Survie's Christophe Clement win earns Breeders' Cup Turf berth

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - She was running back in 13 days, was facing males and dumped her exercise rider both before and after her most recent workout last weekend. Oh yeah, in Saturday’s Grade 1 Christophe Clement Stakes at Saratoga, Survie was last behind a glacial pace.

None of that mattered to the 5-year-old mare Survie, who rallied strongly down the center of Saratoga’s inner turf course under Manny Franco to win the $750,000 Christophe Clement Stakes by three-quarters of a length. Minaret Station outfought Program Trading for second by a half-length. Ancient Egypt, the 9-5 favorite, was fourth, followed by Tawny Port and Ole Crazy Bone. Fort George scratched.

The win capped a busy two-week period for the England-based Survie, who won the Grade 2 Glens Falls against females here on Aug. 2. In a workout on Aug. 9, she unseated the exercise rider before a half-mile workout on turf, then unseated the rider again after she finished the move.

The win also continued a fabulous Saratoga summer for Manny Franco, who won his 38th race of the meet in the Clement and then followed that with a victory aboard Cadenza in the $200,000 Galway Stakes for 3-year-old fillies.

Flavien Prat rode Survie to victory in the Glens Falls, but was committed to ride Program Trading for Chad Brown in the Clement, the race formerly known as the Sword Dancer. Trainer George Boughey made the smart decision to tab Franco for the ride and told him to ride the mare just like Prat had done in the Glens Falls.

Franco had Survie in the back of the pack and a bit wide, just outside Ancient Egypt for the first half of the race. She was only about three lengths off the pace of Ole Crazy Bone, who, on a course labeled yielding, ran the opening six furlongs in 1:18.98.

Straightening away down the backside, Franco was able to tuck in Survie and was able to save ground until around the far turn, where he began to swing Survie out into the clear. While Minaret Station and Program Trading were sparring to wrest the lead from Ole Crazy Bone, Survie came flying down the center of the course to run by both.

“The trainer told me don’t rush her, just give her time and come late no matter what,” Franco said. “Ride her the way Flavien rode her, that’s what I did.”

Boughey, speaking to the New York Racing Association, praised Franco’s ride.

“Manny gave her as good a ride as he could from an uncompromising position - I think he lost his position down the back straight and she was very, very game,” Boughey said. “That turn-of foot that she’s got is pretty lethal in America.”

Survie, a daughter of Churchill, covered the 1 1/2 miles in 2:31.55 and returned $10.96 as the fourth choice.

The victory earned Survie a fees-paid berth into the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland on Oct. 31. Boughey said the BC Turf would be the target after Survie ships back to his stable in the United Kingdom.

“Yes. Very much so. The plan was always to run her twice and then bring her home and prepare her for Keeneland,” Boughey said. “I’d like to get her back home and give her an easy time for a little bit - she doesn’t take a huge amount of training - and then ship her out with the normal horses for the Breeders’ Cup.”

Minaret Station, beaten a half-length when third in the Bowling Green, seemed to be in a good spot under Jose Ortiz, sitting second, just off the pace of Ole Crazy Bone. While he fended off Program Trading, he couldn’t survive Survie.

“That filly loves this course, she’s obviously in terrific form, can’t take anything away from her, the connections they do an awesome job,” Will Walden, trainer of Minaret Station, said. “She deserved to win today; we just got beat.”

Ancient Egypt, the only 3-year-old in the field, was sent off the slight favorite based on two narrow defeats in his two most recent outings including the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp. Trainer Charlie Johnston said he was hoping for firmer ground than what was in play Saturday, but he was hoping for a more forward trip. Ancient Egypt was in the back of the pack with Survie.

“I’m sure the ground didn’t help, but mainly the trip,” Johnston said. “He was a bit slowly away, we would have wanted to be forward really, then he was keen behind a slow pace. It turned into a race that didn’t really play to his strengths.”

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