Sadie Lady brings sharp speed to Dancin Renee Stakes
ELMONT, N.Y. – A significant drop in class and a slight shortening up in distance should play in the favor of Sadie Lady when the 5-year-old mare heads a six-horse field in Saturday’s $100,000 Dancin Renee Stakes for New York-bred females at Belmont Park.
Sadie Lady, trained by Rob Atras for Dennis Narlinger, is coming off a second-place finish behind Victim of Love in the Grade 3 Vagrancy Handicap going 6 1/2 furlongs here May 8. The Dancin Renee is run at six furlongs, a distance at which Sadie Lady has recorded five of her seven victories.
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“I honestly think that other filly was going to win regardless of what distance it was,” Atras said of Victim of Love. “I was really happy with the way our filly ran. She really only wants to go six, but she battled it out for second. It was kind of like a win.”
During the winter, Sadie Lady won an open-company second-level allowance and the Correction Stakes – both six-furlong races at Aqueduct.
Sadie Lady has speed and meets another fast filly in Ruvies in Time, who is drawn right to her inside.
“That filly’s fast, our filly is obviously fast too,” Atras said. “Hopefully, we can break sharp and get out there.”
With Kendrick Carmouche sidelined with a broken ankle, Jose Ortiz has picked up the mount on Sadie Lady, who is the co-highweight at 123 pounds.
Ruvies in Time won a statebred allowance and the Videogenic starter stakes during the winter at Aqueduct. Coming off those efforts, Ruvies in Time ran a clunker when fourth in an open-company second-level allowance here April 22.
“She ran really hard in the Videogenic to win that,” said Rick Schosberg, trainer of Ruvies in Time. “I think it was time for her to have a little reaction. We gave her a little time to recuperate from that.”
Acknowledging his filly has the same front-running style that Sadie Lady possesses, Schosberg said he’ll put his faith in Joel Rosario to figure things out.
Should a speed duel develop, Fierce Lady and Good Credence look like the ones who could benefit most.
Fierce Lady came off a lengthy layoff with a perfect-trip allowance victory under Trevor McCarthy for trainer Brittany Russell. Fierce Lady had the rail that day and has the rail again Saturday, only this time with Belmont Stakes-winning rider Luis Saez aboard.
Good Credence, trained by Anthony Margotta, comes off a second-place finish to Bank Sting in the one-mile Critical Eye Stakes run here just 12 days ago. That performance came off a five-month layoff.
Espresso Shot, who seems to do her best running at Aqueduct, was a supplemental nominee to this race. She finished sixth in the Critical Eye.
Eloquent Speaker, another who put together a two-race win streak during the winter at Aqueduct, completes the field.
The Dancin Renee, the only stakes of the weekend on this circuit, goes as race 8 on a 10-race card that begins at 1 p.m. Eastern.