Grade 1 winner Fionn returns in allowance
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Fionn, winner of four graded stakes in 2025 including a nose victory over Nitrogen in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks, is set to return from a seven-month layoff in a multi-conditioned allowance turf race going one mile Thursday at Saratoga.
Fionn has not started since she finished sixth as the favorite in the Grade 3 Christophe Clement on Jan. 24 at Gulfstream Park. She is eligible for this race under the condition “nonwinners of $40,000 . . . since Feb. 13.”
Her success last year came at distances beyond the one mile this race offers.
“Need a run, distance isn’t ideal,” trainer Brad Cox said.
Fionn went 6 for 8 as a 3-year-old filly, winning the Grade 3 Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs as well as the Grade 3 Regret at Churchill Downs and the Grade 3 Jockey Club Oaks at Aqueduct. She had 10 weeks off before finishing sixth in the Clement in lone start this year.
“Needed a break, ran her at Gulfstream, that didn’t work out,” Cox said. “Just freshened her up. We’ll get a run into her, not sure where we’ll go from here.”
There are several options for Fionn at Kentucky Downs, including the Ladies Turf at one mile and Ladies Turf Marathon Invitational at 1 5/16 miles.
Meanwhile, Cox said that Kentucky Belle came out of her victory in Friday’s Grade 2 Saratoga Oaks well and will likely be pointed to the $2 million Dueling Grounds Oaks on Sept. 9.
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