Sweet Melania has both the speed and the class to take care of business in Friday’s $100,000 Lake George Stakes (G3) over one mile of Saratoga’s inner turf for Todd Pletcher.
One of the nation’s top juvenile grass fillies last season when victorious in the Jessamine (G2) and a commendable third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) behind Sharing, Sweet Melania kicked off her sophomore campaign with a wire-to-wire, 1 1/2-length tally in the June 20 Wonder Again (G3) at Belmont Park.
“She breezed super on Friday, so hopefully she’s ready to run well again,” said Pletcher, referring to a half-mile breeze in :48.72 over the turf at the Oklahoma training track. “I think she has tactical speed she can carry. A mile is a good fit for her.”
Disappointingly up the track in the Wonder Again, was Selflessly, who captured the Miss Grillo (G2) last fall prior to a fifth-place run in the Breeders’ Cup. She’ll look to rebound with Irad Ortiz Jr. taking the reins for Chad Brown.
Micheline‘s stakes form is a mixed bag, with an upset in the May 2 Honey Ryder S. at Gulfstream book-ended by unplaced efforts in Grade 3s at Tampa and Churchill. However, the Bernardini filly was a close second in the Sweetest Chant (G3) last winter at Gulfstream.
Witez, a longshot second to Sweet Melania in the Jessamine but unplaced in two subsequent stakes outings, enters off a course-and-distance allowance win last month for Ian Wilkes, while Cat’s Pajamas was three lengths fifth when favored in the Lake Placid (G2) earlier in the Saratoga meet.
