Ways and Means one-ups Brightwork with impressive maiden score

Brightwork earned her way to the Grade 1 Spinaway here Sept. 3 by virtue of a relatively easy five-length victory in Sunday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Adirondack Stakes.

Her sternest competition for that seven-furlong race might have been unveiled earlier on Sunday’s card when Ways and Means won her debut, a six-furlong maiden race, by 12 3/4 lengths. A daughter of Practical Joke, trained by Chad Brown, Ways and Means was taken in hand by jockey Flavien Prat in midstretch yet still ran six furlongs in 1:10.51. She earned a 90 Beyer Speed Figure for the performance, one point higher than Brightwork’s figure for the Adirondack.

Brown said he was not at all surprised by the performance put in by Ways and Means.

“Very rare, maybe not ever, have I ever given instructions ‘Don’t let the horse run all the way to the wire,’ ” Brown said Monday morning. “I warned him if she makes the front turning for home, don’t let her run. There’s just too much stuff ahead of us. I’ve been doing it long enough to know what I have.”

:: DRF's 2023 Saratoga headquarters: Previews, past performances, picks, recaps, news, and more.

Brown said Ways and Means, owned by Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables, worked faster than he wanted out of the gate on July 23 or he might have started her a week earlier than he did.

“Even though she did it easy, I didn’t want to run her off it,” Brown said. “I gave her an extra week just to make sure she was fresh.”

Brown said the ease in which Ways and Means won and how she looks to have come out of it Monday morning makes running her in the Spinaway “a real possibility,” he said.

Brown trained virtually the whole family. Ways and Means is by Practical Joke out of the Warrior’s Reward mare Strong Incentive. The mother won races on turf and synthetic.

Strong Incentive’s progeny include Highly Motivated, a two-time dirt stakes-winning male now standing at Airdrie Stud, and Surge Capacity, a 3-year-old filly who earlier this meet won the Grade 3 Lake George is and pointing to the Grade 2 Lake Placid Aug. 19.

Brown said Strong Incentive lost a couple of foals along the way. She is currently in foal to Good Magic

Meanwhile, Brightwork improved her record to 3 for 3 with her five-length score in the Adirondack. This came after she won her maiden at Keeneland in April and the Debutante at Ellis Park in July.

Ortiz said after the race that the Spinaway would be Brightwork’s next start with hopes of stretching her out around two turns, quite likely in the Alcibiades at Keeneland Oct. 7.

“Stretching her out I still think she’s got more gears going longer,” Ortiz said. “Eventually we’re going to try her two turns, but we’re going to head to the next spot here at Saratoga. Feeling confident for that race right now.”

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.