Regal Glory, Varenka could see rematch at Keeneland

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Somewhat lost in all the commotion surrounding the prevailing weather conditions, breathtaking ending, and ultimate controversy over the final result of the photo finish was the fact both Varenka and Regal Glory ran their eyeballs out before dead-heating for first in Saturday’s Grade 2 Lake Placid.

Both Varenka and Regal Glory rallied from near the rear of the pack off a very tepid pace before surging late to finish on even terms at the end of the 1 1/16-mile Lake Placid, decided as a potentially dangerous lightning and rainstorm descended on the track. It took the judges more than six minutes attempting to separate the top pair on the wire before ultimately calling for the dead heat, explaining the photo finish was too “inconclusive” to leave them any other option.

“It’s a little bit hard for me to know what to make of it,” said Graham Motion, who trains Varenka. “There’s been stuff online about the photo and everything. But I’m sure the stewards had a reason for making the decision they made. At the end of the day, all I know is that my filly ran an extraordinary race to do what she did. She was in front before the wire and right after the wire. I don’t know what happened on the wire. What I do know is that it was a great effort on her part and I’m really proud of her.”

Varenka, who earned a career-best 87 Beyer Speed Figure for her effort in the Lake Placid, has now won her last two starts and three of her last four dating back to her maiden win on May 11 at Belmont Park. She was graded-stakes placed as a maiden at 2 before concluding the season finishing a troubled fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

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“She’s a really neat filly and her performance yesterday makes me feel good about what we did last year when we ran her in the Breeders’ Cup," said Motion. “I thought she was that good, but she just got unlucky that day.”

Motion said Varenka came out of the Lake Placid “good, but tired” and that looking down the road, he will consider the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II at Keeneland on Oct. 12 as a possible option during the fall.

“It’s the big one, so we have to think about it,” said Motion.

Chad Brown, who trains Regal Glory along with third-place finisher Blowout, just a neck back of the top pair at the wire after setting the pace in the Lake Placid, agrees with Motion that both winners ran huge races on Saturday.

“I thought Regal Glory ran terrific to run into the slow pace, as did Varenka, who probably ran the best race as actually she was furthest back and ran widest,” said Brown. “Although in the end it doesn’t matter who ran the best race, it’s who hits the line first that’s the winner. And from the photo I saw, it looked like we clearly won the race.”

That opinion aside, however, Brown said he is willing to accept the stewards' decision to call the race a dead heat.

“I’m not sure what parameters there are from a steward's perspective in a situation like this, with the uncertainly over the photo, and I’m not one to challenge their rulings so I’ll defer to them diplomatically on this issue,” said Brown.

The issue of who is actually best between Varenka and Regal Glory may well be settled where it should be in the near future – on the racetrack – with Brown saying the QE II could also be on her dance card down the road.

“I think Regal Glory can go further, so a race like the QE II makes sense for her, while I’m probably going to focus on races a little shorter for Blowout,” said Brown.