Chelsea Durand Photo

Miss Justify surges up the rail to take $135K Wilton

by Christian Abdo

Twin Oaks Bloodstock, IEE Racing, Joseph Bulger, and Will Campbell’s Miss Justify surged up the rail to take Friday’s $135,000 Wilton, a one-mile main track test from the Wilson Chute for sophomore fillies which have not won a sweepstakes other than state-bred, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the Justify bay doubled up on wins at the one-mile mark after a last-out pacesetting optional claiming victory at the distance on June 1 at Churchill Downs.

“It’s nice to see that she can come from off the pace. She was able to win wire-to-wire last time, so it’s good to see,” said Pletcher, who started the filly for the third time after she made a pair of sprint outings for trainer Susan Cooney at Laurel Park, including a debut win in October ahead of a third in the Smart Halo in November.

Piloted by Flavien Prat, Miss Justify exited the Wilson Chute cleanly from post 1 as Kendrick Carmouche took Striker Has Dial to the front. Dazzling Move, breaking from the outermost post 7 under Hall of Famer Joel Rosario, wouldn’t let Striker Has Dial lead for long, quickly assuming command to lead the field through an opening quarter-mile in 23.71 seconds over the fast footing.

Prat was thankful for a good break from the inside draw on Miss Justify’s way to victory.

“A good break is important and she did break well and got us into a good spot,” Prat said. “I wasn’t sure what I had underneath me all the way around, but when I went after her she responded properly.”

Down the backside, Miss Justify traveled along the rail in third position, a head over Lady Moscato to her outside, as Dazzling Move increased the gap back to Striker Has Dial to 4 1/2 lengths as the half-mile elapsed in 46.60.

Around the far turn, the field crept up on the early pacesetter with Striker Has Dial leading the charge and the Luis Saez-piloted Pletcher trainee Courbe presenting a wide-bid from towards the back of the field. Meanwhile, Prat continued to sit chilly aboard Miss Justify as she saved ground along the rail.

After three-quarters in 1:11.46, Striker Has Dial had a clear 2 1/2-length lead at the top of the stretch as Dazzling Move called it quits, but Miss Justify took dead aim on the new leader from her inside position.

“I felt like the pace was honest and if you had the horse you could make a run – and that’s what she did,” Prat said, unbothered by the changes on the front-end.

Carmouche asked Striker Has Dial for more and she responded gamely but desperately needed the wire, and a closing Miss Justify surged past along the rail to win by one-length in a final time of 1:37.51.

Striker Has Dial held on for second by a neck over Courbe, with 7 1/2 lengths back to Lady Moscato, who rounded out the superfecta. Favorite Bells Beach traveled in sixth position before improving to fifth late, with Windy Walk and Dazzling Move completing the order of finish.

Pletcher spoke highly of the ride engineered by Prat, who earned a riding triple on the day after other mild upset wins aboard Clever Mischief [Race 3] and Classic Creation [Race 7].

“I thought he did great,” said Pletcher. “We had kind of a game plan going in and the race didn’t unfold exactly the way we saw it on paper. So, he adapted like you’d expect an experienced journeyman to do.”

Pletcher was encouraged by the filly’s late kick and said a stretch-out in distance could be next, but he’s currently unsure about the 10-furlong Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama presented by Keeneland Sales on August 17 here.

“I think she’ll definitely stretch out. I don’t know if we’ll be quite that ambitious just yet, but we’ll keep all our options open,” Pletcher reasoned.

The conditioner added Courbe was game to get up for show-honors after having not raced since an optional-claiming win going 1 1/16 miles in October at Keeneland.

“I thought it was very good. It was first out in a while and I thought for a moment she was going to get there,” Pletcher said. “Maybe the layoff told on her just a little bit right in the last 100 yards there.”

Carmouche said the Horacio De Paz-trained Striker Has Dial put in a good effort and simply tired a bit late in just her third career start.

“I had a good trip. We broke good. Joel Rosario [aboard Dazzling Move] wanted the lead more than me, so I let him go. I thought the fractions would be pretty quick up front,” said Carmouche. “My horse ran very well. No excuse, second best. My horse was getting a little late. I tried to keep those horses off of me by zig zagging a little, but it didn't work.”

Bred in Kentucky by Killora Stud, Miss Justify banked $74,250 in victory while improving her record to 5-3-0-1. Out of the winning Majesticperfection mare Swiss Alps, Miss Justify was a $200,000 purchase at Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale. She returned $7.50 for a $2 win bet.

Live racing resumes Saturday at Saratoga Race Course with a 12-race program that features the Grade 1, $500,000 Diana [Race 10], in addition to the Grade 3, $175,000 Kelso [Race 2] and the Grade 3, $175,000 Sanford [Race 11]. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.

Saratoga Live will present live coverage and analysis of the Saratoga Race Course summer meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule/.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.