Motion barn takes aim at Spa stakes

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Graham Motion will be well represented in several upcoming stakes at Saratoga, including both graded events next weekend for 2-year-olds.

Motion will run Lookout Sister in the Grade 2 Adirondack for 2-year-old fillies on Saturday and Mid Life Crisis in Sunday’s Grade 2 Saratoga Special for colts and geldings.

Both horses were debut winners at Delaware Park in July, and both worked Saturday at Saratoga, going five furlongs in 1:01.77 in company with each other. Lookout Sister made up about a length in the drill.

“I brought them up here with the idea of running them, and they didn’t show me anything this morning to deter me from doing it,” Motion said. “I was happy with the way they did it.”

Lookout Sister, a daughter of Giant’s Causeway, came from off the pace to win her debut by 1 3/4 lengths on July 18. Two days later, Mid Life Crisis, by Congrats, went gate to wire.

“Both of these horses have been very professional since the day I had them,” Motion said. “They both won that way. He showed speed, she seemed a little more tractable. They’ve both done everything right since I had them.”

Motion will also run Miss Temple City in Friday’s Grade 2, $300,000 Lake Placid Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on turf.

Miss Temple City, a two-time stakes winner in the U.S. earlier this year, went to Royal Ascot and finished fourth, beaten two lengths, in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes on June 19.

“This has been my plan since she came back; I thought two months was long enough,” Motion said. “It’s a little bit of a tougher trip coming back from England than it was going there, but it all went smoothly. She’s actually done great since she ran.”

On Friday, Miss Temple City worked four furlongs in 49 seconds over the Oklahoma turf course.