SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – A nose separated Eclatant and Grand Job when they finished first and second in the Grade 1 Madison Stakes at Keeneland on April 4. The outcome was a milestone victory for Eclatant and a tough loss for Grand Job. They were six lengths clear of the remaining six runners. Two months later, Eclatant has yet to start again, while Grand Job has an excellent chance for her second career graded stakes win in Friday’s Grade 2 Bed o’ Roses Stakes at seven furlongs for fillies and mares at Saratoga. Grand Job, trained by Bill Mott for the partnership of Bell Tower Thoroughbreds, Medallion Racing, and Mark Stanton, won the Grade 2 Inside Information Stakes at Gulfstream Park in January. In that $200,000 race at seven furlongs, Grand Job was near the front throughout and won by 2 3/4 lengths. :: DRF Belmont Stakes Packages: Save big on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. A similar trip is highly likely in the $300,000 Bed o’ Roses. “By the looks of it to me, it doesn’t look like there is a lot of speed in there,” Mott said. Junior Alvarado, who has ridden Grand Job to three of her four wins in the United States, has the mount on Friday. Grand Job stalked a quick pace in the $629,357 Madison and led by a half-length in the stretch before being caught at the finish. “She ran a super race. She ran a winning race, just didn’t win,” Mott said. “It was unfortunate she didn’t get there. It was a very good effort.” Grand Job will need another very good effort to win the Bed o’ Roses, the first of five graded stakes on a 14-race program. Grand Job must contend with a threat from Ways and Means, a three-time graded stakes winner trained by Chad Brown. The other runners in the race are the stakes winners Praying, Scalable, and Vincey Girl, as well as the Brown-trained Senza Parole, who was second after a troubled trip in an allowance at Keeneland in April. Praying finished fourth in the Madison. :: Bet the Belmont Stakes with confidence! Betting Strategies by Mike Beer and David Aragona feature exclusive wager recommendations! Ways and Means won the Bed o’ Roses by 7 3/4 lengths at 1-2 odds last June but did not start again for the rest of the year because of illnesses. An intended start in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Del Mar failed to materialize. “To give her a chance to reach 100 percent health, we had to completely stop and abandon the Breeders’ Cup, which was hard to do,” Brown said. “She kept having a lingering illness. I had to do a total reset. I have a patient owner in Seth Klarman. We had planned to keep her in training at age 5 anyway.” Ways and Means has won two of three starts at seven furlongs at Saratoga, including a win in the Grade 1 Test Stakes in 2024 and a second in the Grade 1 Spinaway Stakes as a 2-year-old in 2023. Ways and Means resumed workouts in Florida in early March. In her lone start this year, Ways and Means finished second by two lengths to R Disaster in the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff at seven furlongs at Churchill Downs on May 2. R Disaster, who has not raced since the Derby City Distaff, led throughout. “The winner is nice,” Brown said. “The track was favoring speed, it seemed.” Since the $923,000 Derby City Distaff, Ways and Means has had three workouts at Saratoga, including a half-mile in 48.60 seconds last Saturday. “She got a lot out of” the Derby City Distaff, Brown said. “I’m very pleased with how she is training.” Ways and Means closed from fourth of five in the Derby City Distaff. At times in her career, she has been closer to the front in the opening furlongs and carried that momentum to wins. A similar run in the Bed o’ Roses could lead to a fascinating duel with Grand Job. :: Get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports straight from the morning workouts. Available each race day at Saratoga.