SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The first time Idiomatic came to New York, a relative unknown in late spring 2023, she returned to Kentucky soundly defeated in the Grade 2 Ruffian Stakes. The second time Idiomatic traveled to New York, she stamped herself as a sensational racehorse, passing established Grade 1 rivals Secret Oath and Nest while winning the Personal Ensign, her first Grade 1, by four lengths. Idiomatic returns a third time to New York as a champion and Breeders’ Cup winner who will be heavily favored Saturday to win the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps Stakes, a Win and You’re In for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.The mare ended her 4-year-old campaign the best older female dirt horse in the world. She might be better now. “I’d say so, yeah. She seems every bit as good or even better than last year based on what we saw up to the La Troienne,” said Brad Cox, who trains Idiomatic for her breeder, Juddmonte Farms. What Cox saw leading up to the La Troienne on May 3 was merely morning training. In the race itself, Idiomatic overcame a tricky trip, pulling away late to win by almost four lengths. She earned a 95 Beyer Speed Figure, on its own a competitive speed figure for the Phipps, but Idiomatic has run considerably faster and had an easy enough comeback that she ought to improve Saturday. :: DRF Belmont Stakes Packages: Save up to 52% on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more That’s bad news for her five rivals in the Phipps, historically a one-turn 1 1/16-mile race at Belmont Park, this year a two-turn, 1 1/8-mile contest – right in Idiomatic’s wheelhouse. The prospect of rain offers no ray of hope for the competition: Idiomatic won the La Troienne in the slop and skipped over a sloppy, sealed surface in the Personal Ensign. Idiomatic breaks from post 5 under Florent Geroux, a good draw that should yield a better trip than she got in the La Troienne. There, Idiomatic drew inside a pace rival, Dorth Vader, who led for much of the race with Idiomatic pinned just behind her along the fence. Four horses raced nearly abreast one another at the three-sixteenths pole; by the eighth pole, Idiomatic had run away from the other three. “It was a bit of an odd-run race,” Cox said. “She’s familiar with Saratoga. She’s set up for a big run.” Randomized set the pace in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff and held on bravely to come within a half-length of Idiomatic. That performance followed blowout wins in the Grade 1 Alabama at Saratoga and the Grade 2 Beldame, her first try with older rivals. On that form, Randomized is Idiomatic’s chief rival, but the filly clunked home a well-beaten second at odds of 1-2 making her 4-year-old debut May 4 in the Ruffian Stakes. “Did I only have her 80 percent going in? Yeah, but she’s still supposed to win that race on paper,” trainer Chad Brown said. Randomized is a compact model, a totally different horse than Idiomatic, who stands about as tall as a racehorse gets. Idiomatic has filled into her lanky frame this year. Randomized looks a lot like the filly she was in 2023 and isn’t likely to change much, Brown said. The Ruffian left Brown concerned. “Her first work back from that was just okay, and I did momentarily think, oof, maybe in the Breeders’ Cup against Idiomatic on the lead, fighting and throwing lefts and rights to the end, maybe I just gutted this horse mentally, and she’s not going to train on. Until her last two works. Now, I’m seeing the horse I ran in the Alabama,” Brown said. Randomized, Joel Rosario back aboard for the first time since the Beldame, drew the rail and has little choice but to come out running. “We’ll play the break,” Brown said. “I’m happy to be on the lead.” Brown’s second horse, Raging Sea, comes into the Phipps on a different trajectory. Raging Sea, by Curlin, struggled to knock out a Grade 3 win during 2023, but her 4-year-old debut, a convincing win in the Doubledogdare at Keeneland, revealed a different horse. “This horse improved a lot, and I wasn’t sure she was going to,” Brown said. “I know she got a great trip at Keeneland, but her race was very good. She’s not a great training horse, so you’d have to have one race to get her into shape. And she does like this track.” :: Bet the Belmont Stakes with confidence! Join DRF Bets and get a $200 deposit match bonus and FREE DRF Past Performances! Pretty Mischievous, champion 3-year-old filly of 2023, made her 4-year-old debut in the La Troienne, and after looming at the quarter pole went flat to finish third, beaten 5 1/4 lengths. Trainer Brendan Walsh had said before the race that the filly would improve for it, and Walsh believes, despite a solid second last fall in the Cotillion, that Pretty Mischievous dislikes a wet track. “I’m a little concerned with the weather,” Walsh said. “I just don’t think she gets over the slop.” Pretty Mischievous won her lone 1 1/8-mile start, the Kentucky Oaks, but a three-length stretch-call lead was down to a neck at the finish. It’s not impossible she’s more miler than route horse. Soul of an Angel, making her first start since being privately purchased and turned over to trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., ran past Randomized to win the Ruffian. Her 98 Beyer was a career-best and fits the Phipps, but Joseph wonders if she can repeat that one-turn mile stretching out. “We wanted to cut her back to one turn. She’s run well going two turns, but she has to prove she can do that against better quality horses,” Joseph said. Tizzy in the Sky aired last out in the Top Flight at Aqueduct. The water Saturday runs much deeper. And the Phipps runs through Idiomatic. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.