Saratoga Friday: Grade 3 Waya, West Point Stakes Previews

Posted On 23 Aug 2026

By Christian Abdo —-

Storm Miami might be the one to catch in G3 Waya

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – EGL-One Racing’s Storm Miami has been game on the lead in her last three starts and could find herself in that position again in Friday’s Grade 3, $225,000 Waya, an 11-furlong inner turf test for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Amelia Green, the 5-year-old Blue Point bay was a pacesetting three-quarter-length second in the Grade 3 Sheepshead Bay in May at Belmont at the Big A ahead of crossing the wire a neck third and being demoted to fourth in the Grade 3 Robert G. Dick Memorial in June at Delaware Park.

Storm Miami stretched out to 12 furlongs last out to finish a frontrunning 1 3/4-length runner-up in the local Grade 2 Glens Falls behind Survie, who exited to defeat males in the Grade 1 Christophe Clement Turf two weeks later for trainer George Boughey.

“We’re obviously very proud of that last effort,” Green said of the performance in which Storm Miami matched her career and co-field-best 92 Beyer Speed Figure. “The winner came back and boosted her form, which goes a long way.”

Storm Miami [post 6, John Velazquez] now returns to 11 furlongs, the distance of her strong runs in the Sheepshead Bay and Robert G. Dick Memorial.

“Absolutely, she should love this distance,” said Green of the slight cutback.

The Irish-bred Storm Miami, out of the Listed stakes-placed Sea The Stars mare Cosmic Love, was a $155,000 purchase at the 2026 Keeneland January Horses of Racing Age Sale. Storm Miami had made 20 starts before that buy, including a runner-up finish in the 2023 Marwell at Naas during a juvenile campaign for conditioner Ger Lyons that preceded a two-season tenure for trainer Brendan Walsh.

In the Waya, Walsh provides strong opposition to his former pupil with Massarat [post 4, Manny Franco] and Snipsnippitysnip [post 2, Ricardo Santana, Jr.].

Shadwell Stable’s Kentucky homebred Massarat made her stakes debut in the Glens Falls and closed from 8th-of-9 to land a 4 1/2-length fourth. The 4-year-old Curlin gray entered that race from an 11-furlong optional claiming score in June at Belmont at the Big A. She is 12-3-0-2 overall with $277,375 in earnings.

America’s Pastime Stables and Bloom Racing Stable’s Snipsnippitysnip will try stakes company for the first time. The 4-year-old Girvin bay was fourth in Massarat’s aforementioned optional claiming win ahead of a last-out third to returning rival Silvology going 11 furlongs on July 19 here. She holds a career-record of 13-2-0-4 with $149,406 in earnings.

Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey sends out Stuart Janney, III’s Kentucky homebred Silvology [post 8, Javier Castellano] off her aforementioned July optional claiming win here over next-out stakes-winner Vronti and Snipsnippitysnip. The 5-year-old Blame mare returned in June from an over one-year layoff dating to a pair of graded placings in spring 2025.

“I thought she ran really well the other day,” McGaughey said. “I train her at Belmont Park and she’s been doing really well, so we’re going in here with high hopes.”

Silvology’s pair of graded placings included a head second in the 12-furlong Grade 3 Orchid at Gulfstream Park and a three-length third in the Grade 3 Sheepshead Bay at May at Belmont at the Big A. She showed improvement stretching out in distance earlier last year, graduating sixth-out at 11 furlongs and returning to win at 12 furlongs versus optional claiming company ahead of her stakes tries.

“She’ll run as far as you want her to run,” said McGaughey. “She trained good at Belmont, so I brought her up here, ran her, she won and then I sent her back there to train.”

Silvology is out of the unraced Forestry mare Silviculture, a half-sister to millionaires Ironicus and On Leave for these same connections.

Rounding out the field are Grade 3-winner Venencia [post 5, Micah Husbands] for conditioner Saffie Joseph, Jr.; Grade 2-placed Evershed [post 1, Flavien Prat] for trainer Arnaud Delacour; Ohio-bred stakes-winner Awesomesauce [post 7, Jose Ortiz] for conditioner Joe Sharp; three-time winner Unmerited Favor [post 9, Junior Alvarado] for trainer Ken McPeek; and maiden winner Whitethorn [post 3, Luis Saez] for Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher.

The Waya is slated as Race 8 on Friday’s 10-race card which also includes the $200,000 West Point presented by Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Race 7. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.

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Mi Bago returns to New York-bred company for West Point pres. by Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Mi Bago, recently second to Deterministic in the Grade 1 Fourstardave, will make a quick turnaround when facing fellow New York-breds 3-years-old and up in Friday’s $200,000 West Point presented by Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, at Saratoga Race Course.

The 1 1/16-mile Mellon turf test will be Mi Bago’s fourth stakes start at Saratoga this year. The front-running 4-year-old Vekoma gelding won the Kingston for New York-breds in June before dead-heating with Zulu Kingdom for the victory in the Grade 3 Kelso in July. In the Fourstardave, contested in the rain on August 8, Mi Bago set the pace before yielding to Deterministic in the stretch while battling gamely to hold second by three-quarters of a length over Zulu Kingdom.

“[Mi Bago] loves this place, and he loves the hard turf,” said dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse. “It rained [during the Fourstardave] and there was a little give in the ground, but he still ran well. [The pace] is going to be fast, because Mi Bago has one way of running. He won’t be taken back, so if anybody else goes with him, it will set up for somebody.”

Owned by Gary Barber, Mi Bago has won six stakes races to date, with the Kingston being his only black-type win against New York-breds.

“I haven’t had a lot of New York-breds, but we are starting to get more because we are going to run in New York year round, which we haven’t done,” said Casse. “I just look at him as a good horse. I think one of the reasons why Gary bought him was because he was a New York-bred.”

Jose Ortiz, aboard Mi Bago in the Kingston and Kelso, will be reunited on Friday with Mi Bago, who drew post 4.

Spirit of St Louis, victorious in the 2025 Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational and Grade 1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic, chased home Mi Bago when second in this year’s Kingston and followed that performance with a third-place finish in an open optional claiming race on July 23 locally. Prior to the Kingston, he was second to returning rival Sounds Like a Plan in an optional claimer for New York-breds in April at Aqueduct Racetrack.

“He continues to hold good form as an older horse,” said five-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, who trains the 7-year-old Medaglia d’Oro gelding for Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, and Richard Schermerhorn. “We’re impressed with him. He’s a tough horse.”

Regular pilot Manny Franco will again ride Spirit of St Louis, who drew post 2.

Club Sixty Five Racing’s Sounds Like a Plan, a six-time winner in 13 starts, seeks his first stakes victory in the West Point, having finished third in three stakes tries last year: the Woodhaven at Aqueduct Racetrack, the Rick Violette at Saratoga, and the Mohawk at Belmont at the Big A. His third-place finish in the Mohawk was his lone loss in a six-race span dating back to September 2025.

Trainer Horacio De Paz has patiently guided Sounds Like a Plan through his allowance conditions. Facing New York-breds, he respectively cleared the first- and second-level allowance conditions in September and October at Belmont at the Big A before he finished a game third, beaten a half-length, in the Mohawk for New York-breds at that venue later in October to conclude his 3-year-old season.

Sounds Like a Plan, who was gelded prior to his 4-year-old campaign, is unbeaten in three starts this year. He defeated New York-breds in an optional claiming race at Aqueduct Racetrack in April before defeating open company in an entry-level allowance in June and a second-level optional claimer on July 11, both at Saratoga.

“We had those opportunities and we were trying to find as easy of a race as we can, although with those conditions there are some pretty salty horses in there,” said De Paz. “I think that’s part of the New York-bred program, being able to take advantage of those conditions and purses.”

Ricardo Santana, Jr. has guided Sounds Like a Plan in his past eight starts and has the assignment again in the West Point from post 7.

“I think gelding him has helped, and we have been able to run him in kind of easy in a way spots and [go through] his conditions,” said De Paz. “He always has been an easy horse – there are no issues there. It was more in the afternoon. [Since Sounds Like a Plan was gelded], Ricardo says he settles more and he’s not waiting on horses. Ricardo knows him so well. We will just let him do his thing. If Mi Bago goes in there, the tactics change because he has been taking advantage of his speed.”

George Briggs, winner of an off-the-turf edition of the Cab Calloway division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series last year at Saratoga while in the care of trainer Chad Brown, enters the West Point off a third in the Kingston, in which he chased Mi Bago throughout and ultimately finished 5 1/2 lengths behind that rival. The Kingston was the 4-year-old’s second start for trainer Miguel Clement as he entered that race off a two-length win in a second-level optional claimer for New York-breds 17 days earlier at Belmont at the Big A.

Clement is hopeful that the 12-week break between the Kingston and West Point will help the Peter Brant-campaigned George Briggs [post 8, Flavien Prat] run his best race next Sunday.

“I ran him back on short rest [in the Kingston]; it was an amateur move on my part,” said Clement. “It was the only alternative we had, so I said ‘go for it.’ He’s doing well [following the Kingston]. I’m happy with him.”

Stepping up in class with sharp form is Two’s a Crowd, winner of four straight. The 5-year-old gelding by Cloud Computing won a $16,000 conditioned claiming event in February at Tampa Bay Downs but has not raced for a tag since that outing. After finishing second by a nose in a starter handicap at Tampa later in February, Two’s a Crowd dominated an open entry-level allowance field by 6 1/2 lengths in April at Aqueduct before taking three consecutive starter handicaps that are part of a series at Monmouth Park.

Two’s a Crowd [post 1, Jose Lezcano], like next Saturday’s Grade 1 Forego contender Book’em Danno, is owned by Atlantic Six Racing. He arrived in trainer Derek Ryan’s barn the same day as his Champion stablemate.

“[Two’s a Crowd and Book’em Danna are] both 5-year-olds,” said Ryan. “They both came in the same day and they’re both still going. Two’s a Crowd has won four in a row. There’s not too many people that have horses going strong three or four years straight.”

Two’s a Crowd has stalked or pressed the pace in second in his past three starts at Monmouth and set the pace in his victory at Aqueduct in April.

“He’s versatile,” said Ryan. “He can be on the lead. He won an allowance race in New York for fun in the spring. I managed to get him eligible for the starter series [at Monmouth] and he’s already won it, so I don’t have to run back in it. It’s been a good year with [Two’s a Crowd and Book’em Danno], and long may it last.”

The West Point field also includes Itsallcomintogetha [post 6, Luis Saez], sixth in the Kelso for trainer Lisa Bartkowski; Tonka Warrior [post 5, Julio Hernandez], who ships in off a victory in an optional claimer on July 12 at Canterbury Park for McLean Robertson; Russian Realm [post 9, Chris Elliott], third in the Commentator on the Saratoga main track in June for Danny Gargan; and Leon Blue [post 3, Kendrick Carmouche], last year’s Rick Violette winner who was sixth in this year’s Kingston before winning an off-the-turf optional claimer for New York-breds on July 18 for trainer Melanie Giddings.

Wynstock, Doc Sullivan, Dr. Kraft, and Bank Frenzy are entered for the main track only.

The West Point presented by Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital is slated as Race 7 on Friday’s 10-race program, which also includes the Grade 3, $225,000 Waya for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up at 1 3/8 miles on the turf in Race 8. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.

By Jon Forbes

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