Paola Queen's win in Test no surprise to trainer

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Gustavo Delgado has been flying a bit under the radar since his arrival in New York this spring, which may help to explain why his trainee Paola Queen paid $112 for her upset victory in Saturday’s Grade 1 Test.

But Delgado is no stranger to winning big races. He is one of the top trainers ever to come out of his native Venezuela and moved his operation to the U.S. two years ago. And he’s off to a good start in just his second summer at Saratoga, having won with two of his first five starters at the meet while narrowly missing victory in the Grade 2 Bowling Green when Grand Tito gave way to the odds-on Flintshire in the closing strides.

Like Paola Queen, Grand Tito is owned by Delgado’s principal client, Grupo 7C Racing.

“I can’t take all the credit for Paola Queen,” Delgado said. “This is a team effort all around, but it meant an awful lot to me to win my first Grade 1 race and do it at Saratoga.”

Delgado said he was a little surprised that Paola Queen was so overlooked in the Test. He pointed out that Paola Queen finished in front of Test rival Off the Tracks in the Gulfstream Oaks in April.

“And she was beaten only five lengths in the Acorn, yet the handicappers didn’t give her any chance,” he said. “I’m not saying we expected her to win, but we thought she had a very good chance.”

Delgado credited jockey Luis Saez’s decision to take Paola Queen to the outside at the top of the stretch as the key to her victory.

“She doesn’t like getting hit with dirt in her face,” said Delgado. “When the rider got her to the outside, that’s when she really took off.”

Delgado said he will discuss with the owners where to run Paola Queen next. He did not rule out bringing her right back against Songbird in the Alabama here on Aug. 20, although he acknowledged that the timing for that race wasn’t the best.

Delgado said the seven-furlong distance of the Test is shorter than Paola Queen prefers.

“The more distance, the better for her,” he said. “She is a better horse around two turns.”

Another Delgado trainee, Majesto, finished sixth in the Curlin Stakes here July 29. Delgado said that Majesto “needed the race.” That was his first start since checking home 18th in the Kentucky Derby, after which it was discovered that he had bled. Earlier in the spring, Majesto finished second in the Grade 1 Florida Derby.

“He only had three works going into the Curlin, and I expect him to run much better next time,” said Delgado, adding that he does not have a specific target in mind for Majesto.