Vigilantes Way headed to Grade 1 Diana

ELMONT, N.Y. – Vigilantes Way, dominant winner of the Grade 3 Eatontown Stakes at Monmouth Park on June 20, will step into Grade 1 company next time when she runs in the $500,000 Diana Stakes on July 17 at Saratoga.

Among those pointing to the Diana are Althiqa and Summer Romance, who ran one-two in the Grade 1 Just a Game for Godolphin Racing and trainer Charlie Appleby.

“I know those two fillies of Godolphin’s are good, but she’s running good, we’ll be there, we might as well take a shot,” trainer Shug McGaughey said of Vigilantes Way. “We can always back up. After Jose [Ortiz] rode her down at Maryland [on May 15] he said he’d sure like to get stretched out.”

Ortiz rode Vigilantes Way to a second-place finish behind Mean Mary in the Grade 3 Gallorette at Pimlico. Mean Mary came back to win the New York Stakes on June 4 but is not pointing to the Diana.

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Meanwhile, McGaughey said he will run Civil Union in the River Memories Stakes on the July 11 closing-day card here. Civil Union won the River Memories here last year as part of a four-race winning streak that included a victory in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl. Civil Union is 0 for 2 this year.