Scottish Lassie Runs Away With CCA Oaks

The connections of Scottish Lassie knew they had a quality filly on their hands after the daughter of McKinzie broke her maiden by nine lengths in the Frizette Stakes (G1) last fall at Aqueduct Racetrack in her second career start. The 3-year-old filly solidified that victory with her first win since then in the $465,000 Coaching Club American Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1) July 19 at Saratoga Race Course. Ridden by Joel Rosario for the first time, Scottish Lassie scooted to the lead around the first turn. She never looked back while delivering a 15 1/2-length score over a field that was scratched down to four 3-year-old fillies. Immersive, the race's 3-5 favorite, showed good early speed from the rail under Manny Franco, who then steered his mount to the outside around the first turn, while relinquishing the lead to the eventual winner. Immersive made a bid to collar the pacesetter of the 1 1/8-mile dirt race going into the final turn, but to no avail. Immersive, last year's champion 2-year-old filly, finished second and was followed under the wire by Dry Powder and Take Charge Milady. The complexion of the race changed when dual grade 1 winner and front-runner La Cara, the 2-1 second choice on the morning line, was scratched because she was among a group of horses placed in a precautionary quarantine at Saratoga due to a suspected case of strangles in barn 28. Scottish Lassie completed the distance in 1:50.23 after fractions of :23.81, :48.09, 1:12.37, and 1:36.99. She returned $6.70 as second choice. The winner was bred in Kentucky by Dr. Naoya and Marie Yoshida's Winchester Farm and is owned by Sportsmen Stable, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Photos Finish, Corms Racing Stable, and Jorge Abreu, who trains the filly and picked her out of the 2024 Ocala Breeders' Sales March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training from the Gene Recio consignment. Scottish Lassie was bought for $85,000 with Parkland Thoroughbreds signing the slip. Joe D'Agostino, the managing partner of Sportsmen Stable, said standing in the Saratoga's winner's circle after a grade 1 is "the utopia; this is what we're in the business for. When I first got in the business, I was thrilled to death to win a maiden $20,000 (claimer) at Saratoga." Naoya Yoshida made the trip from Kentucky by car to see the filly he co-bred with his wife, Marie, from their mare Bodebabe (by Bodemeister), run. When Scottish Lassie competed in the June 6 Acorn Stakes (G1) at Saratoga, his flight was canceled and he didn't see the filly finish third. Scottish Lassie is Bodebabe's second foal and first stakes winner. Yoshida said a yearling colt by Corniche, bred by Winchester, has been entered in the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. "She didn't have a foal this year, but she is in foal to Practical Joke," he said. Given the size of the partnership group, there was barely room for Scottish Lassie to enter the winner's circle, but Abreu never lost sight of his filly who gave him his initial grade 1 career win in last year's Frizette. "Oh my God," he said, "this is unbelievable, winning a grade 1 at Saratoga." Scottish Lassie is one of two graded winners this year for second-crop sire McKinzie, who stands at Gainesway near Lexington. Among his other leading runners this year are Summertime Oaks (G3) winner Cash Call and classic-placed Baeza. McKinzie stood the 2025 season for $75,000.