L J's Emma continues strong turf form, upsets Galway

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — A dud on dirt, L J’s Emma has found herself a niche as a turf sprinter. Saturday, she ran her winning streak to three on the grass, running by pacesetting Stone Silent in the final strides to win the $150,000 Galway Stakes by a neck at Saratoga.

It was 3 1/4 lengths back to Isabel Alexandra in third. Love Appeals finished fourth followed by Redifined, who was reported to have bled, Reflexivity, Love Reigns, Beauty of the Sea, My Sweet Affair, and Dream Concert.

As a daughter of Into Mischief and hailing from the family of the graded stakes winner Broken Vow, L J's Emma had the pedigree to be a runner. After L J's Emma showed nothing on dirt in her first two starts, trainer Eddie Kenneally moved her to the turf. L J's Emma finished third in a maiden race at Keeneland before winning her maiden at Churchill and a first-level allowance at Ellis Park.

:: DRF's 2023 Saratoga headquarters: Previews, past performances, picks, recaps, news, and more.

Bringing her to Saratoga for the Galway, Kenneally said he was just looking to finish in the money with L J's Emma, knowing that the multiple stakes winning Love Reigns would be tough to beat.

“We thought she was on the improve, we wanted to take a shot, it’s a good place to showcase a quality filly like this,” Kenneally said. “We weren’t expecting to win it, but we thought we could be competitive.”

Luis Saez got L J's Emma into a cozy inside spot, fifth, about four lengths off the pace, established by Stone Silent, under Ricardo Santana Jr.

Coming to the top of the lane, Saez was able to get L J's Emma off the hedge and four-wide for the stretch drive. Stone Silent wasn’t stopping, though she did bobble for a stride or two in deep stretch.

Saez kept persevering through the lane and was able to get L J's Emma up in the final strides. L J's Emma, owned by John Gaynor, covered the 5 1/2 furlongs over a good Mellon turf course in 1:02.27 and returned $36.20 to win.

“I know she has a big turn of foot,” said Saez, who had ridden L J's Emma twice before on turf. “I feel we have so much horse, we were very comfortable. But at the same time, when we got to the last horse to pass, [Stone Silent] kind of rebroke. We had to really get to work and finally she got it in the last stride.”

Kenneally said watching it live, “I was a little concerned if she was going to get there. She did get there thankfully; she’s all heart.”

Steve Asmussen, the trainer of Stone Silent, wasn’t surprised his filly was clear on the lead. He thought the ground may have gotten away from her a little in the lane.

“It looked like she missed the ground there a couple of times late,” Asmussen said. “When they came to where the gate sat, it looked like she was coming off of it wrong and she was getting a little tired.”

Love Reigns was a huge disappointment, finishing seventh, beaten 5 3/4 lengths.

“She finished a little bit at the end but the first three furlongs of the race she took a long time to get going,” jockey Joel Rosario said. “It just was not her day today.”

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.