Bob Baffert built his Hall of Fame reputation with colts. He has a record-tying six Kentucky Derby (G1) wins including American Pharoah and Justify, who went on to win the Triple Crown.
He hasn’t done too badly with fillies either with classic winners like Indian Blessing and Plum Pretty. Baffert heads East to Saratoga Saturday with Explora, another classy filly looking to earn her first Grade 1 victory in the $500,000 Test Stakes (G1) for 3-year-olds going 7 furlongs.
Explora is the 5-2 favorite to give Baffert his fourth victory in the Test. This might be Explora’s ideal distance.
She has run well going longer against the toughest fillies of her generation. Explora closed out her 2-year-old season with a narrow loss in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at 1 1/16 miles. She dictated the pace in the 1 1/8-mile Kentucky Oaks (G1) before settling for fourth.
“Going into the Oaks, we thought we could win it. It was a tough race that day and she took all the heat early and still ran well,” said Baffert, whose past Test winners are Indian Blessing [2008], Contested [2012] and Gamine [2020].
Following the Kentucky Oaks, Baffert cut the distance back to 7 furlongs to win the Leslie’s Lady at Churchill Downs. That win improved her record to 2-1-0 in three races at the distance. This is another opportunity for Explora to add a coveted Grade 1 victory to her resume.
“We're just trying to get that Grade 1,” Baffert said. “She's very talented and she should like the seven-eighths there.”
Explora drew post 7 which should be an ideal starting spot for a filly who can set the pace or closely stalk the leaders. She will be in an even more advantageous position if Percy’s Bar (8-1) and Carmel Coast (15-1) skip the Test to run in Kentucky. Both were cross entered in Sunday’s $200,000 Audubon Oaks at Ellis Park also at 7 furlongs.
In many instances, it pays to follow the jockey assignments, and Flavien Prat is sending a strong signal. He is reunited with Explora, who he last rode in the Kentucky Oaks. In so doing, he gave up the mounts on a pair of solid contenders: Movie Night (7-2) and Goodall (5-1).
With Prat making his call, Movie Night landed Jose Ortiz in the saddle, and that’s not a bad considering the sensational season he is enjoying. Movie Night has shown a lot of potential with consecutive sprint wins at Churchill Downs. This is a tough spot for her stakes debut.
“She’s got a lot of ability and talent. She’s a filly with a great mind and disposition,” trainer Will Walden said. “She only lets the freak out of the bag when we ask for it, which is good, and we think she’ll excel at 7 furlongs. I’m excited to try to jump up and win a stakes with her.”
The Test is slated as Race 9 on Saturday’s 14-race card, headlined by the $1 million Whitney Stakes (G1). Post time for the Test is 4:36 p.m. ET.
We’ve been a fan of On Time Girl (7-2) since she won the Eight Belles (G2) on the Kentucky Oaks undercard. Let’s run up the caution flag. The chart caller notes she “bled” in her runner-up finish to Explora in the Leslie’s Lady. That indicates On Time Girl had a respiratory issue.
The standard treatment for a bleeding episode is treatment with Lasix. However, that medication is not allowed in graded stakes. The weather could be a factor as well. The forecasters are predicting a wet humid weekend at the Spa – the worst possible conditions for a bleeder.
So, with that in mind, it’s time for our forecast.
1 Movie Night (Jose Ortiz, Will Walden), 7-2
2 Percy's Bar (Manny Franco, Ben Colebrook), 8-1
3 Sippin Pretty (Ricardo Santana, Jr., Ian Wilkes), 6-1
4 Where Luck Lives (Luis Saez, Brian Lynch), 12-11
5 Goodall (John Velazquez, Steve Asmussen), 5-1
6 On Time Girl (Irad Ortiz, Jr., Brad Cox), 7-2
7 Explora (Flavien Prat, Bob Baffert), 5-2
8 Carmel Coast (Tyler Gaffalione, Whit Beckman), 15-1
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
