Baby Talk Info & Intel: Saratoga – Race 6 – Wednesday, July 30, 2025
The distance is Five and One Half Furlongs, with the surface being the grass. We have 13 entered, but only ten will go into the starting gate. Some of the top-notch sires of fillies in the main field include Maclean’s Music, Twirling Candy, Oscar Performance, Hard Spun, Munnings, War Front, Authentic, and Street Sense. Ward will saddle one, as will Arnold, Motion, Pletcher, Amoss (has another on the AE list), and Sharp. Only two of these gals have ever been out in the afternoon, one once, and one two times. Let’s break this down and look at the fillies that interest me…
#1 Santina (4/1) – Maclean’s Music (13.5%) sired this filly, whose dam is by Empire Maker. Mom was only able to race once, but she made that a winning start and earned $42,000 for her efforts. She’s produced one other foal of racing age. Today’s runner is a homebred from Don Alberto. Wes Ward (5/42, 11.9%) trains her and he’s sent her out for seven morning works (26 furlongs), with her first five at KEE and her most recent two here at the Spa. In her penultimate work on 7/14/25, she covered a half mile on the Oklahoma turf in 48.70 seconds (3/38).
#3 Blanchett (8/1) – Graham Motion (2/31, 6.5%) conditions this filly; her daddy is Oscar Performance (15.4%). Her mama, by Tale of the Cat, raced 16 times and scored in three of those, including her first as a juvenile at Pimlico, before going on to bank $153K. In the breeding shed, she’s tossed five other foals of racing age, and one of those not only found the Winner’s Circle in her two-year-old debut at Churchill, but also was third in a Grade 3 event while a juvey. The hammer fell on today’s filly last year when this gal was a yearling at $335K (2/19). Motion has been prepping her for today’s debut with eight works at Fair Hill (29 furlongs), with three happening on the All-Weather Training surface. Two back, on 7/18/25, she earned a bullet for her half-mile move on the dirt done in 48.6 seconds (1/23).
#4 Snow Face Princess (6/1) – Midshipman (11.0%) is the stallion behind this filly, who was tossed by an Honor Code mare that was 0/2 on the track, and shows two other foals of racing age. $110K was the final bid for this gal in 2024 when she was a yearling (7/54). She’s one of two in this event with experience, having raced on 5/23/25 at BAQ. On that day, she went five furlongs over a muddy (sealed) track and finished fourth of seven after a slight move in the latter stages of this race; #9 Street Sue ran second. Trainer Todd Pletcher (17.3%) has put her through five 4f works on the Training Track at Belmont since her run. Her times have been modest.
#10 Sharp Mindset (7/2) – Joe Sharp (2/14, 14.3%) appropriately trains this tepid Morning Line favorite. Street Sense (13.9%) is her sire, and her dam is by Colonel John. Mama won nearly half of her starts, posting a career record of five wins in 11 races, with $159K deposited into the bank. In April, today’s competitor sold for $70,000 as a 2YO in training down in Ocala (10/19). Five drills at Keeneland, before shipping to upstate NY for two more works, one over the Oklahoma turf (28 furlongs), is her prep work for today’s debut. Two of the last three have covered 5/8th of a mile, but her times have been modest.
My Pick – I’m doing something that I usually don’t do; I’m going with a trainer with a poor record at Saratoga – Graham Motion. My pick is #3 Blanchett. I’m a big fan of Oscar Performance with babies on the grass, and this filly was the second-highest priced yearling in her daddy’s class. The fact that her dam won as a 2YO in her debut and that she has a half-sibling that was precocious is also encouraging. Lastly, three spins on an All-Weather surface is also a positive sign for this grassy affair. 8/1? Yes please.
Good luck in this one. We have two more races of interest on Friday, so please check back soon. Thank you, I appreciate every one of you.