Free as a Bird overcomes slow start to capture Caress

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The trip may not have worked out quite like trainer Ian Wilkes had scripted, but the ending surely did, as Free as a Bird overcome some early trouble and finished full of run to run down Jewel of a Cat and Madame Giry to capture Friday’s $100,000 Caress Stakes at Saratoga.

Wilkes, who trains the homebred Free as a Bird for owner Elizabeth Valando, expected his filly to be a little closer to the pace than she wound up after breaking a step tardy in the 5 1/2-furlong Caress. Jockey Joel Rosario had to ease Free as a Bird back in traffic during the opening quarter-mile, and then angled her well to the outside to find clearance at the top of the stretch. But Free as a Bird proved equal to the task, charging down the center of the course to run down the leaders in late stretch en route to a three-quarter length decision over Jewel of the Cat. Madame Giry finished another neck back in third.

The win was the third in a row for Free as a Bird, a daughter of Hard Spun who also captured a pair of overnight stakes sprinting this spring at Belmont Park.

Free as a Bird completed the distance in 1:01.98 over a good turf course and returned $5.40 as the favorite in a field of 10 fillies and mares.

“She broke a little slower and got a little further back than I thought she would be,” said Wilkes. “I think she’s very comfortable with horses in front of her. You just have to have confidence in the filly. She’s been doing extremely well and I think this year, she’s really stepped her game up as a 5-year-old. You learn something every time she runs, and she’s shown she’s not one dimensional. She can lie close and win, or come from well out of it like she did today. It just depends on the pace.”

Wilkes said he will point Free as a Bird to the $100,000 Smart N Fancy Stakes, to be decided under similar conditions on the turf here on Aug. 25.