Summer Colony far from a cushy spot for Bonny South

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – After running Bonny South in 14 consecutive graded stakes – winning two – trainer Brad Cox was seeking some class relief by entering in Friday’s $135,000 Summer Colony Stakes at Saratoga.

He might have wanted to look elsewhere.

Bonny South will face multiple stakes winners Envoutante and Army Wife in the Summer Colony, a 1 1/8-mile race for fillies and mares who have not won a graded stakes in 2022.

Cox said he hoped Bonny South would be a mare he could run in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign – a race in which she finished second, beaten a half-length by Letruska, last year – but fourth-place finishes in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park and the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher at Monmouth Park prompted him to alter course.

“Her last two races we haven’t quite seen exactly what we’ve wanted to see,” Cox said. “She is a filly that needs some pace to run at, it looks like there’s some in here. Hopefully, we can get her back in the win column, it’s been a while and we’ll see how things go after this.”

Bonny South’s last win came in the Grade 3 Doubledogdare in April 2021. She has finished second in four graded stakes since, including a six-length defeat to Envoutante in the Grade 2 Falls City last November at Churchill Downs.

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Envoutante, a 5-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo, finished last of four in the Grade 1 Beholder Mile at Santa Anita in March. The decision was made to breed her, but her mating with Quality Road didn’t take. It was later decided to bring her back into training with the idea of one, getting over the $1 million mark in career earnings, and two, getting a Grade 1 victory this year before she is bred again. Envoutante has earned $961,658.

“She’s doing really well, maybe as good as I’ve ever seen her,” trainer Kenny McPeek said. “She’s eating as well as ever. I’d like to think I can get to the Spinster.”

The Spinster is a Grade 1 at Keeneland on Oct. 9.

Army Wife, who finished fourth in the Alabama here last August, is coming off a third-place finish behind Search Results and Leader of the Band in the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher. Prior to that, she won the Lady Jacqueline at Thistledown.

Army Wife breaks from the rail under Tyler Gaffalione.

Leader of the Band won the Monmouth Oaks in 2021 and finished second to Search Results in last month’s Molly Pitcher. She gets the services of Joel Rosario on Friday.

The speed in the race figures to be Misty Veil, a Tom Amoss trainee who comes out of a last-place finish in a listed stakes at Horseshoe Indianapolis on July 9.

Exotic West won the Top Flight Invitational at Aqueduct in March at the Summer Colony distance of 1 1/8 miles.

The Summer Colony goes as race 8 on a 10-race card that begins at 1:05 p.m. and includes the $150,000 Skidmore Stakes for 2-year-olds sprinting on the turf.