British invader Glacius wires Saratoga Derby

British trainer Hugo Palmer finally broke through with his first stateside victory in Saturday’s $750,000 Saratoga Derby (G1), courtesy of his talented colt Glacius, astute planning, and a front-running coup by jockey Luis Saez.

A British homebred for Vefa Ibrahim Araci, Glacius was earning his first stakes laurel after several placings in commendable company. He wasn’t as familiar to bettors as the principals coming out of the Belmont Derby (G1) at the Spa – British-trained winner Title Role, near-misser West End Kid, and close third Remember Mamba – and accordingly was let go at odds of 9.62-1. 

The betting public expected a form reversal in the 1 3/16-mile Saratoga Derby, betting Remember Mamba down to slight favoritism at 2.02-1. West End Kid went off as the 2.06-1 second choice, and Title Role ranked as the 3.63-1 third choice. Yet they were all left to fight out the minors, as Glacius seized control early and held sway. 

The addition of cheekpieces and the booking of Saez were hints that aggressive tactics were potentially in store at Saratoga. Having shown tactical speed at two, and proven his stamina at three, Glacius was the right type to attempt it. The son of Too Darn Hot was good enough to pull it off.

“We looked at the race,” Palmer said, “and we didn’t think there was much pace. The one thing we really knew he would do today is stay. I knew going into it, when I booked Luis Saez, that he’s one of the best riders in North America, but certainly one of the best front-running riders in America; he’s very hard to pass. He certainly had to light up the horse a little bit the first 150 meters maybe to get that position, but we thought we got into a really nice rhythm.”

Although Glavine broke on top, Glacius quickly passed him through an opening quarter in :23.02 on the firm Mellon course and opened up by daylight. Saez moderated the tempo in splits of :47.29 and 1:11.57, and Glacius had more up his sleeve turning for home.

When West End Kid began to improve position in hopes of challenging, Glacius kicked away in upper stretch. West End Kid persevered to gain ground late, but Glacius had built up enough of a cushion to maintain a 1 1/4-length margin at the wire.

Title Role, more patiently handled this time on the step up in trip, finished third, a neck up on Remember Mamba. There was a three-length gap back to The Big Con, Heeere’s Johnny, Glavine, and McCready. Bottas was scratched after winning Friday’s National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (G2), while Pacific Avenue was withdrawn due to injury.

Glacius ($21.24) completed the circuit in 1:53.22. The only thing that didn’t go to plan was the loosening of his girth in transit.

“The girth came loose a little bit,” Saez responded when asked by NYRA publicity. “It was there hanging, but that is the good thing here; we use two. So the other one did its job. It was not a factor. It was all right. 

“It was a beautiful trip. He came out of the gate pretty well. He put me in a great spot. He was a little bit keen early, but he still controlled the pace and finished pretty well.”

Glacius’s resume now reads 6-2-0-3 with approximately $465,305 in earnings, $412,500 from his Saratoga raid. Fourth to eventual mile star Bow Echo in last fall’s Ascendant S. at Haydock, the bay was third in the Autumn (G3) at Newmarket. He was a sneakily-good third in both starts this season, the Hampton Court (G3) at Royal Ascot and the Gala S. versus elders at Sandown.

“He’s been a frustrating horse,” Palmer said. “We always hoped he would be an Epsom Derby (G1) horse at home in England - he just never came. He had a winter coat right up until the middle of May. As a trainer, all you can do is sit on your hands. It’s the most frustrating thing. It’s the only job in the world where when something’s wrong, you do less, not more. 

“He eventually came to himself and started at Royal Ascot and has run very well twice in England. So this looked a great opportunity for him,” Palmer noted, especially “when I realized that the French prize money had been cut so badly and the €400,000 race we were going to run in next week is only worth €100,000 euros. Also, with great respect to those he ran against today, he might have had to run at a higher level to win that €100,000 race in France than today, where he ran for a bigger pot.

“If you look, all the horses he’s been running against have come out, and they’ve gone on in their next starts to run well. It was a listed race last time, but the first, second and fourth - now first, second, third and fourth - have gone on to run well or win in graded stakes next time. His form gave him every chance, and he got a perfect ride.”

Glacius could chase an even bigger pot in the Sept. 5 Nashville Derby (G2) at Kentucky Downs, worth as much as $3 million to Kentucky-bred contenders, with the upgraded Bahrain International Trophy (G1) on his radar Nov. 13. 

“I don’t know,” Palmer said of his impending objective. “We’re definitely going to take him home, but I suspect his next race might be in the States. We’ve nominated him for the Nashville Derby, which is worth a lot of money. We may well go there. The Bahrain International at the end of the year. Sadly, I don’t think he’ll run in England for the rest of the year.”