Nonna Mela impresses in Adirondack Stakes

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Todd Pletcher continued his dominance of the 2-year-old filly division in New York this summer as Nonna Mela drew off to a very impressive six-length victory over Silvertoni in Friday’s $200,000 Adirondack Stakes at Saratoga.

The Grade 2 Adirondack had originally been scheduled to be run six days earlier but was postponed after heavy rains forced the cancellation of the second half of last Saturday’s program.

Pletcher had already won the first two stakes for juvenile fillies in New York this year in similarly one-sided fashion, the Astoria at Belmont with Bode’s Dream and the Schuylerville here on opening day with Sweet Loretta. They, like Nonna Mela, are owned by the St. Elias Stable of Vincent and Teresa Viola.

Nonna Mela prompted the early pace of Silvertoni under Javier Castellano before easing back off the leader after an opening quarter-mile in 21.81 seconds. Nonna Mela rechallenged for command near the quarter pole, disposed of Silvertoni leaving the furlong grounds, and steadily increased her advantage to the wire. Silvertoni easily outlasted the others, finishing three lengths in front of Olive Branch to be second.

Libby’s Tail, the 3-2 favorite in a field of seven juvenile fillies, and Ever So Clever were major disappointments, both racing within easy striking distance before coming up empty down the stretch.

Nonna Mela, a daughter of Arch, returned $19.80 after completing 6 1/2 furlongs over a fast track in 1:16.83.

“Vinnie and Teresa made the decision to send all these babies in to Palm Beach Downs and get them started early, and it’s paid big dividends having experience going into a race like this,” said Pletcher.

Pletcher said he was relieved when the Adirondack was postponed on Saturday.

“I wasn’t sure how she would have handled the track that day and kind of felt good when they did cancel,” said Pletcher. “She had a really good week leading up to this. And I thought Javier gave her a very clever ride. We felt she could be close, but he decided to ease her back early, and it worked out well. I wasn’t completely surprised by this, but it was a pretty dominant performance.”