Things are going so well these days for trainer Graham Motion, he’s willing to take another swing at the Grade 1 Diana Stakes, a race that has given him fits going back 35 years. Motion on Sunday entered Mission of Joy in Saturday’s $500,000 Diana at Saratoga. The Diana, scheduled for 1 1/8 miles on turf, is a race that Motion has coveted since 1989, when the Jonathan Sheppard-trained Wooing, a 32-1 shot for whom Motion was the exercise rider, was disqualified from first for interference. As a trainer, Motion has started 14 horses in 13 editions of the Diana. He has finished second in the race six times - including three losses by a head, one by a nose and one by a neck. In 2020, Mean Mary was beaten a neck by Rushing Fall. That was the last time Motion ran in the Diana, but now Motion is game to give it a try. “When things are going well it’s easy to make those decisions, right?” Motion said. Over the last two months, things have gone extremely well for Motion. Since May 1, Motion has won 25 races from 79 starters. He has won five stakes, including last Saturday’s Grade 1 Belmont Derby with Trikari, who actually started Motion’s good run with a victory in the Grade 2 American Turf at Churchill Downs. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Mission of Joy narrowly missed being part of Motion’s recent run of success when she finished third, beaten a half-length, in the Grade 1 Just a Game at Saratoga on June 7. That race was at a mile. “She got carried wide on the last turn,” Motion said. “A couple of more jumps and she’s there. Maybe a mile is a little quick for her, maybe she’ll appreciate the mile and an eighth. To me, she seems like she’s in great form, better than she’s been in and I think she’s a legitimate Grade 1 horse, so I think we have to go.” Mission of Joy, a daughter of Kitten’s Joy, was a two-time stakes winner at 3, winning the Grade 3 Florida Oaks at Tampa Bay and Grade 3 Regret at Churchill Downs. Prior to her defeat in the Just a Game, Mission of Joy finished fourth in the Grade 2 Distaff Turf Mile behind the Chad Brown trio of Chili Flag, Coppice and Delahaye. Many of Motion’s tough beats in the Diana came courtesy of Brown, who has won the Diana seven of the last eight years and eight times overall. Brown entered five horses in Saturday’s Diana, including last year’s winner Whitebeam, Grade 1 Just a Game winner Chili Flag, multiple graded stakes winner Fluffy Socks, the Grade 1 winner Gina Romantica and Coppice. Didia and Neecie Marie, the one-two finishers in the Grade 1 New York at Saratoga, are in the Diana as is  Canada’s 2023 Horse of the Year Moira and Evvie Jets. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.