Ways and Means seeks return to winner’s circle in G2 Bed o’ Roses; G2 Belmont Gold Cup Preview

Posted On 02 Jun 2025

By Mary Eddy —-

Ways and Means seeks return to winner’s circle in G2 Bed o’ Roses

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Klaravich Stables’ Grade 1-winning homebred Ways and Means returns to the scene of some of her most dazzling performances when she takes on a group of six rivals in Friday’s Grade 2, $300,000 Bed o’ Roses, a seven-furlong sprint for older fillies and mares, at the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga.

The Bed o’ Roses [Race 6] is one of six stakes on the Friday program, which features four Grade 1s in the $750,000 New York presented by Rivers Casino [Race 12], $500,000 DK Horse Acorn [Race 11], the $500,000 Just a Game presented by Resolute Racing [Race 13] and the $500,000 Ogden Phipps presented by Ford [Race 9] – a “Win and You’re In” for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff in November at Del Mar. First post for the 14-race program, which also hosts the Grade 2, $250,000 Belmont Gold Cup in Race 10, is 11:40 a.m. Eastern.

Ways and Means, a pupil of five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown, makes her second start off a six-month respite that ended with a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff over sloppy and sealed footing on May 3 at Churchill Downs. There, she stalked the pace under regular pilot Flavien Prat and made a bid heading into the turn to advance into third position. Ways and Means gave game chase down the lane, but could not reel in the dominant four-time graded stakes-winner Kopion, finishing just three-quarter lengths back of dual graded stakes-winning runner-up Hope Road.

Brown said he was satisfied with the effort off the layoff.

“She came out of that race good. I’m not so sure she loves a wet track and I think the layoff was a lot to overcome,” Brown said. “Looking back on it and seeing who finished first and second – two really good horses from California that were in form and fit – and this filly hadn’t run in quite a while.

“All-in-all, I don’t want to pile up excuses, and I was actually very pleased with her race,” Brown added. “For her to finish third with some good fillies behind her in that race, I think she ran her race.”

The 4-year-old Practical Joke bay returns to the scene of her most impressive victories, and boasts a formidable 4-3-1-0 record at the Spa that includes an eye-catching 12 3/4-length debut graduation in 2023 and a 2 1/2-length triumph in the Grade 1 Test last summer.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Brown said of the return to Saratoga. “She seems to have done her best running here.”

The latter half of her 2024 campaign saw her score an open-lengths win in the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom in September at Belmont at the Big A ahead of a fifth as the post-time favorite in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint where she was among the topflight at the top of the lane but was outmatched in the stretch run and defeated just 1 1/4 lengths.

Ways and Means, who earned a lofty 104 Beyer Speed Figure for an 8 1/4-length allowance romp going one-mile here last summer, is out of the Klaravich Stables-campaigned and Brown-trained stakes-winner Strong Incentive, who also produced graded stakes-winners Highly Motivated and Surge Capacity for the same connections.

Prat will look to engineer a winning ride from post 3.

Irish Three Racing’s Irish Maxima looks to test her mettle against the best of her division off six wins in her last seven starts, including a last-out triumph to make the grade in the Grade 3 Distaff sprinting seven furlongs on April 5 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by John Servis, the 4-year-old daughter of Maximus Mischief enters on a three-race win streak that began with a 13 3/4-length trouncing of the Mrs. Claus on New Year’s Eve at Parx Racing, an effort that was awarded a 101 Beyer. She followed with a two-length annexing of the Listed Barbara Fritchie to kick off her current campaign in February at Laurel Park ahead of her Distaff coup.

The talented bay has won 7-of-9 efforts that saw her lead through the first quarter-mile, including an additional stakes victory sprinting six furlongs in the Weather Vane in September at Laurel. Last out, she again made the lead under regular pilot Frankie Pennington and came under threat from returning rival St. Benedicts Prep at the top of the lane, but persisted through the stretch to win by 1 1/4 lengths in a final time of 1:22.92.

Pennington rides again from post 1.

The other last-out graded winner in the field is Parkland Thoroughbreds and Sportsmen Stable’s Jody’s Pride [post 4, Irad Ortiz, Jr.], who took the one-mile Grade 2 Ruffian by three-quarter-lengths over millionaire New York-bred Sterling Silver on May 10 at Belmont at the Big A.

Trained by Jorge Abreu, the American Pharoah 4-year-old stalked and pounced to her Ruffian victory under Hall of Famer Joel Rosario, prevailing with a steady drive to the inside of her rivals in the lane to land the narrow win in a final time of 1:35.04.

Jody’s Pride, who finished a neck second in the 2023 Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, was impressive in defeat in the seven-furlong Grade 2 Inside Information for her seasonal bow on January 25 at Gulfstream Park, stalking and pouncing to a third-place finish in a three-way photo with Mystic Lake and Emery. The effort earned a 95 Beyer, just one point lower than her career-best 96 earned in the Ruffian.

Juddmonte’s Kentucky homebred Scylla [post 2, Joel Rosario] seeks a return to form off a fourth in the aforementioned Derby City Distaff, where she finished 6 3/4 lengths behind Kopion and three lengths back of Ways and Means.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Scylla’s speed figures suggest she is in career form after earning a career-best 96 for the third consecutive start, matching the number earned for a game second to Society in last year’s Grade 1 Ballerina here and a one-length fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint as part of the exciting tight finish that was topped by the deep-closing Soul of an Angel.

Scylla, out of 2014 Champion Older Mare Close Hatches and a full-sister to multiple graded stakes-winning multimillionaire Tacitus for the same connections, vies for her first win since last June’s Grade 2 Fleur de Lis at Churchill Downs, which was followed by a pair of seconds in the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch at Del Mar and Ballerina.

Dual stakes-winner Miss Justify [post 6, Dylan Davis] returns to the scene of her restricted Wilton victory for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, looking to add to a 8-5-0-1 record that also includes a win in the 1 1/16-mile Listed Seneca Overnight in September at Churchill Downs.

Campaigned by Twin Oaks Bloodstock, IEE Racing, Joseph Bulger and Will Campbell, the Justify 4-year-old returned from a nearly seven-month layoff last out to post a career-best performance with a four-length optional claiming coup on April 18 at Aqueduct Racetrack. The effort was awarded a lifetime-best 93 Beyer.

“I thought she had a good comeback race, so I’m looking forward to this,” Pletcher said. “She seemed to like it here [last summer] and she seemed like she came back well off the layoff.”

Completing the field are multiple graded stakes-placed Justique [post 5, Jose Ortiz] for trainer Cherie DeVaux, and graded stakes-placed St. Benedicts Prep [post 7, Jose Lezcano] for trainer Linda Rice.

America’s Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.belmontstakes.com/event-info/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, and the best way to bet every race of the four-day meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

Flatten the Curve seeks ‘Golden Ticket’ in G2 Belmont Gold Cup

By Michael Adolphson

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The vocabulary word of the day could be ‘ausdauer’ [‘stamina’ in German] on Friday when Eckhard Sauren’s Group 2 winner Flatten the Curve seeks to become the third German-trained winner of the Grade 2, $250,000 Belmont Gold Cup in the past eight editions. Previous German runners to prove victorious were Andreas Wohler-trained Red Cardinal [2017] and Marcel Weiss-conditioned Loft [2022]. The race was not contested in 2020.

Contested over two miles on the inner turf for older horses, the staying test is a ‘Golden Ticket’ event offering the winner an automatic berth into the Group 1, Lexus Melbourne Cup worth more than AUD $8 million, continuing the partnership between NYRA and the Victoria Racing Club. “The race that stops a nation” will be held on November 4 at Flemington Racecourse in Victoria, Australia.

Fans will have the opportunity to take their photo with the 2025 Lexus Melbourne Cup trophy from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Jockey Silks Porch. The 18-carat trophy is created from 34 gold pieces, was hand-crafted for over 200 hours and is valued at AUD $600,000. The Melbourne Cup is awarded to the owner of the winning horse, and smaller replicas are given to the trainer and jockey.

Trained by Henk Grewe, Flatten the Curve heads to the Spa having won four races on the bounce, including the two-mile Group 2 Oleander-Rennen, the same race both Loft and Red Cardinal won just prior to taking their Belmont Gold Cups. In order to become the third Bavarian brute to dominate the locals, the 6-year-old gelded son of Zarak must contest tighter turns than his predecessors, as the Saratoga inner-turf contest is arguably less European-friendly than expansive Belmont Park. In 2024, after six straight European victories in the race, heavily favored Siskany could only manage seventh behind The Grey Wizard. Thore Hammer Hansen, aboard for Flatten the Curve’s last three wins, rides again from the rail of the three-turn affair.

“He had his last fast work on Thursday and Thore rode him,” said Grewe, who brought over German stars Donjah and Sisfahan to finish seventh and 10th, respectively, in the 2020 and 2021 editions of the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf. “We were both very happy with him. I don’t think he will have any problem with the left-handed smaller course at Saratoga or if the ground is soft from rain. He won for us at Nantes, where it was left-handed and a small track with soft ground. We learned a lot that has helped us from our trips with Sisfahan and Donjah.”

The aforementioned The Grey Wizard’s connections have brought his half-brother, The Ginger Wizard, to the race this year. While less-heralded and experienced than his frost-colored sibling, the Graham Motion trainee is on the upswing for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Frassetto Stables, fresh off a 12-furlong all-weather victory at Turfway Park. Earlier this season, when tested over the two-mile trip, the son of the recently deceased Calyx closed from 19 lengths back to finish fourth, beaten 2 1/4- lengths, in Gulfstream Park’s Listed H. Allen Jerkens Handicap. Umberto Rispoli rides from post 6.

“He really appears to want to run a distance this far,” Motion said. “Of course, two miles is a big ask, but he’s done very well and is coming along. He’s not as mature as his brother was this time last year, but he should be competitive. He was competitive in the two-mile race at Gulfstream and he’s come a long way since then. That’s how I’m thinking about it. Two miles tends to be a bit of an equalizer.”

Stuart Janney, III’s Limited Liability was desperately close to casting out The Grey Wizard last year, finishing third by a pair of heads in a three-horse gray blur-of-a-photo for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey. Since then, the consistent gelding has hit the board in five runs, including a victory in the 1 1/16-mile $500,000 Nashville Gold Cup at Kentucky Downs and a second last out in the Grade 2 Elkhorn in April at Keeneland. Frankie Dettori reunites from post 3.

“He will run as far as you want him to run,” McGaughey said. “He ran good there at Kentucky Downs. All his races of late have been good. His race in Florida, he got unlucky down there and just got beat. Then he got unlucky and just got beat at Keeneland. I am expecting him to run well.”

Whisper Hill Farm’s Grade 2 Kentucky Turf Cup winner Grand Sonata tries beyond 12 furlongs for the first time, seeking to pad his already $2.1 career bankroll. The Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher-trained son of Medaglia d’Oro exits a sixth in the Elkhorn, an effort that followed a head second in the 11-furlong Grade 2 Mac Diarmida at Gulfstream Park. Irad Ortiz.Jr. rides from post 8.

“It’s going to be interesting,” Pletcher said. “He’s been very effective up to a mile and a half and he gives me the impression he’ll stay. Two miles is still a long way, but I think he’ll stay that far.”

Experimentation is the name of the game for a distance that is so rarely utilized stateside. Trainer Tom Morley is confident this test could be worthwhile, as his charge Curbstone, owned by Patricia Moseley, was second in his lone attempt in Far Hills’ $150,000 John Forbes last October to The Grey Wizard. Ben Curtis rides from post 7.

“Two miles on the turf is not something that a lot of horses in America do on a regular basis, but this horse has always shown an abundance of stamina,” Morley said. “The further the better, on either surface. He should be very competitive in this spot. The nominations look like a mixed group of horses, some jumpers, but the one time Curbstone has went two miles on turf, he ran very well.”

The recently graded stakes-placed trio of Imaginary Stables’ Fernando Abreu-trained Padiddle [post 2, Jose Ortiz], Michael Paradis’ Brian Lynch-trained Anglophile [post 5, Javier Castellano] and LSU Stables’ Miguel Clement-conditioned La Mehana [post 4, Manny Franco], the lone mare in the race, also bring substantial claims if able to negotiate the two-mile test effectively.

Anglophile, a Grade 3 winner two years ago, was third in the Elkhorn before a second in the Grade 2 Man o’ War last out, five lengths to the good of third-placed Padiddle, who just broke his maiden in March. La Mehana, Group 1-placed in her native France in 2023 over 1 3/4-miles, has finished in the money in 7-of-10 stateside runs for connections – all in stakes company.

Clement also entered Peachtree Stable’s Tawny Port [post 9, Flavien Prat], who exits a sixth in Gulfstream Park’s Pan American and is winless since Saratoga’s 1 5/8-miles Listed John’s Call in 2023 – coincidentally the last time he raced over the Saratoga turf.

Lord Flintshire, seventh in the H. Allen Jerkens and third in the John Forbes for top dual-purpose trainer Keri Brion, returns to the flat with Hall of Famer John Velazquez aboard from post 10. He exits a maiden-breaking hurdle victory over 2 1/8 miles at Glenwood Park at Middleburg.

Winning Move Stable’s Linda Rice-trained Yo Daddy and the Hall of Famer Bill Mott-trained pair of Claiborne Farm’s Timeout and Pin Oak Stud’s Parchment Party were entered for the main-track only.

The Belmont Gold Cup, slated as Race 10, is part of a lucrative 14-race card that features four Grade 1s for females, including the $500,000 Ogden Phipps presented by Ford [Race 9], offering a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff; the $500,000 DK Horse Acorn [Race 11]; the $500,000 New York presented by Rivers Casino [Race 12]; and the $500,000 Just a Game presented by Resolute Racing [Race 13]. The stacked program also offers the Grade 2, $300,000 Bed o’ Roses [Race 6]. First post is 11:40 a.m. Eastern with gates open to the public at 10 a.m.