Faithful Departed seeks better trip in Saratoga Oaks
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – For trainer Grant Forster, the delight of watching Faithful Departed run so well outweighed the disappointment of her finishing second in last month’s Grade 1 Belmont Oaks at Saratoga.
Shuffled back to last early and then held up while awaiting running room around the far turn, Faithful Departed shot through an opening along the rail in the stretch but couldn’t catch the front-running Kensington Lane as she fell 1 3/4 lengths short.
“A little disappointed to come that close to your first Grade 1 and not getting it, but super proud of her,” Forster said. “She showed she belonged in that caliber of competition, overcame quite a bit of adversity to do it. Definitely more happiness than sad. I’ve had a lot more worse days than running second in a Grade 1.”
Forster hopes Faithful Departed has a slightly better day Friday when she heads a field of eight entered to run in the Grade 2, $500,000 Saratoga Oaks scheduled for 1 3/16 miles over the Mellon turf course. The field includes three fillies who finished behind Faithful Departed in the Belmont Oaks, but does not include Kensington Lane who is scheduled to run in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks on Aug. 22.
Prior to the Belmont Oaks, Faithful Departed had won two straight at Churchill Downs, including the Grade 3 Regret, a race that produced next-out stakes winner Tam Tam. In the Belmont Oaks, there was a bit of a scrum going to the first turn, and Faithful Departed, under Jose Ortiz, found herself out of position. Though Ortiz saved ground for a good part of the trip, he did have to wait for room.
“He could never find anywhere to go,” Forster said. “Fortunately, he saved all the ground, it opened up, and he shot through turning for home, but she never had the opportunity to run until that point. The winner was coasting along on the lead.”
The added distance of the Saratoga Oaks is something Forster believes should favor Faithful Departed.
“The longer the better,” Forster said. “We were excited to get out to a mile and an eighth initially in the Regret. We’re really happy the distances are only increasing.”
In April, Kentucky Belle successfully stretched out to 1 3/16 miles winning a Keeneland allowance over Bless Her, who came back to win her next start at the same distance and who also is entered in the Saratoga Oaks. Kentucky Belle missed an intended start in the Belmont Oaks but has been working steadily for this.
“I like the distance with her, she’s ready to roll,” trainer Brad Cox said. “I think she’s a quality filly who can compete at the graded stakes level.”
Chad Brown sends out a trio in the Oaks, led by Fitz Right, who won the Grade 2 Wonder Again in June to cap a three-race win streak before finishing third in the Belmont Oaks at 1 1/8 miles.
“At the end of the day, I’m not sure she wants to go this far, but with [Kensington Lane] not in there, I felt the race was a little wide open and she has run well on this course, so I figured give it a shot,” Brown said. “If she can work out a little bit of a better trip, maybe I can squeeze an extra sixteenth out of her.”
Consensus View is coming out of a debut win going this distance June 25, and Brown said he wanted to keep her with 3-year-old fillies and did not want to cut her back in distance.
Just Aloof finished seventh in the Belmont Oaks. Brown said the possibility of rain could help this daughter of Justify get back in form if the course is less than firm.
“I do believe she wants give in the ground, she hasn’t had it,” he said.
Imaginationthelady, who won the Grade 2 Edgewood on May 1 at Churchill, disappointed with a sixth-place finish in the Belmont Oaks. Code, third in the Wild Applause on July 3, and Bless Her, an allowance winner July 5 at Colonial, round out the field.
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