Waya field filled with budding rivalries

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – What has the makings of an intense rivalry during the second half of the season will be renewed Saturday at Saratoga when Photo Call and Real Smart square off for the second time in the Grade 3 Waya for fillies and mares going 1 1/2 miles on the grass.

Photo Call, trained by Todd Pletcher, was beaten two lengths by Real Smart as the even-money favorite when the pair met last month at Delaware Park in the Robert G. Dick Memorial. Real Smart, in receipt of four pounds from the favorite, rallied from just off the pace to a two-length victory under a well-judged ride by Hall of Fame jockey Edgar Prado.

But Pletcher believes that with the right trip, Photo Call can avenge that setback in the Waya. Photo Call drew the rail in the Waya, and she and Real Smart will both carry 123 pounds.

“I thought she ran well last time going a mile and three-eighths, and I like the fact she drew inside,” said Pletcher. “The last time, we were on the outside, and [Real Smart] saved ground the whole way. Hopefully, this time, from the rail, we can do the same thing. In these types of races, the trip is everything.”

Photo Call and Real Smart aren’t the only two members of the Waya field renewing acquaintances Saturday. Suffused and Achnaha finished one-two in the Belmont Coronation Invitational at nearly two miles on June 9, while Trophee will look to reverse her recent half-length setback to Guapaza in Belmont’s 12-furlong River Memories.

Ball Dancing is the only other Grade 1 winner in the lineup besides Photo Call, but in four subsequent starts, she has yet to run back to that Grade 1 win, which came in the 2015 Jenny Wiley at Keeneland. A long-distance specialist in Europe prior to shipping to the U.S. and the Chad Brown barn during the summer of her 3-year-old campaign in 2014, Ball Dancing will stretch out to 1 1/2 miles for the first time since finishing second in the Group 3 Prix de Royaumont at Chantilly more than two years ago.

Key Contenders

Photo Call, by Galileo

Last 3 Beyers: 89-88-93

◗ She became a Grade 1 winner in the Rodeo Drive last fall at Santa Anita when trained by Graham Motion, who is also the trainer of Real Smart.

◗ She appears to be the controlling speed in this field breaking from the rail, with Guapaza the most likely to be pressing the early pace.

Real Smart, by Smart Strike

Last 3 Beyers: 92-86-83

◗ She’ll stretch out to 1 1/2 miles for the first time while being reunited with jockey John Velazquez, who rode her in her first two U.S. starts.

Suffused, by Champs Elysees

Last 3 Beyers: 95-81-86

◗ She exits a career-best performance in the marathon Coronation Invitational, dominating a weaker group than she’ll encounter while turning back in distance for the Waya.

Guapaza, by Seeking the Dia

Last 3 Beyers: 93-95-91

◗ Her best effort in four U.S. starts may have come in defeat two races back, when she finished third behind stablemates Dacita and Sea Calisi in the Grade 2 New York.