Nonna Madeline wins race-long battle with Golden Award in Summer Colony Stakes
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Only five horses went postward – three from the barn of trainer Todd Pletcher – in Wednesday’s $85,000 Summer Colony Stakes at Saratoga. In the end, the nine-furlong Summer Colony turned out to be little more than a match race between Pletcher’s Nonna Madeline and trainer Bill Mott’s Golden Award, with Nonna Madeline edging away down the stretch to a 1 1/4-length victory in the restricted overnight stakes for older fillies and mares.
Stretching out to 1 1/8 miles for the first time, Nonna Madeline, under Irad Ortiz Jr., showed her early speed, as expected, but wound up stalking the pace of Golden Award, who took command nearest the rail in the run to the clubhouse turn. The two leaders remain locked in battle the remainder of the way while never threatened by the others, with Nonna Madeline sticking her head in front in early stretch before ultimately edging clear through the final furlong.
Bellera, who raced in perfect striking position but retreated during the final quarter-mile, and Always Shopping finished third and fourth, respectively, for Pletcher. The slow-starting Bossy Bride checked home fifth and last.
Teresa Viola Racing Stables and St. Elias Stable own Nonna Madeline, a 4-year-old Candy Ride filly who ran second in the Grade 3 Schuylerville here as a 2-year-old. She completed the distance over a fast track in 1:49.13 and returned $4.30 after being bet to favoritism over Golden Award just before the field left the gate.
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“I didn’t anticipate they would go that fast. It sort of turned into a match race up front, and I’m proud of her for digging in and finding more the first time going a mile and one-eighth,” Pletcher said. “She was coming out of some faster races, so we anticipated we’d be close, but sometimes you can have a plan but you’re not sure what everyone else’s plans are. It was a big effort from Nonna Madeline, and nice to see her get a stakes win.”
As for the future, Pletcher said, “I looked at this race hoping to get that stakes win for her and now that we’ve got that, we can be a little more ambitious.”