SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — The France-bred Elusive Princess made a successful U.S. debut Friday, enjoying the soggy Saratoga sod and overcoming a wider-than-hoped-for stretch run to win the Grade 3, $400,000 Saratoga Oaks by 3 1/4 lengths. American Sonja, a Great-Britain-bred in from Ireland, held off the Irish-bred, but U.S.-based Papilio, by a half-length for second in a race run under rainy conditions and over a turf course labeled soft. Conditions deteriorated after the Saratoga Oaks to the point where the final four races on the card - including the Grade 2, $500,000 National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Stakes - were canceled. The Hall of Fame, for 3-year-olds on turf, will be rescheduled for Aug. 11. Elusive Princess had run well on soft turf in Europe, winning three of seven starts, finishing second in a pair of Group stakes and a good fifth in the Group 1 French Oaks in June. :: DRF's 2023 Saratoga headquarters: Previews, past performances, picks, recaps, news, and more. “She’s very good on the soft, she’s very good on the firm, she’s a special filly,” said Hubert Guy, of Bloodstock Management Services who helped broker a deal in May to the U.S.-based connections LNJ Foxwoods. LNJ Foxwoods, the racing operation of Larry, Nanci, and Jaime Roth, own the filly along with other interests including Jean-Phillippe Dubois, who trained Elusive Princess in France and the trainer of record Friday. Elusive Princess will remain in the U.S. and be transferred to Maryland-based trainer Arnaud Delacour. Elusive Princess had shown a strong turn of foot in her three most recent starts. The soggy conditions Friday didn’t deter her from showing it again under Flavien Prat. Friday, after saving ground in sixth position, just four lengths off the pace-setting Selenaia, Prat moved Elusive Princess toward the outside around the far turn and into the lane. Elusive Princess was pushed further out when American Sonja, under Oisin Murphy came out, carrying Papilio, ridden by Javier Castellano, out and forcing Prat to go wider still. But Elusive Princess had plenty of momentum and floated over the turf in the final furlong to win in hand. “The two horses in front of me really shift out but it ended up fine, I was actually on the good ground so I was okay with it,” Prat said. “I was going to go outside, I end up being a lot wider than I thought. She handled it really well. She won on soft in Europe. I’m really pleased to win for Mr. Dubois, he knows me since I was a kid.” Elusive Princess covered the 1 3/16 miles over soft ground in 1:57.08 and returned $4.70 to win. She earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure. Though there was no official inquiry, the stewards did talk to both Murphy and Castellano about the stretch drive. Murphy rode American Sonja after his scheduled mount, Aspen Grove, scratched to run in Saturday’s Grade 1 Saratoga Derby. Murphy said he was looking for the best ground in the stretch. “On soft ground I imagine the best place to be is the center of the track and Javier didn’t seem to have any complaints,” Murphy said. “[American Sonja] ran very well, that’s probably a career-best on paper so you’d have to be very happy.” Papilio finished 6 3/4 lengths in front of Caroline Street. The second- and fourth-place finishers are trained by Joseph O’Brien. “American Sonja ran a huge race, second is a big run,” O’Brien said. “Caroline Street, Tyler [Gaffalione] just felt her wheels were spinning a little bit on the turf.” Behind Caroline Street in the order of finish were Strikingly Spun, Xigeria, Allamericanbeauty, Selenaia, Solo Album, and Honor D Lady. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.