8/9/19
2 ladies take on the boys in Fourstardave
By Hot List Staff
There will be a battle of the sexes Saturday as Saratoga as two ladies of the turf will take on the boys in the Grade 1 $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap.
Included in the field of 10 for the mile grass stakes are Uni and Got Stormy, two stakes-winning females who figure to cast a large shadow over the field.
Uni, one of three starters trained by Chad Brown, comes into the Fourstardave with a five-race win streak that includes a perfect 4-for-4, grade 1-winning 2018 campaign.
In her lone 2019 start, the 5-year-old mare won the Perfect Sting to give her five straight wins, all at a mile.
Got Stormy was a surprise entrant after winning the De La Rose Stakes last Saturday at the Spa, covering a mile in 1:33.15.
Overall, she has won six of 14 starts with a second and three thirds for trainer Mark Casse.
“She won it about as easy as a horse can win it,” Casse said about the De La Rose.
Among the guys’ squad, the best of the bunch promises to be Raging Bull, who was also a Grade 1 winner last year.
Trained by Brown and owned by Peter Brant, Raging Bull is coming into the race off a solid third-place finish in the Manhattan Stakes behind Bricks and Mortar and Robert Bruce, both of whom are also trained by Brown and will be running Saturday in the Arlington Million.
In the Fourstardave, Raging Bull will be cutting back to a one-mile distance, after racing 1 ¼ miles in the Manhattan, and should benefit from a faster pace scenario in the Fourstardave.
Brown will also send out Made You Look, who was fourth last month in the Forbidden Apple Stakes, his first start since finishing fourth in last year’s Fourstardave.
The other key threats in the race include Hembree, who was second in the Forbidden Apple and the Poker, and Krampus and Dr. Edgar, who were third and fourth, respectively, in the Poker.
Casse also entered March to the Arch, who was fifth in the Forbidden Apple, but won the Grade 2 Wise Dan Stakes at Churchill Downs in his previous start, rallying from sixth at the eighth pole to win by a neck.
“I’m going to give him another try going a mile,” Casse said. “I thought his race last time wasn’t one of his best performances. I really don’t have an excuse, so we’re going to give it another try. He only got beat two lengths.”
Saturday’s card also includes the $200,000 Saratoga Special, a 6 ½-furlong stakes for 2-year-olds.
Both stakes can be seen on NBC during a 5-6 p.m. telecast.