SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Though the composition of the field changed some when it was re-drawn, Leeloo still looks like the horse to beat in Friday’s $125,000 Union Avenue Stakes at Saratoga. Originally scheduled for Aug. 9, the Union Avenue, a six-furlong race for New York-bred females, was postponed by one week after that day’s card was canceled due to heavy rain. The $125,000 Evan Shipman for New York-bred males, also scheduled for Aug. 9, was rescheduled for Sunday. Leeloo was going to be heavily favored last week in the Union Avenue when her main rival, Kant Hurry Love, was scratched due to a foot issue. Leeloo had finished second to Kant Hurry Love in the Dancin Renee at Aqueduct on June 23 when she ran into some traffic in the stretch under Joel Rosario. Once in the clear, Leeloo came with a late run that fell three-quarters of a length short. “He tried to go inside, then he said he had to go around,” said Ignacio “Nacho” Correas IV, trainer of Leeloo. :: Gain a competitive edge at Saratoga with DRF's premier handicapping data — purchase our meet packages today and bet with confidence. Leeloo was assigned post 4 when the race was originally drawn. She will now leave from post 7 under Jose Ortiz. “I think it’s a good draw for her. He [Ortiz] can see what they’re doing a little bit,” Correas said. The re-drawn Union Avenue features two new players – Twisted Temper and Majestic Return – who weren’t originally in the field. Twisted Temper is coming off a second-level allowance win against New York-breds on Aug. 2. That win came when trainer Jeremiah Englehart ran back in two weeks, the same time frame in which she is running back Friday. “We were either going to run her back in an open-company a-other-than which here could be very tough, or run her back in a New York-bred stakes which we wouldn’t have another option until October,” Englehart said. “We were able to buy ourselves another week and she came out of the race so well, so let’s see how she handles it.” With Irad Ortiz Jr. serving a three-day suspension that ends Friday, Flavien Prat has picked up the mount on Tricky Temper, who breaks from post 4. Majestic Return, trained by Michelle Giangiulio, is also new to this field. She chased the pacesetting Kant Hurry Love and faded to fourth in the Dancin Renee. She has enough speed to be part of the early pace. Security Code, fifth in the Dancin Renee, has a solid record of 2-2-0 from four starts at Saratoga, which gives trainer Phil Serpe some confidence going into this race. Serpe is also the trainer of record for Cousin Kristi, who was previously trained by Cam Gambolati. Cara’s Time, third in the same open allowance race in which Tricky Temper finished sixth, and Parx shipper Captainsdaughter, sixth in the Dancin Renee, complete the field. The Union Avenue goes as race 9 on an 11-race card that includes the $150,000 Skidmore for 2-year-old turf sprinters and begins at 1:10 p.m. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.