Chaos was the theme of the 106th Schuylerville Stakes, which was listed at $175,000 on opening day at Saratoga Race Trackand including the victory of MG Queens who caused a shock 44-1.
Second favorite Complexion (Complexity ) acted at the gate, forcing rider John Velazquez to dismount twice, and he appeared to be in discomfort, clutching his left elbow. Complexion was pushed out of the gate before Velazquez returned to his saddle.
Astoria Stakes Winner What does it mean literally? (Lord Nelson) The next rider to be eliminated was Javier Castellano shortly after breaking away, and Slang (Omaha Beach ) was pulled back in the middle of the track by Ricardo Santana Jr. and then slipped out of his grasp, running around the track before being caught near the seven-furlong chute.
Meanwhile, Dylan Davis used his position from 11th to keep The Queens MG safe and on the pace, then closed the gap in the closing stretch to win by 2 3/4 lengths. The mare’s first-year sire Thousands of words ran six furlongs in 1:11.31. Popular Viggiedal finished sixth after picking up the pace initially, and Complexion was never a factor, finishing seventh.
“Just broke well,” Davis said. “Had an easy, comfortable ride on the outside. She was really comfortable with me and I liked what I felt, just getting her into the stretch, waiting for her to turn, and then she responded well to me in the stretch.”
Queens MG was bred in Kentucky by TF VanMeter, Samuel Hernandez, Jesus Torres and Justin Vinalay. She sold for $3,500 to Rigoberto Acevedo at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearling Sale from the St George Sales consignment. She was later purchased privately after winning her first race by a head at Keeneland In April, C Two Racing Stable and Mathis Stable purchased her and passed her on to trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.
Dark brown mare from Grindstone mare Queen of show is her mother’s second foal and comes from the close family of Grade 1 winner and Kentucky Derby (G1) runner-up Bodemeister.
In her Keeneland debut, The Queens MG was Thousand Words’ first race and won at odds of 45-1. The win at Schuylerville gave Thousand Words its second win in six starts. Vodka with a twist won the Listed Debutante Stakes on June 30 at Churchill Downs.
Thousand Words, a Florida-bred stallion bred by Pioneerof the Nile, has won multiple awards and is currently ranked third in the top stallions list. He sold this year at Spendthrift Farm near Lexington for $5,000.
In The Queens MG’s second start, in the Astoria Stakes at the Belmont Stakes Festival at Saratoga, she was considered the favourite and finished a disappointing seventh by 18 lengths.
“Last time at Saratoga, she was the favorite and she didn’t even show up. She ran as bad as a horse can run and we were really disappointed. She had a good post-race check-up and we couldn’t find any health issues,” Joseph said. “I think we’re going to proceed as if that race didn’t exist and train her for Schuylerville.
“We had nothing to lose going into the race and she proved today that she’s a good horse. After the last race, it’s hard to have confidence going into a race, especially a tight race like this. At the quarter mark I realised she was running and she won.”
