The $500,000, Grade 1 Fourstardave Handicap is Saturday at Saratoga. The contest will be run on the inner turf course and is held at one mile and offers an automatic berth to the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile on November 4th at Santa Anita Park.
Here is a look at the field for the 39th edition of the Fourstardave:
1. EMMANUEL [ML 3-1] Jockey: Jose Ortiz. Trainer: Todd Pletcher. Enters the Fourstardave off of a rallying neck score in the one-mile Poker Stakes at Belmont Park June 10. Was switched from dirt, where he made his first four career starts, to turf in June 2022 and Won his very first contest on that surface – the Pennine Ridge Stakes at 1 1/8 miles – by a length. Pletcher’s prior Fourstardave Wins came with RED GIANT (2008), SIDNEY’S CANDY (2011), and HALLADAY (2020).
2. FULL SCREEN [ML 30-1] Jockey: Manny Franco. Trainer: Mark Casse. This longshot enters the Fourstardave off of a 5th-place finish in a 1 1/16-mile Allowance-optional claiming race on the outer turf course here, where he was bumped at the start and was rank in the early stages but made up some ground in the stretch to finish four lengths back. His only Win on turf came way back in his second career start when he held on by a neck in a 1 1/16-mile race at Tampa Bay Downs. He’s shown occasional speed as a 3-year-old but this year has come from well back in the field in all three starts and his lowest post-time odds during that span are 26-1.
3. MY SEA COTTAGE [ML 30-1] Jockey: Dylan Davis. Trainer: Mark Casse. The gelding exits a one-mile starter allowance race at Saratoga (restricted to horses that had run in a claiming race during a specified period of time) that he Won by 2 ½ lengths after leading at every point of call. That followed four starts earlier this year at Belmont and Gulfstream in which he either led or vied for the early lead and fought well enough to finish 2nd once and 3rd three times. He’s in career-best form over the past nine months while competing at a significantly lower level than the Grade 1 field he’ll face Saturday.
4. ANNAPOLIS [ML 8-5] Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr. Trainer: Todd Pletcher. Has finished either 1st or 2nd in nine out of his 10 career starts, the only poor effort coming in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile when he had a rough start and had to race wide late, finishing 11th. Otherwise, he’s shown up big in every race with three Graded Stakes Wins to date and has in fact been sent off as the Post-Time favorite seven out of 10 times, including both of his starts as a 4-year-old in 2023. He is obviously a threat to Win and could very well be favored again in the Fourstardave despite the presence of defending Winner CASA CREED.
5. SO HIGH [ML 20-1] Jockey: Ruben Silvera. Trainer: Naipaul Chatterpaul. His presence in the Fourstardave field should ensure that the early fractions are honest at the very least. He has not Won a race with his current owner and trainer (last visiting the Winner’s Circle in November 2020) but has, on occasion, shown enough fight to pick up a decent-sized check against tough company, his best career race coming back in May 2021 when he finished 5th by two lengths in the Man o’ War Stakes at Belmont and earned a 111 speed figure. Know him early.
6. CASA CREED [ML 7-5] Jockey: Luis Saez. Trainer: Bill Mott. Still going strong at age 7, this throwback type seeks a repeat Win in the Fourstardave after posting a record of one Win, one 2nd, and a 3rd in his three prior starts and running very well in each of them. CASA CREED has excelled on the inner turf course at the Spa, having Won the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes on it in 2019 and also finishing 3rd in the 2020 and 2021 editions of the Fourstardave prior to last year’s 1 ½-length Win. As a closer, he’ll need a solid pace to run into Saturday, and he will probably be trailing his two biggest threats, ANNAPOLIS and EMMANUEL, when the field turns for home.
7. ICE CHOCOLAT [ML 8-1] Jockey: Joel Rosario. Trainer: Mark Casse. This one may be somewhat overlooked in the wagering pools come Post Time, but this Brazilian-bred gelding showed promise in his first Saratoga start last month in the one-mile Kelso Stakes. He was bumped and pinched after the start but recovered to save ground through most of the race and finish well to end up 4th, 2 ¼ lengths behind Winner CASA CREED. Based on his current form, ICE CHOCOLAT should be making up ground in the stretch in the Fourstardave, and having elite finishing rider Rosario on board for the first time doesn’t hurt his cause.
The Fourstardave is slated as race 9 on a card of 11 with a scheduled Post Time of 5:45. Best of luck however you play it.
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