Annapolis Could Use Pilgrim As Prep For Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf; Brown Saddles Pair Aiming For Third Straight Waya

ELMONT, NY – Regally-bred impressive debut winner Annapolis could use Sunday’s Pilgrim Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park as a prep for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) and trainer Chad Brown will saddle a pair while aiming for his third straight victory in the $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Waya Stakes (G3).

The Pilgrim and the Waya are the twin undercard events supporting the Frizette Stakes (G1), a Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1). First post is 1:00 PM Eastern.

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The Pilgrim, which is named after Joseph Widener’s winner of the 1919 Remsen, has seen 3 of its last 5 winners go on to capture the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf: Oscar Performance [2016], Structor [2019], and Fire At Will [2020].

Owned and bred by Bass Stables, Annapolis was a stylish winner on debut going 1 1/16 miles over the Saratoga inner turf on September 4. The bay son of prolific sire War Front, and first offspring out of graded stakes winner My Miss Sophia, was eighth down the backstretch and inched his way into contention approaching the far turn, drawing away in deep stretch to a 4 1/2-length win. The first-out victory registered a 76 Beyer Speed Figure.

“He trained like he was going to run well in his debut, but it’s hard sometimes to win going a mile and 1/16 first out,” Pletcher said. “He did everything right, settled in well, put in a good run and kicked on. He moved up on a nice field of horses and I couldn’t have asked for more on debut.”

Pletcher trained My Miss Sophia during her sophomore campaign, winning the Gazelle (G2) by open lengths before running second in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) in 2014. After being purchased for $2.15 million at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale, My Miss Sophia was transferred to Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott for a 4-year-old campaign, where she was twice graded stakes-placed on grass.

“We never ran her on the turf, but she was a filly that always trained exceptionally well before her debut and seemed to get better and better,” Pletcher recalled. “She ran a great race in the Kentucky Oaks. She was a good mare and it appears that she’s gone on to be a good producer.”

Irad Ortiz Jr. will return to the irons from post 3.

Pletcher also entered Repole Stable’s Midnight Worker, who makes his turf debut following a stakes placing.

The son of Outwork, a second-crop sire, was a narrow but game winner on debut in July going 6 furlongs at Saratoga. He stretched out to two turns for his following effort, garnering black type with a third-place finish in the 1-mile Sapling on September 5 at Monmouth Park.

Midnight Worker has acclimated to the Belmont turf with a pair of breezes, including a 1/2-mile on Sunday in 48.44 seconds – the fourth-fastest of 20 recorded works at the distance.

Luis Saez will ride from post 2.

Chad Brown will seek his fourth Pilgrim triumph when saddling Portfolio Company, who seeks to build on a runner-up effort in the With Anticipation (G3) last out at Saratoga.

Owned by Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables’, Portfolio Company was a debut winner on July 17 over a good inner turf at Saratoga en route to the With Anticipation, where he garnered a field-best 82 Beyer. Breaking from post 4 under Ortiz Jr., Portfolio Company was rank heading into the first turn and was placed along the rail down the backstretch before being turned back when confronting pacesetter Coinage.

Brown said the Kitten’s Joy colt has been training with a new bit in advance of the Pilgrim.

“We’ve been working with the horse,” Brown said. “After that debut, he got a little keen with us and Irad had some trouble with him in that race, especially after he didn’t break that well and he was trying to catch up. It just was a big mess. We’re doing our best to get him to settle and changed some equipment on him. The horse seems to be doing pretty well.”

Joel Rosario will pick up the mount aboard Portfolio Company from post 1.

Limited Liability, third in the With Anticipation, will attempt to give owner Stuart Janney III and Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey their second collaborative Pilgrim victory after teaming up with Air Support in 2010.

The son of Kitten’s Joy was a late rallying 2 3/4-length winner of his July 31 debut over the Mellon turf at Saratoga, before coming off a slow pace and finishing a closing third in the With Anticipation.

Limited Liability added blinkers for a 1/2-mile work in 50.24 over the Belmont inner turf Sunday and will wear them for Sunday’s race.

“He wasn’t keen with them. I’m just hoping he’ll engage a little earlier depending on the pace,” McGaughey said. “Last time, they went 3/4 in 15 and we were 4 lengths off the pace, it’s hard to catch up.”

Limited Liability is out of the Blame mare Hold Harmless, whose prolific third dam Meghan’s Joy produced Grade 1-winning turf millionaire Ironicus, graded stakes-winning turf millionaire On Leave, dual graded turf stakes winner Quiet Harbor, and Norumbega, a graded stakes winner on dirt.

Jose Ortiz will ride from post 4.

Completing the field are Doctor Jeff [post 5, Jose Lezcano], who makes his turf debut for trainer Rudy Rodriguez, and maiden City At Night [post 6, Kendrick Carmouche], who will attempt to give his jockey, owner Three Diamonds Farm, and trainer Mike Maker their collaborative second straight Pilgrim triumph following Fire At Will.

The Pilgrim is slated as race 4.

Brown Aims For Third Straight Waya Score With My Sister Nat, Orglandes

Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will send out defending champ My Sister Nat along with Orglandes in the Waya, an 11-furlong inner turf route for fillies and mares.

Brown will seek his fifth career Waya win and third straight following scores with Goldy Espony [2015], Guapaza [2016], Fools Gold [2019], and My Sister Nat, who captured the 2020 renewal traveling 12 furlongs on the inner turf last August at Saratoga to secure her first win in North America.

A Group 3 winner at Longchamp in her native France, the Peter Brant-owned 6-year-old Acclamation bay joined Brown in 2019 and made her first 3 starts against optional claiming company before finishing a late-closing second beaten a neck in the Long Island (G3) at Aqueduct.

Following her Waya score, My Sister Nat closed to finish second last year in both the Glens Falls (G2) at the Spa and the Flower Bowl Invitational (G1) at Belmont, finishing a head short of Civil Union.

My Sister Nat enters from a closing third in the Flower Bowl on September 4 at Saratoga where she encountered traffic trouble behind stablemate American Bridge while rallying from last of 6 to finish 2 1/4-lengths back of War Like Goddess.

Brown said the talented bay, who has hit the board in 3 of 4 starts this year, is training well towards her title defense.

“I certainly love the way she’s training and I don’t think she got a good trip last time. I felt this filly could have been a lot closer at the finish,” Brown said. “She kind of ran into the other horse we ran [American Bridge], who was sort of in her way when she wanted to make her move on the inside and it really cost her a couple lengths of momentum. At least she could have been closer and made it a little bit more of a race at the end.”

Although My Sister Nat has yet to win on the Belmont turf [6-0-2-3], Brown said he expects a good showing.

“She really runs good here. She’s had a couple unlucky trips,” Brown said. “She got beat a head in the Flower Bowl, arguably one of her best races. I love her on Belmont’s course.”

Brown said a good effort Sunday could propel My Sister Nat to a start in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf in November at Del Mar.

“If she can go over there and really put in a strong performance and her number comes back legitimate and it looks like she has a shot in there, I’d love to make her final start in the Breeders’ Cup, if we can,” Brown said.

Bred in France by Ecurie de Monceaux, My Sister Nat is out of the Galileo mare Starlet’s Sister, who produced 2018 Champion Turf Mare Sistercharlie as well as 2019 Group 1 French Derby winner Sottsass.

Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables and Michael J. Caruso’s Orglandes, a 5-year-old Le Havre bay, will make her third start of the campaign following sixth-place finishes in both the Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay in May at Belmont and the Grade 2 Glens Falls in August at the Spa.

Last year, the French-bred mare won 2-of-3 starts, including a score in the 11-furlong Grade 3 Red Carpet Handicap in November at Del Mar.

Brown said Orglandes has demonstrated a return to form recently in her morning training.

“Orglandes is a horse that really didn’t come back into form this year. I’ve been disappointed with her,” Brown said. “She’s come back this last month and is rounding back into form in her works after I thought maybe we had lost the year with her. I gave her a little breather and I really like the way she’s turned it around in her works.”

Brown said a good effort Sunday could see Orglandes target the Grade 3, $400,000 Long Island, a 12-furlong turf test on November 27 at the Big A.

“She got to contend with a layoff now and going that far, but I’m just looking for a positive effort with her, something I can use to the end of the year to get me into the Long Island,” Brown said.

Jose Ortiz will pilot My Sister Nat from the outermost post 7, while Orglandes will emerge from post 4 under Irad Ortiz, Jr.

Christophe Clement will saddle a pair of formidable contenders in R Unicorn Stable’s Call Me Love and Moyglare Stud Farm’s Beautiful Lover.

Call Me Love, a 5-year-old chestnut daughter of Sea the Stars, won the Group 3 Premio Verziere Memorial Aldo Cirla at San Siro and the Group 2 Premio Lydia Tesio at Capannelle in 2019 in Italy.

Transferred to Clement for her 4-year-old season, Call Me Love hit the board in both the Grade 3 Beaugay at Belmont and the Grade 2 Ballston Spa at Saratoga last year, before securing her first North American stakes triumph in the 12-furlong River Memories on July 11 at Belmont.

Call Me Love enters from a distant seventh in the Grade 3 Glens Falls.

Beautiful Lover, a 5-year-old Arch bay, captured the 2019 Boiling Springs at 1 1/16-miles on the Monmouth turf in the care for former conditioner Chad Brown. Transferred to Clement for her current campaign, the multiple graded-stakes placed dark bay finished fifth in the Distaff Turf in March at Tampa Bay Downs ahead of a neck win last out over next-out winner Miss Teheran in a 1 1/16-mile optional-claiming event June 27 on the Belmont turf.

Out of the Quiet American mare American Skipper, Beautiful Lover is a half-sister to New York-bred graded-stakes winning millionaire Zivo.

Manny Franco will pilot Call Me Love from post 5, while Joel Rosario will guide Beautiful Lover from post 6.

Repole Stable homebred Always Shopping, a 5-year-old Awesome Again mare trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, is a graded-stakes winner on dirt and turf.

The versatile bay captured the nine-furlong Grade 2 Gazelle in 2019 on the Big A main track and added a victory in the 11-furlong Grade 3 Orchid in March on the Gulfstream Park turf.

Always Shopping will stretch out from a two-month layoff out of a fifth-place finish in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Matchmaker on July 17 at Monmouth Park.

“We shortened her up in distance where she’s not at her best and we’re bringing her back at a mile and three eighths. Hopefully, she can regain her best form,” Pletcher said.

Ricardo Santana, Jr. has the call from post 2.

Rounding out the field are Lovely Lucky [post 1, Dylan Davis] and Sister Otoole [post 3, Luis Saez].