Pletcher and O'Neill each have two fillies in Schuylerville

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Regardless of when the Saratoga meet starts, one constant of an opening-day card is Todd Pletcher will have at least one horse in the Schuylerville Stakes for 2-year-old fillies.

Thursday, Pletcher has both Integral and Kiss the Girl entered in the Grade 3, $150,000 Schuylerville Stakes at six furlongs. In 16 of the last 22 years, Pletcher has been represented in the Schuylerville, winning the race six times with five seconds and three thirds from 19 starters.

Kiss the Girl comes off a 4 1/2-length debut victory June 12 at Belmont. She was hustled out of the gate by John Velazquez, then pressed Sweet Kisses from the outside before drawing away in the final furlong. She earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 61.

Kiss the Girl, a daughter of Into Mischief, drew the outside post in the nine-horse field.

Pletcher’s other entrant is Integral, a daughter of Algorithms, who won her debut by 3 1/2 lengths going 4 1/2 furlongs on May 25 at Gulfstream Park. She broke extremely well out of the gate and was seemingly in hand until turning for home before jockey Edgard Zayas had go to the whip a time or two in the lane. She earned a Beyer of 67.

Luis Saez will ride Integral from post 2.

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This year’s Schuylerville is somewhat unique in that there are no horses who made their last start at Churchill Downs. There are horses from five tracks who won their maidens outside of Belmont Park.

Trainer Doug O’Neill has entered two in the Schuylerville. Comical, a daughter of Into Mischief, was a six-length debut winner May 26 at Santa Anita. Shippy, a daughter of Midshipman, was a recent private purchase following a 10 3/4-length victory at on June 14 Laurel for which she earned a field-best Beyer of 87.

“With 2-year-old fillies, it’s always hard to tell how well they’re going to handle the traveling,” O’Neill wrote in an e-mail. “Both our fillies seem to have mature dispositions. I’m optimistic that six furlongs won’t be a problem for either one.”

O’Neill added that “Comical has been training steadily since her debut with this race in mind.”

Wesley Ward is 0 for 32 in graded stakes at Saratoga. He sends out Aurelia Garland off a solid five-length victory May 2 at Belmont. Ward said the filly ran better in the afternoon than she did in the morning and believes the further the better for this daughter of Constitution.

“She’s a big filly, she’ll want to go two turns,” Ward said. “The outside [post] will really help her. She got away slow when she won.”

His Glory, a debut winner at Indiana Grand for Tom Amoss; Lula’s Roadrunner, a debut winner at Parx Racing for Edward Coletti Jr.; Lady Fatima, a second-out winner on turf for Mark Casse; and Buxum Beast, a first-time starter for trainer Gary Contessa complete the field.