Feel Glorious scores in Winter Memories, Saratoga Treasure upsets Autumn Days

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Feel Glorious ended her 3-year-old campaign basically how it began – with a stakes victory at Aqueduct.

In Saturday’s $150,000 Winter Memories Stakes, Feel Glorious rallied from last under Junior Alvarado, got an opening along the rail in upper stretch and outfinished stablemate Sorrentina Lemon to win by three-quarters of a length. The first- and second-place finishers are both trained by Christophe Clement. It was 2 1/4 lengths back to Atomic Blonde in third.

Feel Glorious ended a five-race losing streak dating back to April when she won the Memories of Silver Stakes here in her second start of 2019. Feel Glorious, a Great Britain bred daughter of Bated Breath, is owned by Dean Reeves and Tango Uniform Racing.

Feel Glorious was further back than her connections had planned, but Alvarado never left the rail and was able to guide his filly through a large opening after pacesetting Panther Hit came off the rail above the eighth pole.

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“The plan was to try to be midpack, three lengths or four lengths back, but at the same time I was kind of happy because I thought my filly was traveling well,” said Alvarado, who was also following Shelter Island and John Velazquez, a filly he felt he had to beat. “I got a little worried by the five-sixteenths because I saw Johnny pushing but his filly wasn’t going anywhere. I was just hoping for an opening and it did open.”

Feel Glorious covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.16 over turf labeled yielding and returned $5.40 as the favorite.

Sorrentina Lemon was sixth early and saving ground, but had to rally wide under Rosario, which may have been the difference.

“One got the trip on the inside the other one had to go on the outside or it might have been a little bit different,” said Christophe Lorieul, assistant to Clement. “But as it was both fillies ran great.”

Saratoga Treasure upsets Autumn Days

Trainer David Donk will certainly be upset to see the turf season come to an end in New York.

Donk won his third turf race of the Aqueduct fall meet when Saratoga Treasure rallied from last under the white hot Eric Cancel to upset Saturday’s $125,000 Autumn Days Stakes at 17-1. Saratoga Treasure, who also won here on Nov. 7, rallied wide, made the lead in upper stretch and drew off emphatically to win by 3 1/2 lengths.

In a blanket finish for the minor awards, Rocky Policy got second by a nose over a tough-trip Rose Flower, who was third by a nose over Fire Key, who won this race in 2017. Jc’s Shooting Star, also trained by Donk, Broadway Run, Mentality and Boos completed the order of finish.

For Cancel, the win was his second straight on the card – he won race 3 on longshot Tale of Mist ($42.80) and has ridden seven winners from 21 mounts beginning Nov. 27.

Donk said he was just taking a shot putting Saratoga Treasure in this spot. It was the last turf stakes of the year and he knew she would appreciate some give in the ground.

But watching the race, even Donk was taken aback by how authoritatively Saratoga Treasure won.

“I thought he was moving too soon but he just had too much horse,” Donk said. “She kind of had just been getting there in her allowance races. Obviously, she must have really liked the ground.”

Cancel said Saratoga Treasure did indeed like the yielding turf and he said “I just tried not to get in her way.

“I tried to find the right spot for her and make one big run and everything worked out very, very well,” Cancel added.

Saratoga Treasure, a 4-year-old New York-bred daughter of Treasure Beach owned and bred by Patricia and Frank Generazio, covered six furlongs 1:11.68 and returned $37.80.

Donk said Saratoga Treasure would ship to Ocala, Fla. on Monday for a break before returning for her 5-year-old campaign.