pace.

She performed much better on the Saratoga slop in the Acorn when she led from gate-to-wire and won by three lengths.

Casse will have two horses–Ashley's Archer (ON) (Karakontie {Jpn}) and filly No Time (ON) (Not This Time)–in the King's Plate.

“I have to be here,” Casse said about staying for the Alabama. “The Alabama is a race I have been dreaming about since I was a little boy.”

Motion Will be at Colonial Saturday, but will Have an Eye Toward Saratoga

Laurelin | Sarah Andrew

It will be a busy day for trainer Graham Motion Saturday as he has horses running in stakes races at Colonial Downs, Del Mar and Saratoga. He has chosen to be in Virginia where he has horses entered in the GII $500,000 Secretariat Stakes (End of Romance (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}) and GII $500,000 Beverly D. Stakes (Beach Bomb (SAf) (Lancaster Bomber).

At Del Mar, Motion will be represented by Heredia (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}) in the GII, $200,000 Yellow Ribbon Handicap.

He'll also be keeping a close watch on the GII, $500,000 Saratoga Oaks Invitational on the Mellon Turf Course where his undefeated Laurelin (Ire) (Zarak {Fr}) is the headliner.

Owned by Newstead Stables LLC, Laurelin is the 9-5 morning-line favorite in the field of six and will be ridden by Kendrick Carmouche.

Laurelin has won all four of her starts and will be trying the 1 3/16-mile distance for the first time. Her last three wins have come at a mile

“Nothing makes me think that she shouldn't handle it,” Motion said by phone from Virginia Friday afternoon. “Pedigree…the way she trains.”

Laurelin has won three ungraded stakes in her career, the latest being the Penn Oaks at Penn National on June 27. Before that, Motion had toyed with the idea of taking her to England for the Royal Ascot meet.

“I really thought about it, but I kind of got cold feet about it,” he said. “I always thought she was of that quality. Once we did not go to England, I wanted to keep things conservative with races like these in mind for the summer.”

Motion gives credit to trainer Jamie Osborne, who had Laurelin in England and prepared her to come over to the states from the 2023 Goffs Orby Yearling Sale.

When she came to Motion, she showed immediate talent, winning both her starts as a 2-year-old.

“(Osborne) had suggested she was of good quality,” Motion said. “And she really has been a pleasure. She hasn't skipped a beat. We liked her as much as any 2-year-old we had last year, and she has proven to be the real deal.”

Shug Looking for a Million

Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey has never won the GI Arlington Million, which will be run at Colonial Downs for the third straight year following the closing of Arlington Park.

He might have his best chance to get it this year as he is sending two horses to Virginia from his base in Saratoga. Integration (Quality Road), owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing LLC, is the 8-5 morning-line favorite and Magic Cap Stables' Fort Washington (War Front) is 4-1 in the field of eight.

Integration, who will be ridden by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, has won three of four starts at Colonial, but McGaughey said that is not why he shipped the 5-year-old.

“I've had this on my mind for a while,” he said outside his barn at the Oklahoma Training Track Friday morning. “He likes Colonial, but he has run good everywhere.  He has been training good, he is fresh, so let's see what happens.”

Integration has run four times this year without a win. But he has been oh, so close. In his last start, he was defeated by Deterministic (Liam's Map) by a head in the GI Manhattan at Saratoga on June 8. Earlier this year, he lost the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational by a neck to Spirit of St. Louis (Medaglia d'Oro).

For his career, Integration has five wins, four seconds and a third in 14 stats. Last year, he was second in the Arlington Million, losing by 1 3/4 lengths to Nations Pride (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) by 1 3/4 lengths. Nations Pride is running in the GI, $750,000 Sword Dancer at Saratoga Saturday.

“He deserves to win one of these,” McGaughey said of Integration.

McGaughey will stay in Saratoga on Saturday. His son, Reeve, will be in Virginia to saddle the horses.

The post Saratoga Notebook, presented by NYRA Bets: La Cara “Perfect” Heading into Next Weekend’s Alabama appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

View the full article