Stopchargingmaria topples Untapable in Shuvee

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - For Todd Pletcher on Sunday, last year’s champion 3-year-old filly proved easier to beat than this year’s presumed Horse of the Year.

About 25 minutes after he watched Triple Crown winner American Pharoah glide by his Competitive Edge - who ended up fourth - in the $1.75 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park, Pletcher stood in the Saratoga winner’s circle after Stopchargingmaria persevered by Untapable to win the Grade 3, $200,000 Shuvee Handicap by a length.

It was the fifth graded stakes win of the nine-day old meet for Pletcher, who won four graded stakes here all last summer.

Two of those graded wins in 2014 were with Stopchargingmaria, who Sunday added the Shuvee to her Grade 1 successes in the Coaching Club American Oaks and Alabama. Overall, she is 4 for 5 at Saratoga with a second.

Last year, Stopchargingmaria was owned by Mike Repole. This year, she is owned by the Town and Country Farms of Kiki and Louise Courtelis, who bought her privately from Repole after she failed to reach her reserve at the November Fasig-Tipton auction.

Pletcher said he thought Stopchargingmaria would be on the front end in the Shuvee. But John Velazquez, aboard Untapable, was intent on that position and beat Javier Castellano and Stopchargingmaria to the front through a quarter run in 23.54 seconds. Positions remained unchanged through a half-mile in 47.79 seconds and six furlongs in 1:11.83.

Stopchargingmaria joined on equal terms with Untapable inside the sixteenth pole and edged clear late. Stopchargingmaria, a daughter of Tale of the Cat, covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.37. She returned $4.70 as the 6-5 second choice. Untapable was also 6-5, but was favored by $3,250.

“Our strategy was we were going to try and go to the lead,” Pletcher said. “Untapable was kind of there. Javier made the right audible and was able to get a good stalking trip. You never take for granted you’re going to run by one as good as that. I was hoping she would find a little more and fortunately she did.”

Steve Asmussen wavered on whether to run Untapable in the Shuvee, but ultimately decided to keep her in the race, thinking it would set her up for the Grade 1, $750,000 Personal Ensign here on Aug. 29, where she will most certainly face Stopchargingmaria again.

“She was pretty sharp. She was away from there well,” Asmussen said. “I think we’ll move forward in a big way off of this. I think she needed it. We did give her a little bit of time after the Ogden Phipps and I think we can stay in a nice rhythm from here into the Personal Ensign.”