Perfect Sting Preview: Cafe Americano Steps Up

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – Peter Brant’s graded stakes winner Cafe Americano steps up to face elder runners for the first time in Friday’s $100,000 Perfect Sting Stakes at Saratoga.

The Perfect Sting is an 8 1/2-furlong turf route restricted to horses. This year’s edition is the fourth event on a 10-race card with a local post time of 2:54 PM Eastern.

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

1. Cafe Americano 2/1 – This 4-year-old Medaglia d’Oro filly makes her 2020 debut after winning 3 of 5 starts last season, including the Pucker Up Stakes (G3) at Arlington Park that earned her an 88 Beyer speed figure. She’ll need to improve upon that slightly in order to contend here, but bettors can usually trust that trainer Chad Brown will have his runners ready.

2. Piedi Bianchi 30/1 – She shows up to try turf for only the second time in her career, having finished sixth in the 2019 South Beach Stakes over a yielding Gulfstream Park lawn. Her dam, Adore You, had a 4-1-1-1 grass record that included just missing the 2007 Franklin County Stakes at Keeneland by a 1/2-length, and her sire, Overanalyze, produces 11% turf routers.

3. Another Broad 7/5 (Main Track Only) – She will only make the gate if a torrential downpour kicks the race off the turf. All 4 career victories have come on wet dirt, including the 2019 Top Flight Invitational at Aqueduct.

4. Altea 9/5 – She’s been within a neck and a nose of winning turf stakes earlier this year, but she’s struggled to get the job done for trainer Chad Brown while putting together a 15-1-4-4 record under his care. The good news is that this is a considerable class drop from what she’s faced lately, but she’ll need a pace meltdown to help her rally in the stretch.

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5. Feel Glorious 5/1 – Like Altea, she takes a class drop after finishing third in the New York Stakes (G2) and the Matchmaker Stakes (G3) over the past two months. She has steadily improved her Beyer speed figures with every start since joining trainer Christophe Clement at the beginning of 2019 and stands a good chance to win her third stakes under his care.

6. Chaleur 6/1 – She’s had a good start to her stateside career and for trainer Bill Mott, finishing third in her first effort before winning at Belmont Park last time out. Those were optional claiming fields, so this is a definite step up in class, but Mott is more than capable of keeping horses in top form – he has a 17% success rate with last-out winners.

7. Secret Message 3/1 – She was a surprise victor of May’s Mint Julep Stakes (G3), rewarding any sharp bettors who played her with a 25/1 upset. She failed to replicate that success in the Jenny Wiley Stakes (G1) next time out, but she remains a threat if her price is right; trainer Graham Motion and jockey John Velazquez have a 22% success rate since 2019 with a $4.76 ROI.