Baby Talk Info & Intel: Saratoga – Races 2 & 7 – Saturday, July 26, 2025

Race 2

Eight colts will compete over six furlongs on the main track. Vino Rosso, Constitution, Complexity, Army Mule, Maclean’s Music, Gun Runner, Bolt d’Oro, and Volatile comprise the sire list. TAP will saddle two, along with one each from Asmussen, Chad Brown, and Brad Cox. None of the eight have ever been on the track in the afternoon. Lots to see here, so let’s jump in…

#4 Soldier N Diplomat (8/5) – Steve Asmussen (19.5%) will sling the saddle onto this Army Mule (14.2%) colt, who comes from an unraced Violence mare. Mom has tossed two other foals of racing age, one found the Winner’s Circle at Belmont Park while still a baby in their second outing. St. Elias Stable went to $950K to purchase this dude back in March down at the Ocala Breeders Sale of 2YOs. That price was nearly three times higher than the second-highest in his dad’s juvenile class. Steve has put him to work on nine morning occasions (35 furlongs) with his first five at Keeneland and his last four here at Saratoga (two have covered 5/8^th of a mile). His last spin at KEE on 6/18/25, he went a half mile in 47.6 seconds (6/43), and in his only spin on the main oval at SAR, he went five panels in 59.63 seconds (1/3).

#5 Accost (6/1) – This Wise Racing homebred comes out of the Chad Brown (19.0%) barn. His daddy is Maclean’s Music (13.5%), and his mama is by Into Mischief. On the track, mom scored four times in ten starts with a win in her second start as a baby here at Saratoga. She went on to put over $1/4 million into the bank for her owners, and she has one other foal of racing age. SAR is the only backside that this colt has ever seen, with four drills on the training track and then four on the main oval (34 furlongs). Three works back, on 7/6/25, he showed that he could move, going a half mile in 47.09 seconds, earning a huge bullet (1/132).

#6 Further Ado (5/2) – The powerful Gun Runner (19.2%) is this colt’s dad, and his mom is by Sky Mesa. She raced 12 times and won twice, including a score in her initial start as a juvey at Woodbine, going on to bank $176K. Six other foals of racing age have been produced by his mom, and two won on their debuts at Churchill, and another won north of $800K in their career, going 4 for 35 with one of those being a Grade 2 affair. This fella sold for $275K as a yearling (59/83) before going for twice that amount, $550K, this past April as a 2YO (4/14). Conditioner Brad Cox (20.9%) started his workout regimen in late May at Keeneland, where he drilled five times before vanning down the road to Churchill for two more works. Additionally, he’s been over the SAR main oval once in the morning. All told, that’s nine works and 35 furlongs. He’s definitely shown some speed; his last at KEE on 6/26/25 was timed in 47.2 seconds from the gate, giving him a solid bullet (1/35). He also shot another smaller bullet in his final move at Churchill, going 5/8^th of a mile in 1:00.4 (1/13).

My Pick – All the Saratoga baby races are top-notch, but this affair is outstanding. I have big respect for #5 and #6, but my pick is #4 Soldier N Diplomat. Although mom never made it to the track (she sold for $425K as a yearling), I like that one of her two other foals of racing age was precocious. And all of you Edgies know that I always like a baby that was the star of their class in the sales ring, and it’s rare to see one sell for more than double the next highest price classmate. Lastly, Asmussen is due for a win, and I think that he gets it in this terrific affair.

Race 7

Ten Two-Year-Old fillies will go head-to-head over six furlongs on the dirt. First-Crop Charlatan is represented by two, along with one from his classmate, Yaupon. Into Mischief also has two entries, and there is one from Vekoma, Maclean’s Music, Gun Runner, and Munnings. Only one filly has ever run previously, and that was on just one occasion. Let’s have at it…

#4 Vajra (5/2) – This is the only filly in the field that has ever raced before, and she’s by Vekoma (28/123, 22.8%); Hansen is her broodmare sire. Mom raced five times and found the Winner’s Circle one time in five tries, but that was in her second start as a baby at Ellis Park. She finished her racing career with $61,000 in earnings. She’s tossed three other foals of racing age, two of them are unraced. Today’s entrant sold as a weanling for $80,000 (3/17), but then was pinhooked back last year as a yearling and sold to GVG Genetics for $150K (21/71). In her race on 6/27/25 at Churchill, she put up insane fractions, going the first quarter mile in 20.96 seconds and the half in 43.78 seconds before understandably tiring to finish in fifth place as the favorite at odds of 2/1. Trainer Rudy Brisset (0/1) then shipped her east on I-64 for two half mile spins at Keeneland.

#7 Tommy Jo (4/1) – Todd Pletcher (17.3%) will tighten the girth on this Spendthrift Farm homebred Into Mischief (17.2%) filly, whose precocious mom (by Pioneerof the Nile) won her debut at age 2 at Del Mar. She also finished second in both a G1 and a G2 while still a baby. All told, she finished 3 of 15 with $430K in earnings. In the breeding shed, she’s only tossed one other foal of racing age. Nine total works (34 furlongs), with the first five on the Oklahoma dirt and the most recent four on the Spa’s main track, make up this filly's body of work. Two back on 7/13/25, she went a half mile from the gate in 47.8 seconds (12/155).

#9 Academia (5/1) – Another from the mighty Into Mischief (17.2%), this filly’s Chilean dam is by Lookin at Lucky. Mom was a terrific racemare, having won seven times in 18 starts, including a G1, G2, and G3 with $781K in prize money. She’s produced four other foals of racing age, one of which won as a juvey in their fourth start at Turfway Park and went on the bank nearly $650K. This fella, trained by Chad Brown (19.0%) is a White Birch Farm / Peter Brant homebred. All of his nine works (32 furlongs) have been at Saratoga; six on the training strip and the last three on the main dirt track. In his next-to-most recent drill, he went a sharp half mile in 47.26 seconds (6/155).

My Pick – The two Into Mischief fillies are formidable; however, my pick is #4 Vajra. Not only is she the lone gal in the field that has a start under her belt, but she also set outrageous fractions in her race with another filly right at her throat throughout, so she never got a chance to breathe. I do admit that the CD strip was like a runway that day, but still! Brisset makes the switch from Luis to Jose, which I very much like, and I fancy her chances to notch a victory today.