Roses for Debra shoots for fourth straight win in Smart N Fancy

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – An ominous weather forecast for the Saratoga area on Friday may be all that stands in the way of Roses for Debra adding the $150,000 Smart N Fancy Stakes to her already imposing and steadily improving résumé.

The Smart N Fancy is scheduled to be run at 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf and drew a familiar field of six 3-year-old fillies along with a pair of main-track-only entrants, both of whom obviously become key players if the race is taken off the grass.

As of early Wednesday afternoon, the local forecast called for better than an 80 percent chance of rain for the local region Friday morning.

Roses for Debra had never started on grass when the year began but has since vaulted to the upper echelon of the filly-and-mare turf-sprint division after posting three consecutive one-sided victories since being switched to the surface by trainer Christophe Clement for her 2023 debut at Pimlico on May 19. The streak includes a popular and decisive 2 1/4-length triumph in the Grade 3 Caress Stakes here five weeks earlier.

“The weather is a big concern because you’d be throwing in another variable we’re not sure of,” said Clement’s son and assistant Miguel. “And I don’t think we’d run if the race comes off the turf. With a filly of her ability, I think we have more to lose if we do that [run her on dirt].”

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Although the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint would seem a logical goal for the ever-improving Roses for Debra, Clement said the Smart N Fancy and then the Presque Isle Masters are the short-term goals.

The Smart N Fancy will reunite three members of the Caress lineup, including Bubble Rock and Poppy Flower, who finished third and fourth, respectively. Both will receive a four-pound weight shift in their advantage while meeting Roses for Debra again.

Bubble Rock set the pace, as expected, in the Caress before finishing a tiring third, 2 1/2 lengths behind Roses for Debra, and projects as the one to catch once again on Friday. The daughter of More Than Ready has been a consistent sort for trainer Brad Cox all season long, posting Beyer Speed Figures of 91 and 92 in each of her last three starts.

She did show a different dimension when registering her only win of the campaign in the License Fee Stakes this spring at Belmont Park when rallying to victory from near the rear of the field under jockey Joel Rosario, who will be back aboard for this race.

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The new faces in the Smart N Fancy include Can’t Buy Love, who steps up into graded stakes company after being stakes placed against lesser opposition in each of her last three starts; Train to Artemus, a two time stakes winner on turf earlier in the season; and Talkin Tipsy.

A switch in venue to the main track would likely find Self Isolation and Bluefield vying for favoritism and the major awards in the Smart N Fancy. They have each registered seven victories on dirt during their careers, the former being in peak form at the present time having captured three of her last four starts by a combined margin of 11 1/2 lengths.

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