When trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. entered two fillies in the $400,000 Frizette Stakes (G1), he was pragmatic about their chances against the probable heavy favorite Senza Parole.
"I know (Senza Parole) is in a class of her own, but they still have to run the race," he said earlier this week.
As racetrack fate would have it, it turns out Joseph and the connections of the other 2-year-old fillies entered in the one-mile Frizette will not have to face Senza Parole as reports surfaced Oct. 3 that the Chad Brown-trained filly would be sidelined for the remainder of the year.
"She was the best horse in the race and you never wish that on anyone," Joseph said Thursday about Senza Parole. "It was unfortunate but it makes the race wide open."
At the moment, Joseph's decision to cross-enter graded stakes winner The Queens M G in both the Oct. 4 Alcibiades Stakes (G1) at Keeneland and the Frizette and opt for the Oct. 5 Frizette at Aqueduct Racetrack looks like a stroke of genius. While the top three finishers in the Spinaway Stakes (G1) (where The Queens M G was fifth) are entered in the Alcibiades, the Frizette lacks anyone who has placed in a grade 1 stakes.
Just like the Alcibiades, the Frizette has both Breeders' Cup and Kentucky Oaks (G1) implications. As a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series race, it will provide the winner with an automatic, fees-paid spot in the Nov. 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Del Mar. The Frizette will also award the top five finishers points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale.
"I am sure there would have been other people in here if they knew (Senza Parole) wasn't running, but that's the way it is. You still have to go out and win the race," said Joseph who entered Gulfstream Park debut winner Paradise City in the Frizette but did not send her to New York and will scratch her.
Owned by C Two Racing Stable and Mathis Stable, The Queens M G posted a stunning 44-1 upset on opening day at Saratoga Race Course when she took the Schuylerville Stakes. She then produced an even better performance at the Spa when she cruised to a nine-length win in the Adirondack Stakes (G3).
In her initial try in grade 1 company, she ran into a muddy track for the seven-furlong Spinaway and weakened in the stretch to finish fifth behind Immersive, who is entered in the Alcibiades.
"We can't control a wet track," Joseph said. "She had a lot of pace pressure and came up empty. We'd like to think it was the slop but the next race will tell us. She's worked well since."
The lineup also includes DeSales Eighty-Five's Icona Mama, a Pennsylvania-bred Maximus Mischief filly trained by Flint Stites who was third, a little less than a length behind, in the Pocahontas Stakes (G3), and the undefeated Social Fortress. A daughter of Social Inclusion bred in Florida, she is undefeated in two starts for trainer Jamie Ness and is coming off a win in the Sorority Stakes at Monmouth Park.
The Daily Racing Form reported Senza Parole developed a physical issue that will end her hopes of running in the Breeders' Cup. The daughter of Gun Runner won her Aug. 23 debut at Saratoga by 7 3/4 lengths, covering six furlongs in 1:09.84.
Belmont at the Big A, Saturday, October 5, 2024, Race 7Entries: Frizette S. (G1)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Snowyte (KY) Joel Rosario 120 Danny Gargan 6/1 2 2The Queens M G (KY) Dylan Davis 120 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. 10/1 3 3Pondering (KY) Flavien Prat 120 Brendan P. Walsh 12/1 4 4Whatintheliteral (FL) Jorge Ruiz 120 Jena M. Antonucci 50/1 5 5Scottish Lassie (KY) Jose Lezcano 120 Jorge R. Abreu 15/1 6 6Paradise City (KY) Manuel Franco 120 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. 12/1 7 7Another Cleeshay (NY) Junior Alvarado 120 Gary C. Contessa 20/1 8 8Senza Parole (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 120 Chad C. Brown 3/5 9 9Social Fortress (FL) Jaime Rodriguez 120 Jamie Ness 12/1 10 10Icona Mama (PA) Kendrick Carmouche 120 Flint W. Stites 15/1
