Clement pair should handle distance in Glens Falls
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – There are plenty of questions to be answered in Sunday’s $150,000 Glens Falls Handicap, among them the prospective pace scenario and the ability of several top contenders to maintain their form while stretching out around three turns for the first time.
But one thing is certain: Trainer Christophe Clement will bring a couple of proven 5-year-old stayers to the table for the Grade 3 Glens Falls, with neither Aigue Marine nor Irish Mission likely to have any problem getting 1 3/8 miles over the inner turf course.
Irish Mission certainly is the class of the field, having banked more than $1 million in her career. She earned the majority of that swag as a 3-year-old from victories in the Woodbine Oaks and against males in Woodbine’s Breeders’ Stakes later that summer. She also finished second at 3 in the Queen’s Plate. Irish Mission was transferred from trainer Mark Frostad to Clement this season and is coming off second-place finishes in the two-mile Belmont Gold Cup, in which she again was pitted against males, and Monmouth Park’s Grade 3 Matchmaker.
Aigue Marine also is in good form, having won Delaware Park’s R.G. Dick Memorial at about 1 3/8 miles in her last start. She also was second earlier in the campaign in Keeneland’s Bewitch and Gulfstream Park’s The Very One, both Grade 3 races.
“Both our horses should have no problem getting the distance,” said Clement. “This kind of race is all about the trip. That’s why I’m delighted to have John Velazquez and Irad Ortiz on my horses since both are riding very well at the moment.”
Ortiz will be aboard Aigue Marine for the first time since the pair combined to win the Grade 3 Long Island Handicap almost two years ago, while Velazquez has the call on Irish Mission.
Cat’s Claw and Viva Rafaela, first and second in the 1 1/2-mile Waya Stakes earlier this month, also are proven around three turns, while Watsdachances, Emotional Kitten, and Baffle Me must show they can handle the added ground.
Key contenders
Irish Mission (Last 3 Beyers: 94-92-88)
* She seems to be improving with each start since joining the Clement stable and has been training well over the Oklahoma turf course for her local debut.
Aigue Marine (Last 3 Beyers: 93-93-86)
* She already has won three times at 1 3/8 miles. Among the rest of the field, only Irish Mission has won a race at that distance.
* Has proven she can adapt to almost any kind of pace scenario.
“Aigue Marine can be placed wherever you want her to be,” said Clement. “My other filly is a little more aggressive and will likely be closer to the pace.”
Cat’s Claw (Last 3 Beyers: 93-84-73)
* She continues to move forward with each start while exiting far and away her best effort yet in the Waya.
* Stretch-running filly figures to get an honest pace to run at again in this field.