Adirondack Preview: Is Thoughtfully Asmussen’s Next Star Juvenile?

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – Trainer Steve Asmussen’s next juvenile star just might be Thoughtfully, who will attempt to one-up her impressive debut performance in Wednesday’s $150,000 Adirondack Stakes (G2) at Saratoga.

The Adirondack is a 6 1/2-furlong dirt sprint restricted to 2-year-old fillies. This year’s edition is the penultimate event on a 10-race card with a local post time of 5:17 PM Eastern.

Here is a look at the full field for the Adirondack:

1. Ava’s Grace 10/1 – She shows up here after breaking her maiden on debut at Ellis Park, defeating her rivals by a rallying 1/2-length in a 5-furlong dirt sprint. She faces the tough task of giving trainer Robertino Diodoro his first victory of the 2020 Saratoga meet, but perhaps she can replicate her sire, Laoban, who won the 2016 Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) over this same course.

2. Make Mischief 9/5 – The morning line favorite defeated fellow New York-bred juvenile fillies on debut, then ran second in the Schuylerville Stakes (G3) over this course after setting the early pace. She greatly improved her Beyer speed figures from her debut (46) to the Schuylerville (70), and with another similar step forward here, she looms a major threat.

3. Lilac Lace 6/1 – The lone entry to run (and win) on turf, she broke her maiden while debuting over the Keeneland lawn on July 12. While she lacks main track racing experience, her sire, High Cotton, won two dirt stakes (both routes) in his career and his offspring have historically won 14% in dirt sprints.

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4. Thoughtfully 2/1 – She debuted to great fanfare on June 11 at Churchill Downs, breaking her maiden by nearly 9 lengths in hand after being made the 3/5 favorite. Asmussen has had tremendous success with juveniles so far this year, saddling 12 debut winners and six stakes champions thus far, including last week’s local Saratoga Special Stakes (G2).

5. Lucifers Lair 3/1 – Unlike her five rivals, her resume has a victory over the local course thanks to a 5 1/2-furlong dirt sprint debut score on July 19. Trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., have won 13 of their 30 shared Saratoga mounts together since 2019, a whopping 43% success rate.

“She had trained like a filly that was capable of winning her debut,” said Pletcher, who’s won this race five times. “She’s a pretty professional, straightforward sort, so we were hoping for a good race. She was early to come in and we had a good foundation into her, so we felt like we had her pretty fit going into that. By Quality Road, you would think that she would improve stretching out, as well.”

6. Beautiful Farewell 8/1 – Trainer Mike Stidham thought enough of this Frosted filly to debut her against open company at Belmont Park on July 3, where she finished third. She seemingly took a step back next time out while running sans blinkers for the first time, finishing fifth in a 6-furlong maiden special weight on August 2, and will need to show a good deal of improvement to contend against a field of winners just 10 days later.