Upset-minded Sunlit Uplands ships in for G2 Ballston Spa presented by STIHL

By Keith McCalmont —-

Upset-minded Sunlit Uplands ships in for G2 Ballston Spa presented by STIHL

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Group 3-winner Sunlit Uplands brings consistent European form to Saturday’s Grade 2, $300,000 Ballston Spa presented by STIHL, a 1 1/16-mile Mellon turf route for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up, at Saratoga Race Course.

Co-owned by her former trainer Rae Guest with Rachel Flynn, the 4-year-old Irish-bred daughter of Sands of Mali was transferred to the care of conditioner Stuart Wiliams for her 4-year-old campaign.

The well-traveled Sunlit Uplands has competed at nine separate tracks while compiling an 11-4-3-0 record, including wins at Chelmsford [on synthetic], Haydock and Sandown Park in the U.K.

She stepped into Group 3 company in May at Lingfield with a wide late-running fourth under David Probert in the Chartwell Fillies over a straight seven furlongs on debut for Williams.

“She probably needed the race that day and she probably came on plenty from the run,” Williams said. “It’s a real rail bias on that course towards the stand side and, where she was drawn, the jockey had no chance to get tucked in and we ended up being further back than we wanted to. It didn’t go perfect for her, but she ran a nice race.”

Sunlit Uplands followed with a 1 3/4-length second to Moonhall Church when stretched out to one-mile in the Listed Premio XCVII Royal Mares traveling right-handed over soft going at San Siro in Italy.

The improving sort enters from a stalking score in the right-handed Group 3 Stuten Meile over yielding footing on July 5 at Hamburg where she bested Listed stakes-winner Fortuna Diamond by three lengths. Fortuna Diamond exited that effort to run third in the Group 3 Prix du Lieurey at Deauville.

“I was very pleased with her. It was a strong race and a difficult race to go to,” Williams said of the Group 3 score. “The actual traveling took two days to get there. We had to stop twice on the way, so not many horses from Britain go over there and are successful, so I think she did really well.”

Sunlit Uplands completed her final piece of serious work at Newmarket, working in company with stablemate Quinault, a dual Group 3-winning / Group 1-placed son of Oasis Dream.

“We’ve been happy with her since the race as well which is what prompted us to make the ambitious move to come over,” Williams said. “She worked very well over six furlongs and finished the gallop off very strongly. It was a good horse she was working with, so we were very pleased with the work.”

Sunlit Uplands arrived in Saratoga on August 13 and has attracted the services of Hall of Famer John Velazquez, who will pilot the filly from post 2. Velazquez has won the Ballston Spa a record five times.

“She’s taken the trip well. She’s traveled a bit around Europe, so we were hopeful she’d take to traveling there. We’re very happy with her,” Williams said.

Williams said the yard was inspired by recent success at the Spa from European raiders, including the Donnacha O’Brien-trained Kensington Lane in the Grade 1, $600,000 Belmont Oaks; Title Role, who scored in the Grade 1, $750,000 Belmont Derby for Simon and Ed Crisford; and Glacius, winner of the Grade 1, $750,000 Saratoga Derby presented by Qatar Racing for Hugo Palmer. On Saturday, the George Boughey-trained mare Survie completed a stakes double this summer at the Spa with wins in the Grade 2, $250,000 Glens Falls and Grade 1, $750,000 Christophe Clement Turf, the latter providing a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf in October at Keeneland.

“It’s an ambitious plan, but we thought it was the way to go with this filly,” Williams said. “It’s encouraging that the European runners have been doing so well. Some of them are our neighbors, so we’re hopeful.”

Williams said the sizable filly will welcome nearly any type of going.

“She’s a big, strong filly. She’d be well over 16 hands,” Williams said. “Anything but rattling quick I think would be suitable for her. She goes on good-fast ground, she’ll go on good ground, she’d go with a bit of ease in the ground. I just wouldn’t want it very, very wet or very, very fast if we had a choice.”

Five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will have three chances in Grayosh [post 7, Tyler Gaffalione], Play With Fire [post 4, Manny Franco] and Segesta [post 6, Flavien Prat] to earn a record-extending ninth win in this event.

Brown has enjoyed past Ballston Spa success with Zagora [2012], Dacita [2015], Lady Eli [2017], Quidura [2018], Significant Form [2019], Viadera [2021], Technical Analysis [2022] and Beaute Cachee [2024].

Juddmonte’s Kentucky homebred Segesta looms large arriving from five straight on-the-board efforts in Grade 1 company dating to a neck second in the First Lady in October at Keeneland.

The 5-year-old Ghostzapper mare followed with prominent wins in the Matriarch in November at Del Mar and the Jenny Wiley in a dead heat in April at Keeneland to kick off her current campaign. She has made her last two outings at the Spa, landing a 1 3/4-length third in the one-mile Just a Game presented by Resolute Racing in June ahead of a pacesetting second last out in the nine-furlong Dunkin’ Diana over yielding turf.

Segesta has banked in excess of $1.6 million via a 14-5-5-1 ledger that includes additional graded scores in the Grade 2 Wonder Again in May 2024 at Belmont at the Big A and the Grade 3 Matchmaker last July at Monmouth Park.

The well-bred Segesta, out of the Brown-trained 2017 Grade 1 Just a Game-winning First Defence mare Antonoe, is a half-sister to the Brown-trained Grade 1-winning Speightstown colt Salamis.

Flanagan Racing’s Grayosh took down the Grade 2 Lake Placid here traveling 1 1/16-miles in August 2024. She did not return to the winner’s circle until eight starts later when she captured her seasonal debut in a dead-heat with Being Betty in an optional-claimer on April 24 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The 5-year-old Yoshida grey has made her two most recent outings at Monmouth, finishing a four-length third in the Grade 3 Eatontown in June ahead of a rallying one-length win in the Grade 3 Matchmaker at nine-furlongs on July 18.

Grayosh, a $25,000 purchase price at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale, has banked $534,968 through a 16-4-1-3 record. She is out of the stakes-placed Paddy O’Prado mare Rosie O’Prado.

LSU Stables’ Play With Fire captured the Listed Hilltop last May at Pimlico Race Course while in the care of trainer Brendan Walsh. The 4-year-old Oscar Performance bay was then purchased privately by current connections and transferred to Brown, having now finished a close second in 3-of-4 outings, including in the one-mile Grade 2 Lake Placid here last August.

Bred in Minnesota by Lothenbach Stables, Play With Fire is out of the Street Sense mare Streaming Fire, a half-sister to Grade 3-winner City Attraction.

Cheyenne Stables’ Ozara [post 1, Dylan Davis] will look to defend her title in this event after posting a stalking 1 1/2-length score last year for trainer Miguel Clement.

The Ballston Spa victory completed a local stakes double for the 5-year-old Lope de Vega mare, who entered from a winning effort in a division of the restricted Listed De La Rose last July.

Ozara captured the Listed Miss Liberty in May in her seasonal debut at Monmouth ahead of a pair of off-the-board efforts in the 7 1/2-furlong Grade 3 Royal North in June at Woodbine and the Diana last out on July 18.

Live Oak Plantation’s And One More Time [post 5, Javier Castellano] enters from a gate-to-wire effort, in which she survived an inquiry, to capture the restricted Listed De La Rose traveling one-mile over firm footing on July 17 here.

Trained by dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse, the 4-year-old Omaha Beach dark bay defeated her well-regarded stablemate Nitrogen to capture the Grade 1 Natalma in September 2024 at Woodbine in the final start of her juvenile campaign. She did not return to action until the following September there where she scored a prominent half-length win versus elders in a one-mile optional-claimer.

And One More Time has resumed a more robust racing schedule over the past year, dating to a runner-up effort in the Listed Tropical Park Oaks in December at Gulfstream Park. Along the way, she captured the Listed Plenty of Grace over one-mile of firm turf at the Big A and was a three-length fifth in the Just a Game ahead of her recent win.

“In the Just a Game, she had a pretty wide trip both turns. It was just unfortunate,” Casse said. “She’s run against some of the best turf fillies around and done well. She’s a good horse and training really well.”

Bred in Kentucky by William Harrigan and Mike Pietrangelo, And One More Time, a $750,000 purchase at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale, is out of the Blame mare Complicated and is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes-winner Honor D Lady.

A talented field includes dual graded stakes-placed Long Ago [post 8, Kendrick Carmouche, blinkers ON], who enters from a one-length second to Grayosh in the Matchmaker for trainer William Morey; and Grade 2-placed Deep Satin [post 3, Jose Ortiz], who was off-the-board last out in the De La Rose after a troubled trip for trainer Cherie DeVaux. Scalable is entered for the main-track only.

The Ballston Spa is slated as Race 10 on Saturday’s 12-race card, which is headlined by the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama presented by Keeneland Sales in Race 11. First post is 12:45 p.m. Eastern.

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Contact: Keith McCalmont