This time around, Souper Sensational will get bet
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Souper Sensational will go from live longshot in the Grade 1 Test to likely favorite when she takes on five fellow 3-year-old filly sprinters in Saturday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Prioress Stakes at Saratoga.
Souper Sensational, at odds of 5-1, was an eye-catching 3 1/4-length winner of the Grade 3 Victory Ride at Belmont Park in July. She was sent off at 13-1 in the Test, where she finished a well-beaten second to Bella Sofia, who is targeting the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom Handicap on Sept. 26 at Belmont Park.
In races run around one turn, Souper Sensational has three wins, a second, and a fourth in the Grade 2 Eight Belles, where she had a troubled trip.
Of Souper Sensational’s effort in the Test, trainer Mark Casse said: “I thought it was pretty good. She was out of her element a little bit, we had to chase her a little bit to stay close. I thought she came with her ‘A’ game. She got beat by a better horse.”
Casse was pleased that Souper Sensational, who will be ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr., drew the outside post for the Prioress.
Though Souper Sensational is the only graded stakes winner in the field, she is not without competition.
Oxana, a Pennsylvania-bred daughter of Uptowncharlybrown, comes off a pair of blowout victories at Parx. She won a statebred maiden race by 18 lengths on June 23 before coming back to win an open allowance by 10 1/4 lengths. In both races she dueled on the lead before putting away the other speed.
“She doesn’t know that she’s not beating anything,” trainer Tim Hills said. “She just shrugs off horses; you can’t teach that. She’s real quick from the gate, but the rider can turn her off and turn her back on.”
Irad Ortiz Jr. rides Oxana from the rail.
Edie Meeny Miny Mo, a Maryland-bred daughter of Upstart, is 2 for 2 at six furlongs, though one win came in a maiden $40,000 claimer at Pimlico. She is cutting back from 1 1/16 miles and trainer Miguel Vera is adding blinkers after a runner-up performance in the Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks, where she blew a 2 1/2-length lead in midstretch.
“The three races she ran, she was a little distracted coming out of the gate,” Vera said. “I want to put a little blinker on to see if she can have a better break.”
Victor Espinoza, who rode Edie Meeny Miny Mo at Monmouth, is coming back to ride her again on Saturday.
Amendment Nineteen, still eligible for a first-level allowance race, makes her first start for Juddmonte and trainer Brad Cox following a private purchase. Amendment Nineteen, a daughter of Constitution, finished a clear second behind Caramel Swirl in a first-level allowance here on July 24.
Cilla won a Louisiana-bred stakes at Evangeline Downs in June and the off-the-turf Blue Sparkler at Monmouth in July. She goes out first time for trainer Charlton Baker on Saturday.
Li’l Tootise has faced Souper Sensational twice, finishing behind her when both were beaten in the Fair Grounds Oaks and Eight Belles at Churchill Downs.
The Prioress goes as race 5 on the 12-race card, which begins at 12:35 p.m.