Bottas takes poignant Hall of Fame; Kentucky Belle upsets Saratoga Oaks

Hours after his late father, Christophe, was inducted into the Hall of Fame during Friday’s ceremony, trainer Miguel Clement sent out Bottas to score a poignant victory in the $400,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (G2). 

Under hot-riding Manny Franco, who was tying a Saratoga record with his sixth winner on the card, the 3.62-1 chance enjoyed a clear passage and motored past the leaders. In contrast, favored Touch of Fire was bottled up until it was too late. 

“I'm in the sky right now,” Franco told NYRA publicity. “It is unbelievable, doing it right here in Saratoga; it means more. It means a lot. I'm just happy to get these opportunities.”

“Not a bad day,” Clement summed up. “I don’t know if it was Manny’s hot streak, Dad up above, or someone deciding to help me out, but I thought it was great.

“It was tremendous,” the horseman added regarding the synchronicity of the induction ceremony. “I was the one last year who had to break the news that (Christophe) didn’t get into the Hall of Fame. Every year we were delighted that he was one of the nominees and always a bit disappointed that we didn’t get selected, so it’s a very emotional day.”

Touch of Fire’s jockey/trainer tandem, Irad Ortiz Jr. and Brad Cox, turned the page in the very next race, the $500,000 Saratoga Oaks (G2), aboard the 10.60-1 Kentucky Belle. Delivering a perfectly timed rally, Irad denied brother Jose Ortiz on favored Faithful Departed.

Both Kentucky Belle and Bottas descend from the same influential matron, Canadian champion Classy ‘n Smart. Kentucky Belle traces to her greatest daughter, Hall of Famer Dance Smartly. 

National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (G2)

Bottas was cross-entered to Saturday’s Saratoga Derby (G1), but Clement opted for the right spot. While the Hall of Fame was a flat mile, compared to the 1 3/16 miles of the Saratoga Derby, the cutback in distance wasn’t the main appeal. Depth of competition and the race shape pointed to Friday, setting the stage for a memorable day at the Spa.

“I was worried about West End Kid and Remember Mamba (in the Saratoga Derby),” Clement said, “but in this race I was only worried about Touch of Fire. With the two defections in this race (Glavine and Immortalised), post 7 was not as daunting as post 9 originally was. It’s a very short run to the first turn. I thought with today’s setup, he had a better chance of being in the clear turning into the stretch than tomorrow’s.”

Franco helped execute just the way it was drawn up in Clement’s mental playbook. Reserved in fourth on the outside, he flanked the rail-drawn Touch of Fire, who intended to track the speed this time. 

After front-running Third Coast carved out splits of :23.53, :47.84, and 1:11.61 on the firm inner turf, the stalking Blinging It Back ranged up to challenge. But Bottas was already revving up wider out, and the Vekoma colt had the gears to draw off by 1 1/2 lengths.

Blinging It Back held second by a neck from Touch of Fire, who gained once he saw daylight. Print rallied from last for fourth, followed by Third Coast, Arizona Territory, and Vasy.

Bottas ($9.24) clocked 1:34.67 to earn his second stakes victory. The Dahman colorbearer prevailed in last fall’s Pilgrim (G2), a “Win and You’re In” for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1), but suffered his first loss when ninth at Del Mar. A comeback third in the June 4 Pennine Ridge (G3) over this course and distance, he was subsequently a troubled fifth in the Belmont Derby (G1). His Hall of Fame victory improved his scorecard to 6-3-0-1, $461,000.

“I wanted to be forward,” Franco recapped. “It was a small field. I just got the horse to beat (Touch of Fire) inside, so that's all I want. I got the horse to beat inside of me, so I want to keep him there, so I take the race from there.”

Bottas was Franco’s sixth winner on the card. John Velazquez was the first to achieve the six-win feat (Sept. 3, 2001), a record twice equaled by fellow Hall of Famer Ramon Dominguez (July 22, 2012, and Sept. 2, 2012). Irad Ortiz recently matched them on July 25.

“Manny rode him brilliantly,” Clement said, “keeping Irad boxed in for a little bit longer (on Touch of Fire) and getting first run. I’m convinced he does stay a little bit farther. If you watch his last race, he was impeded and crowded the whole way and was only beaten a length and a half in the Belmont Derby. Had things been different that day, we may have been more bold to go for the Saratoga Derby, but you can never be blasé about winning a graded stakes at Saratoga.”

Bottas was bred by BCS Thoroughbreds in the Bluegrass and sold for $300,000 as an OBS April juvenile. The dark bay is a half-brother to Parenting, the unbeaten winner of the 2024 Affirmed S. in his brief career. They are both out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Iadorakid, a half-sister to Canadian champion El Tormenta. 

Saratoga Oaks (G2)

The July 4 Belmont Oaks (G1) appeared to be the form guide for the Saratoga Oaks. Half of Friday’s field graduated from that race, most notably the hard-charging runner-up, Faithful Departed, who accordingly went off as the 1.51-1 favorite here. 

But WinStar Farm’s homebred Kentucky Belle ($23.20) shook up the established order in her stakes debut. Last seen getting up in a Keeneland allowance over this 1 3/16-mile trip, she summoned her stamina to topple Faithful Departed in the final yards.

Kentucky Belle was patiently handled by Ortiz, who settled her near the back of the pack, just one spot behind Faithful Departed. When that favorite made her move on the far turn, Kentucky Belle followed her into the stretch.

Longtime leader Code, who posted fractions of :23.85, :48.99, and 1:13.43 on the firm Mellon course, was overwhelmed at the top of the lane. The tracking Fitz Right stayed on determinedly on the inside, but she could not contain the momentum of Faithful Departed.

Faithful Departed took command and briefly looked to have the race in her grasp, only to find Kentucky Belle collaring her. The daughter of Triple Crown winner Justify thrust her head in front in a final time of 1:53.80.

Fitz Right, who was third in the Belmont Oaks, replicated the same finish in the Saratoga Oaks. Next came Bless Her; Imaginationthelady, who reached contention turning for home but failed to stay; Consensus View; Just Aloof; and Code. 

“I was traveling so good,” Ortiz said of Kentucky Belle’s passage through the race. “I tracked (Jose Ortiz on Faithful Departed). I knew he was going to finish. To the three-eighths pole, Jose's waiting, and I'm right behind him, and at the quarter-pole he started making his move. 

“I went with him, and my filly stayed in contact with him, and when we turned for home, she exploded. She gave me a good kick, good turn of foot. That was a good feeling, honestly. She closed. She ran her down because she was running. I don't know how fast we closed, but that was fast."

According to the GPS chart, Kentucky Belle rattled off her final three-sixteenths in :16.49.

“I don’t know how she got caught,” Jose Ortiz said of Faithful Departed. “She never slowed down from the quarter-pole to the wire, and she was giving me everything she had. We were just a little unlucky; we got run down today. She’s doing great and improving, and we were very happy with her. She shows up, and that’s what matters.”

Kentucky Belle also shows up, as reflected in her 6-3-1-2 line. Her bankroll stands at $449,388, but a more lucrative payday could be in her future in the $2 million Dueling Grounds Oaks (G3) Sept. 9 at Kentucky Downs. 

“We missed a little time with her,” Cox said of the break since Keeneland in April, “but it was worth the wait. She ran big, obviously. It looked like she was traveling really well going into the far turn, and turning for home, I was like, 'this should work out, we're going to get some graded placing here.' She was able to get there, needed pretty much all of the mile and three sixteenths. I've always felt this was going to be her thing. 

“We are very proud of the effort; obviously, a well-bred filly, and a big update for her.”

Kentucky Belle’s dam, Dancing Fancy, is a daughter of Hall of Famer Tiznow and Canadian champion Dancethruthedawn, who beat males in the 2001 Queen’s Plate at Woodbine. Dancethruthedawn also starred at Saratoga in the 2002 Go for Wand H. (G1).