War Like Goddess targets Flower Bowl as next start

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The first step in trainer Bill Mott’s plan to get War Like Goddess to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf went to perfection Saturday when the 4-year-old filly won the Grade 2 Glens Falls Handicap by 3 1/4 lengths.

The next step toward the Breeders’ Cup comes in the Grade 1, $600,000 Flower Bowl, to be run here Sept. 4.

War Like Goddess showed a powerful late turn of foot that carried her from 11 lengths back early on to a convincing victory in the Glens Falls without ever feeling the leather of Julien Leparoux’s whip.

“You have got to have speed,” Mott said. “Even for a mile-and-a-half horse you got to have at least an eighth of a mile kick.”

War Like Goddess earned a 99 Beyer Speed Figure for her Glens Falls victory, in which she covered 1 1/2 miles in 2:27.55. She is now 5 for 6, with her lone loss coming in the The Very One, run at 1 3/16 miles.

Mott on Friday won the $120,000 Alydar Stakes with Art Collector, who scored a front-running, 1 1/2-length victory in the 1 1/8-mile listed stakes race.

Mott, who was starting Art Collector for the first time, was happy to see the horse return to form for Bruce Lunsford, for whom Mott has trained for many years. Last year, when the horse was with Tom Drury, Art Collector won the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes. Mott wasn’t sure what would be next for Art Collector, but did mention the $800,000 Charles Town Classic on Aug. 27 as one possibility.

“That might be coming back too quick, we’ll see,” Mott said.

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