Lukas notches seventh Adirondack triumph with Naughty Gal

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Despite bearing out wide off the turn and finishing out past the middle of the racetrack, Naughty Gal gave trainer D. Wayne Lukas his record-setting seventh victory in the Grade 3, $200,000 Adirondack Stakes, pulling away to a convincing 2 1/2-length decision over Janis Joplin in the dash for 2-year-old fillies on Sunday at Saratoga.

Promise of Hope, the 5-2 second choice in the Adirondack lineup, prompted the early pace before beginning to ease up midway on the turn. She was ultimately pulled up in early stretch by jockey Jose Ortiz and vanned off. Trainer Tom Amoss reported later that Promise of Hope was sound back at the barn, noting that Ortiz thought “he felt something in behind when she switched leads, and wanted to be cautious.”

Naughty Gal set the early pace slightly removed from the rail under jockey Luis Saez while prompted by Apple Picker. Naughty Gal shook free on the final bend, bore out to the middle of the track entering the stretch, was joined by Janis Joplin near midstretch before accelerating away to prove much the best despite continuing to drift out a bit farther to the wire.

Janis Joplin advanced outside Apple Picker nearing the quarter pole, angled down to the rail while engaging Naughty Gal for the lead near midstretch but proved no match while holding off Sabra Tuff by a head to prove second-best.

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Naughty Gal, a daughter of Into Mischief, was an easy 9 1/4-length maiden winner in her previous start, at Churchill Downs. Trained by Lukas for Holy Cow Stable LLC, she completed 6 1/2 furlongs over a fast track in 1:18.97 and returned $4.90.

When asked what it meant to win his seventh Adirondack, Lukas replied, “It means I’m old and I’ve outlasted all the other guys. But I’m really proud, like you should be any time you win one of these races.”

Lukas said he did get a little worried when he saw Naughty Gal start drifting to the middle of the racetrack coming out of the turn.

“The first thing I thought was what the hell is he (Saez) doing out there,” Lukas said. “Luis made the comment in the paddock he didn’t want to be on the rail, that the rail wasn’t the place to be. I think he started her out there to get to the better part of the racetrack and she reacted too much. But fortunately she had the class to carry on.”

Lukas, whose Summer Promise finished second as the 6-5 favorite in the Grade 3 Schuylerville on opening day, said that filly would likely be pointed to the Grade 1 Spinaway on Sept. 4 with Naughty Gal heading to either the Grade 3 Pocahontas at Churchill Downs on Sept. 17 or the Grade 1 Alcibiades at Keeneland on October 7.

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