Remarkable News best in Fourstardave

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Remarkable News, taking advantage of a paceless field and a vulnerable favorite, scored a front-running victory on Sunday in the Grade 2, $150,000 at Saratoga Race Course, a race in which Artie Schiller, last year's Breeders' Cup Mile winner, finished fourth, beating only one horse.

Sunday's crowd, enhanced by a T-shirt giveaway, was announced as 60,948.

Remarkable News ($11) got away with a soft pace of 24.54 seconds for the opening quarter and 48.22 seconds for a half-mile under jockey Javier Castellano. That left him fresh for the final half of the race, and he completed 1 1/16 miles on firm turf in 1:40.81 while beating runner-up Ashkal Way by 2 1/2 lengths. Diamond Green was third, with Artie Schiller finishing in front of only Noble Causeway.

Angel Penna Jr. trains Remarkable News, who was bred in Venezuela but has done all his racing in the United States. The Fourstardave was his sixth victory in nine starts. His only previous stakes win was in the Connaught Cup at Woodbine in May. Penna trains Remarkable News for Holly Rincon.

"The horse relaxed," Penna said. "Everything went right and he responded."

"After the last time, when he had a troubled trip, we learned something. He doesn't want to be held back," Castellano said. "He likes to run free. With no speed in there, they let me go slow the first and second quarter, and when I asked him to run, he gave it to me."

Artie Schiller, send off at 3-5, wore front leg wraps in a race for the first time. He failed to quicken when asked, and has now lost all three of his starts this year. He had won his two previous races at Saratoga.

"I had a great trip," said Garrett Gomez, who rode Artie Schiller. "He was empty at the quarter pole."

* Earlier in the day, Classic Pack ($19) captured his turf debut in the $150,000 Cab Calloway division of the New York Stallion Stakes. Fernando Jara rode the winner, who prevailed by three-quarters of a length over Oedipus O'Neal. Mike Hernandez trains Classic Pack, a 3-year-old colt by Regal Classic, for John Becker, who owns and bred the winner. Classic Pack covered 1 1/8 miles on turf in 1:47.65.