Scottish Lassie gets another crack at Fully Subscribed in Personal Ensign
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Little separated Fully Subscribed and Scottish Lassie on the tote board or at the finish of last month’s Grade 2 Shuvee Stakes at Saratoga, where Fully Subscribed, at odds of 8-5, defeated Scottish Lassie, at odds of 7-5, by a half-length.
Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Personal Ensign at Saratoga features a rematch between those two 4-year-old fillies and includes four others who will need to step up their games to beat the two protagonists in the 1 1/8-mile race for fillies and mares.
Fully Subscribed, a daughter of Tiz the Law trained by Chad Brown, was three lengths behind Scottish Lassie in midstretch of the Shuvee, but she found another gear and blew by that one in deep stretch to earn the victory. It was her third graded stakes win – all at the 1 1/8-mile distance – though Fully Subscribed is still seeking a Grade 1 success to put on her résumé.
“She always acted like she had Grade 1 potential. She’s been close in a couple,” Brown said. “Now we’re seeing the best of her. I love the fact she has what I think is the best race of her career right over this track in her last race. If she takes one little step forward from that, it should put her right there.”
Fully Subscribed’s previous two Grade 1 tries resulted in a one-length defeat to Shred the Gnar in the La Troienne at Churchill and a 12 3/4-length defeat when she dead-heated for second with Bless the Broken in the Ogden Phipps here.
Scottish Lassie, a daughter of McKinzie trained by Jorge Abreu, is a two-time Grade 1 winner, taking the Frizette as a maiden at 2 and the Coaching Club American Oaks here at 3 by 15 1/2 lengths. After having an ankle chip removed following her 3-year-old season, Scottish Lassie won a seven-furlong allowance here on June 7. It looked like it was the perfect prep for the Shuvee – until it wasn’t. Though she got beat by Fully Subscribed, Scottish Lassie, ridden by Jose Ortiz, was 4 3/4 lengths clear of Snowyte for third.
“Coming off the layoff, she ran that seven-eighths of a mile. I don’t know how much she really got out of it,” Abreu said. “Now she’s got a mile-and-an-eighth race under her belt, and that should put her where you would want to be. She came out of the Shuvee in really good shape. Jose’s been pretty pleased with her three breezes. She’s doing everything right. I think she’s coming into this race 100 percent fit.”
Either Scottish Lassie or Snowyte is expected to set the pace. Snowyte was on the lead in the Shuvee, only to back up to third.
Nerazurri was well beaten in both the Apple Blossom and La Troienne, her two previous tries at the Grade 1 level. She found class relief and won the Lady Jacqueline Stakes at Thistledown in June before finishing third behind runaway winner Splendora in the Grade 2 Molly Pitcher at Monmouth on July 18.
“She wants to be up pretty close to the lead, and it was muddy and she got shuffled back,” trainer Mark Casse said. “She still ran hard enough to finish third. I don’t think there’s a ton of speed in there. We’ll be sitting right there.”
The wild card in the field is Speed Shopper, who is a three-time stakes winner on turf but is returning to the dirt for the first time since she finished third in a maiden race at Churchill in May 2025. Trainer Will Walden pointed out that Speed Shopper’s mother, Fast Retailing, recorded her lone career win going 1 1/8 miles on dirt at Saratoga, albeit over a sloppy track.
“She’s always breezed really well on it, like, really good,” Walden said of Speed Shopper on dirt. “We ran her on it one time two years ago off a 15-month layoff and she ran well. I attribute not winning to the fact she was off for so long.”
John Velazquez, who has been aboard for two of her turf wins, including a victory in the Grade 3 Bewitch at Keeneland in April, rides Speed Shopper from post 5.
Margie’s Intention, trained by Brad Cox, won the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico in May 2025 and finished third to Nitrogen in the Grade 1 Alabama here last August. The Louisiana-bred filly has not run since winning the listed Allaire duPont Distaff at Laurel on Preakness Day.