Cat Moves seeks to remain undefeated in Test

Trainer Tony Dutrow could continue his current hot streak Saratoga on

Saturday when he saddles undefeated CAT MOVES (Tale of the Cat) against seven

other three-year-old fillies in the $300,000

Test S.

(G1).

Cat Moves owns just three career starts, not making her debut until April 26

at Aqueduct, a move that her connections considered to be an investment in her

future.

"Once we saw she was promising, we did not run her as a two-year-old," said

Dutrow, who has sent out seven starters and come back with three wins, one

second and three third-place finishes by the end of the first week of racing at

the Spa. "Her ankles were a little immature. Had she been of average ability, we

would have run her. We knew she was more than average, so we decided to give her

some time and let her mature. It's an investment that has paid off very well."

In her first start, Cat Moves wired her rivals by 8 1/4 lengths after zipping

through fractions of :21.50, :44, :56.55 and 1:10.14. She was equally dominant

in taking an allowance at Delaware Park in her next start, winning by 4 3/4

lengths, and then stepped right up into Grade 1 company to take the Prioress in

her stakes debut on July 4 at Belmont Park.

"She's so calm and professional," Dutrow said of Cat Moves, who will be

stretching out to seven furlongs in the Test. "Her first race, she acted as if

she had done this a million times. Winning a Grade 1 was our goal, and having

done that, I feel so fortunate to be able to participate in the Test S., because

the racing world holds it in such high esteem."

Back to challenge Cat Moves in the 84th running of the Test will be two who

finished behind her in the Prioress: REFORESTATION (Forestry), who was third,

and HEART ASHLEY (Lion Heart), who set the pace before fading to finish sixth.

"We don't know how good Cat Moves is, but we know we belong," said Billy

Turner, Reforestation's trainer.

FIRST PASSAGE (Giant's Causeway), ALL OF HER TWIST (Forest Wildcat) and

PRETTY PROLIFIC (Lion Heart) come in to the Test from out of town. The

Florida-based First Passage took the Azalea S. (G3) on July 11 at Calder while

All of Her Twist and Pretty Prolific finished one-two, respectively, in the July

18 Dearly Precious S. at Monmouth Park.

FLASHING (A.P. Indy), on the other hand, is no stranger to the New York

racing season and will be shortening back up to the same distance over which she

won the Nassau County S. (G3) at Belmont Park on May 2. The chestnut was third

to Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d'Oro) in the nine-furlong Mother Goose S. (G1) in

her last start on June 27.

Completing the Test field is OLDE GLAMOUR (Kelly Kip), who has not been off

the board in 12 starts, most recently taking the Jersey Girl S. at Belmont Park

on July 5 to snap a string of five straight second-place finishes.

One race earlier on the card, a field of 14 sophomore fillies, including one

also-eligible and three main-track only runners, has been entered in the $70,000

John Hettinger S. going a mile on the inner turf. COMPLICITY (City Zip) is

still looking for that elusive first stakes victory after running third in the

Indiana Downs Distaff S. on July 6 and will take on the likes of Sands Point S.

(G2) third BLUEGRASS PRINCESS (Dynaformer) and the undefeated Breeders' Cup

Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine MARAM (Sahm), who will be returning to competition

off that October 24 event.