For Godolphin's Ottoman Fleet, the Fourstardave Handicap (G1T) could showcase a new dimension for the multiple graded stakes winner.
With the scratch of stablemate and 2023 Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) winner Master of The Seas, the son of Sea The Stars will represent Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby in the $500,000 mile turf test Aug. 11 at Saratoga Race Course.
Rain could impact course conditions; originally scheduled for Aug. 10, remnants of Tropical Storm Debby forced the race to be pushed back to Sunday.
Ottoman Fleet, out of the Motivator mare Innevera, is anything but the typical second-stringer with a résumé that lists a pair of grade 2 wins and placing in grade/group 1 stakes in the United States and Dubai.
The key question involves the mile distance as the gelding has yet to race at a distance shorter than 1 1/16 miles in five United States starts.
"He's a horse the team has always liked, who's been pretty consistent in Dubai and Europe," said Appleby's assistant trainer Chris Connett. "This year, he's put together a pair of very nice wins, cutting slowly back in trip. Last time, (jockey Flavien Prat) got off him and said, 'I think he's getting quicker,' which is a nice thing to have going into a big race like this. We have one horse at proven group 1 level and another in really good form who deserves a chance."
Considered a key prep for the Breeders' Cup Mile, the mile turf stakes, named after a horse known as "The Sultan of Saratoga," has a deeper tie to the Breeders' Cup than just its role as a rich prep for the Nov. 2 Mile. It is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In, giving the winner a free, paid berth in the $2 million stakes.
The 5-year-old gelding is returning to New York after winning the Wise Dan Stakes (G2T) and Arlington Stakes (G3T), both at Churchill Downs.
Prior to that, the grade 1-placed runner was second in the May 4 Fort Marcy Stakes (G2T) at Aqueduct Racetrack.
On the American side in the field of six, e Five Racing Thoroughbreds' Carl Spackler will make his grade 1 debut in the Fourstardave. The 4-year-old Lope de Vega colt has been touted as a top-level turf runner since he broke his maiden by 8 3/4 lengths last year in his second start for trainer Chad Brown.
A winner of the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes (G2T) last year, he is coming off a half-length score in the July 13 Kelso Stakes (G3T) at Saratoga.
"It would be nice to secure him a grade 1," Brown said. "When he's on his game, he's a top-level horse, and he seems to be rounding right back into form. He's a very solid horse, and I do think he's got another forward move in him at some point. I hope that's in this race."
The Fourstardave is one of the handful of grade 1 turf stakes in New York that Brown has not captured.
Victory Racing Partners' More Than Looks will make his 2024 debut after finishing sixth, beaten by two lengths, in the Breeders' Cup Mile. The More Than Ready 4-year-old trained by Cherie DeVaux was third behind Carl Spackler in the 2023 Hall of Fame Stakes.
Saratoga Race Course, Sunday, August 11, 2024, Race 10Entries: FanDuel Fourstardave H. (G1T)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Strong Quality (KY) Dylan Davis 119 Mark E. Casse 8/1 98 2Master of The Seas (IRE) SCRATCHED 0 UNKNOWN - 2 3Major Dude (KY) John R. Velazquez 120 Todd A. Pletcher 8/1 3 4Carl Spackler (IRE) Tyler Gaffalione 122 Chad C. Brown 9/5 4 5Money Supply (KY) Manuel Franco 119 Joe Sharp 10/1 5 6Ottoman Fleet (GB) Flavien Prat 123 Charles Appleby 8/5 6 7More Than Looks (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 120 Cherie DeVaux 7/2
