Saratoga Picks | Saratoga Oaks 2024

Godolphin’s British-homebred Cinderella’s Dream was a stylish winner of the Grade 1 Fasig-Tipton Belmont Oaks Invitational in her New York debut on July 6 at Belmont at the Big A. The Shamardal bay will have to annex an international field of six rivals if the fairytale is to continue in Friday’s Grade 2, $400,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Oaks Invitational, at Saratoga Race Course.

The Saratoga Oaks Invitational is slated as Race 8 on Friday’s 10-race card, which co-features the Grade 2, $500,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in Race 9. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.

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Trained by Charlie Appleby, Cinderella’s Dream has trained into the 1 3/16-mile Mellon turf tilt for sophomore fillies from Godolphin’s Greentree facility located adjacent to Saratoga, breezing back twice over the Oklahoma training turf to maintain her good form.

Cinderella’s Dream was nothing short of spectacular in her stateside debut over firm footing in the 1 3/16-mile Belmont Oaks, firing down the lane with an electric turn-of-foot from well off the pace to overtake the dueling returning foe Segesta and 4-5 favorite She Feels Pretty to secure her first Grade 1 win in a course record 1:53.42.

She worked a half-mile in 50.55 seconds Friday over the Oklahoma training turf in company with Beautiful Love, a 3-year-old Siyouni filly, in her final preparation for the second leg of the lucrative invitational series.

“She’s in great nick and she’s done very, very well since her last run,” Appleby said. “She broke the track record there last time at Aqueduct in the Belmont Oaks, which was impressive.”

Cinderella’s Dream won her first four starts, including an eye-catching 5 1/2-length win under Buick in the Listed Jumeirah 1000 Guineas at Meydan Racecourse with a slipped saddle. She failed to fire in the 16-horse strong Group 1 1000 Guineas on May 5 at Newmarket when seventh but did land a neck to the good of next-out Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Fallen Angel.

Cinderella’s Dream is out of the Dubawi mare Espadrille, while her second dam is the Group 3-winning High Chaparral mare High Heeled.

Buick has enjoyed much success in tandem with Appleby at Saratoga, capturing this event in 2022 aboard With The Moonlight, along with scores in the 2022 Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational with Nations Pride and the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan in June with Measured Time as part of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. He will pilot Cinderella’s Dream from the inside post.

Greenfinch will be the main antagonist while racing off short rest from her win in the Listed Cairn Rouge on July 17 at Killarney for Champion trainer Aidan O’Brien.

With Wayne Lordan up in the one-mile Cairn Rouge, Greenfinch, who sports a distinctive wide, white blaze, broke a step slow from her inside draw, but easily made the front to set the tempo en route to a comfortable 2 1/4-length score.

Greenfinch graduated at third asking in November over the Dundalk synthetic ahead of a pair of fourth-place efforts on turf in Group 3 company in the seven-furlong Priory Belle in April at Leopardstown and the 12-furlong Munster Oaks in June at Cork.

She arrived at the Cairn Rouge from a close third under returning rider Ryan Moore in the 10-furlong Naas Oaks on June 26 where she raced from the back of the pack next to eventual winner Hanalia. That duo made a surging run down the lengthy homestretch to arrive in a blanket finish with Hanalia a three-quarter length winner over Bellezza, who nosed out Greenfinch for place honors. Hanalia exited that event to run sixth in the Group 1 Irish Oaks at the Curragh, while Bellezza returned to action today to finish a close third to the victorious O’Brien-trained class dropper The Euphrates in the Listed Marble City at Gowran Park.

Greenfinch, out of the multiple Group 1-winning Galileo mare Misty For Me, is a half-sister to multiple Group 1-winning millionaire U S Navy Flag and graded stakes-winner Cover Song. She is owned by Westerberg, Mrs. John Magnier, Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor.

Moore, in search of his first Saratoga win, has the call from post 5.

Kenneth Ramsey’s Movin’ On Up [post 7, Tyler Gaffalione] will look to get a big piece of the pie as she aspires to go from claim to fame for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr.

The Accelerate gray was haltered for $35,000 from a third-out graduation in December in an off-the-turf maiden over the Gulfstream Park synthetic. She followed with a 3 1/4-length optional-claiming score over the same surface on March 3 and 20 days later closed from last-of-10 to finish fifth in the Turfway Park’s Bourbonette Oaks when three lengths back of the victorious Everland.

Last out, Movin’ On Up stalked and pounced to a 1 1/4-length allowance win traveling nine furlongs over firm footing to best older company on June 13 at Churchill.

“She made a big run in the race at Turfway and flattened out and then she won very nicely at Churchill the other day,” Joseph, Jr. said. “It was a bit of a wide trip, but she seemed to stay the distance well.”

Joseph, Jr., who has already won two stakes at the Saratoga summer meet, credited his owner with selecting the well-bred Movin’ On Up, whose second dam Gloria S – a half-sister to 2012 Grade 1 Kentucky Derby-winner and Champion 3-Year-Old Colt I’ll have Another – produced Grade 1 turf winner Harvey’s Lil Goil.

“Mr. Ramsey picked her out. She came in in good form and has continued her natural development,” Joseph, Jr. said. “She is getting better as a 3-year-old and that’s what you want to see.”

Juddmonte’s Kentucky homebred Segesta [post 6, Irad Ortiz, Jr.] set a good tempo in the Belmont Oaks, holding a head advantage at the stretch call as she dueled gamely to the wire to miss by less than one length while securing place honors by a nose over Grade 1-winner She Feels Pretty.

Trained by four-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, the Ghostzapper dark bay, out of the Grade 1-winning First Defence mare Antonoe, graduated at third asking in April at Keeneland ahead of a prominent score in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Wonder Again at Belmont at the Big A.

Gary Barber, Rocky Top Stables and LEMB Stables’ late-running Dancing N Dixie [post 2, Jose Ortiz] enters from a neck score in the one-mile Listed Tepin on June 29 at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, the Florida-bred Neolithic grey rallied from seven lengths back in seventh position before making a seven-wide move at the top of the lane to arrive in the final jumps to best Mo Fox Givin with returning rival Kathynmarissa another half-length back in third.

The winning effort earned an 85 Beyer Speed Figure and avenged a trio of similar deep-closing near misses when third in each of the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Florida Oaks in March at Tampa Bay Downs, the one-mile Grade 2 Appalachian in April at Keeneland and the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Edgewood in May at Churchill.

Dancing N Dixie, a $35,000 purchase from OBS June 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age sale, has banked $320,550 through a 10-3-0-3 record.

Rounding out a talented Saratoga field are the Rick Dutrow, Jr.-trained stakes-placed duo of Macanga [post 4, John Velazquez] and Kathynmarissa [post 3, Frankie Dettori].