Inimitable Romanee tries to rebound
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – With graded stakes wins at Gulfstream and Keeneland earlier this year, Inimitable Romanee appeared on her way to becoming a significant player in the older filly and mare marathon turf division.
Then came the Grade 2 New York Stakes at Belmont Park on June 28 when Inimitable Romanee finished last of six.
Inimitable Romanee will attempt to rebound from that effort on Sunday when she heads a full field for the $100,000 Waya Stakes going 1 1/2 miles at Saratoga. Sixteen were entered – including one for the main track only – but only 12 will be permitted to run.
“I don’t know why Inimitable didn’t run well last time – I didn’t know what to make of that,” said trainer Graham Motion. “That’s a complete head-scratcher. I kind of backed off her a little bit, we gave her a break and pointed for that race, and she never really ran a lick, which is unlike her.”
Motion is concerned about Inimitable Romanee having to carry top weight of 123 pounds, spotting weight two to eight pounds to the rest of the field, including his other entrant, Concise. She finished a troubled third in the Grade 3 Robert G. Dick Memorial at Delaware Park last out.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 8 Inimitable Romanee. Trainer Graham Motion is 12 for 40 with at $5.99 ROI over the past five years with horses making their second start off a layoff in a turf route of 10 furlongs or longer.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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“I thought quite a lot of her last year, she’s legit,” Motion said. “She didn’t have a great trip in the Robert Dick.”
Motion has a third horse, Auld Alliance, three deep on the also-eligible list. She was eighth in the Robert Dick.
Trainer Christophe Clement entered four in the Waya, including Lady Cohiba in case the race moves to the dirt.
On firm ground, Clement said he would run Levanto and Cushion, if the latter is able to draw in. On soft ground, he would run Tabreed, who finished eighth in the Grade 3 Modesty at Arlington last month, her first start since finishing second to Inimitable Romanee in last November’s Long Island.
“She ran all right,” Clement said of Tabreed. “She was way off the pace, there was no pace, and she finished well. Unfortunately, the horses in front of her didn’t get tired.”
Key Contenders
Inimitable Romanee (Last 3 Beyers: 74-93-83)
◗ She is a three-time graded stakes winner since being stretched out beyond 10 furlongs in distance.
◗ While winless in four starts at Saratoga, she has two seconds and two thirds in races here at shorter distances.
◗ Trainer Graham Motion won eight stakes races in July, two at Saratoga.
Concise (Last 3 Beyers: 89-85-83)
◗ She was a troubled third in the 12-horse Robert G. Dick.
◗ Ran two good races over this course last summer when she first arrived from Europe.
◗ Versatile enough to be on the lead or come from off it.
Tabreed (Last 3 Beyers: 81-86-90)
◗ Made up nine lengths behind slow pace in Grade 3 Modesty at Arlington, her first start in eight months.
◗ Would prefer soft ground to firm.Fitful Skies (Last 3 Beyers 87-87-98)
◗ Her race at Woodbine last fall, when beaten a head in the Grade 1 E. P. Taylor, would put her right in the mix here.
◗ Was fourth in Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay, a race in which rider Irad Ortiz Jr. took her back while Riposte won the race on the lead.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 7 Fitful Skies. Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin has 0 winners in 10 starts over the past five years with horses returning in a turf route of at least 11 furlongs after a layoff of 45 days or longer. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan