Star Devine finds shorter distance to her liking in Galway

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - A cutback in distance allowed Star Devine to shine in Sunday’s $120,000 Galway Stakes at Saratoga.

Despite having to race widest of all under John Velazquez, Star Devine had enough to outfinish Illegal Smile and win the Galway by a head. It was another head back to Bye Bye, who got bumped hard out of the gate.

Mischiefful was fourth, followed by Tuscan Queen, Alwayz Late, Wink, Goin’ Good, Li’l Tootise, and Dr B, the latter having broken through the gate prior to the official start of the race.

Star Devine was cutting back to 5 1/2 furlongs in the Galway. In April, at Aqueduct, Star Devine was a late-running debut winner of a six-furlong maiden race. In her next start, Galway dueled on the lead and faded to fourth in the Soaring Softly Stakes at seven furlongs. She then finished third attempting to stretch-out to 1 1/16 miles in an allowance race at Belmont in June.

Jorge Abreu, Star Devine's trainer, was confident the turnback would be key for Star Devine. He was hoping for a lot of speed in the Galway and to have Star Devine come from off the pace.

Star Devine broke sharper than Abreu would have liked and, while not on the lead, Star Devine was only four lengths off the pace established by Wink, who went 22.13 seconds for the opening quarter. Velazquez felt Illegal Smile, ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., was the horse to beat, and he had Star Devine parked outside of that rival while four wide down the backstretch.

Velazquez wanted to try and save some ground, but he also didn’t want to wrangle Star Devine back, so he kept four-wide into and around the turn. In the stretch, he was floated out into the seven-path, but Star Devine fought all the way to the wire to get up.

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“I was trying to get her back a little bit; I didn’t want to get to the lead or to the other horses, she did take a hold of me,” Velazquez said. “I said let me not choke her down, either, let her be where she was on the turn. Irad was right next to me, I thought he was the horse to beat, and we hung in here all the way to the wire.”

Star Devine, a 3-year-old daughter of Fastnet Rock owned by Lawrence Goichman, covered the 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:02.37 and returned $17.

Abreu said Star Devine would likely be pointed to the $500,000 Music City Stakes going 6 1/2 furlongs at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 12.