Streaking My Gun's Loaded outsteps Measure in Alabama Stakes as Counting Stars falters
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The coronation of Counting Stars as the champion 3-year-old filly of 2026 was put on hold Saturday at Saratoga when My Gun’s Loaded fired big, taking over from Counting Stars inside the eighth pole and outfinishing upset-minded Measure to win the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama Stakes by a neck.
Measure, a Counting Stars stablemate sent off at 10-1, finished second by 1 1/2 lengths over Counting Stars, the 1-4 favorite. A.P.’s Girl, Ati Girl and Nycon completed the order of finish.
The victory was the third straight for My Gun’s Loaded, who was making her two-turn and stakes debut while jumping from a mile to 1 1/4 miles.
Chad Brown, the trainer of My Gun’s Loaded, said there were a few factors that gave him confidence to step the filly, a winner of a maiden and first-level allowance in her last two starts, up in this spot. The primary reason was how well My Guns Loaded was training, often outworking Always a Runner, the filly who won the Kentucky Oaks for Brown in May and who had finished second to Counting Stars in the Acorn and Coaching Club American Oaks - two Grade 1 stakes run here earlier this summer.
“If Always a Runner is still running second to this other filly and I have a fresh filly that’s actually working better than Always a Runner on this track, that’s what gave me a lot of confidence to run a mile and a quarter,” Brown said.
Brown also won the 2023 Alabama with Randomized, who, like My Gun’s Loaded, was stretching out from a mile to 1 1/4 miles.
In a race without defined pace, Counting Stars, with Jose Ortiz subbing for his injured brother Irad Ortiz Jr., took the lead and set slow fractions of 49.44 seconds for the half-mile and 1:14.06 for six furlongs.
Manny Franco, in the midst of the best Saratoga meet of his career, had My Gun’s Loaded in third, but following Counting Stars intently. Franco didn’t want to move too early, but in the middle of the far turn, he took My Gun’s Loaded into the clear and she jumped into the bridle.
Turning for home, Ortiz had Counting Stars in the middle of the track and Franco had My Gun’s Loaded outside of her. My Gun’s Loaded poked her head in front at the eighth pole, was going better at the sixteenth pole, but then had to contend with a rail-rallying Measure, under Flavien Prat. In the end, Counting Stars had a little more to prevail.
“I put my filly outside and my filly just jumped into the bridle, so I said I don’t want to move that early because somebody could come from behind like Measure did,” Franco said. “At the same time, I was confident because she jumped on the bridle and I have a lot of [horse] under me. When I passed Counting Stars she started waiting a little bit for the company, but I knew I had it done.”
For Franco, it was his 50th win of the meet and his second Grade 1 victory. On Aug. 15, he won the Grade 1 Christophe Clement with Survie.
My Gun’s Loaded, a daughter of Gun Runner owned by Douglas Scharbauer, covered the 1 1/4 miles in 2:04.87 and returned $8.74 as the second choice.
“Counting Stars is a great horse, I had the benefit of a fresh horse today,” Brown said. “Take nothing away from her, the way she fought, she danced every dance from the [Kentucky] Oaks on through and I needed a fresh horse to beat her so it goes to show you how good she is. My filly today was expertly ridden by Manny Franco, my team did an unbelievable job developing this horse. I felt good in the paddock, she came in and she acted with a lot of confidence.”
Mark Casse came into the Alabama confident that Counting Stars was primed to win her third consecutive Grade 1 stakes at Saratoga and put a bow on the 3-year-old filly division title. Unlike the CCA Oaks, when she did her best running from the eighth pole home, Counting Stars couldn’t see out the trip. Conversely, Casse was pleased with the way Measure ran to get second coming off a third-place finish in the CCA Oaks.
“I was hoping like last time, when they turned for home, she would kick away a little but she didn’t,” Casse said of Counting Stars. “Then I started watching and thought Measure might win this thing.”
Casse said Counting Stars ran too well for him to be disappointed.
“Would I have I liked to have won? Of course,” Casse said. “It takes a lot to get me disappointed, so I’m proud of her, she ran hard. We were third-best today, but we’ll regroup and go forward.”
Brown, who is planning to run Always a Runner in the Grade 1, $1 million Cotillion at Parx Racing on Sept. 19, said he may look to run My Gun’s Loaded against older fillies in either the Grade 2, $250,000 Beldame at Belmont Park on Sept. 25 or the Grade 1, $650,000 Spinster at Keeneland on Oct. 4.
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