Trainer Christophe Clement had to scratch defending champion and morning line favorite Roses for Debra from Thursday’s $200,000 Caress (G3), but her stablemate, Dontlookbackatall, stepped into the breach at Saratoga. The 8.60-1 chance pounced from just off the pace and edged Danse Macabre to score a new career high.
Dontlookbackatall was coming off back-to-back stakes victories in the May 5 License Fee S. at Aqueduct and the June 24 Power By Far S. versus Pennsylvania-breds at Parx. The four-year-old had not tried graded company, however, since her fourth in the 2022 Matron (G3) as a juvenile. She passed that test here with the assistance of a heady ride from Irad Ortiz Jr., who reverted to Dontlookbackatall after Roses for Debra was withdrawn due to illness.
Campaigned by West Point Thoroughbreds, Scarlet Oak Racing, and Titletown Racing Stables, Dontlookbackatall settled into an ideal stalking fourth behind a pace-battling trio. Future Is Now, who upset Roses for Debra in the Intercontinental (G2) in her latest, led narrowly while pressed by Kaufymaker through fractions of :21.49 and :43.82 on the firm course. Run for the Hills added to the intensity by forcing the issue three wide.
Future Is Now rebuffed them and briefly pulled clear in midstretch, but she could not stave off the strongest closers in the final strides. Danse Macabre, outpaced early, speared through on the inside, while Dontlookbackatall swept on the outside under a perfectly-timed Ortiz move.
“Look here,” Clement said, doing color analysis of the replay. “Irad got her in stalking. You can see he is looking behind him to get in that spot – he loved that spot. He has plenty of horse, and most people would have moved earlier. He is waiting and waiting and even now coming to the stretch, they are all out, all of them, and look how cool he is still sitting.
“I mean, it’s an extraordinary remarkable ride. Well done, Irad. The filly is very good. Thank you West Point, because they send us good horses, but that was a great ride.”
“(Clement) told me, ‘Just ride the filly, ride her how you have been riding her.’ Everything worked out perfect,” Ortiz said. “It looked like two horses that got more speed than us, and my plan was to probably sit right behind them. I think (Mark) Casse’s horse (Run for the Hills) broke good today, showed some speed, so still I was able to drop in and ended up behind those two horses I want and then I take my time. When I asked her, she was there for me.
“She gave me the confidence. I’ve been riding her last (two) starts, and she’s been winning and she’s there for me. I just trust her and it worked out perfect.”
A neck up at the wire, Dontlookbackatall negotiated 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:01.39. Runner-up Danse Macabre likewise had a neck to spare over Future Is Now, who saved third by a head from the deep-closing Secret Money. Zeitlos rallied for fifth, followed by Star Guest, the 2.30-1 favorite after drawing in from the also-eligible list; Freedom Speaks; Kaufymaker; Run for the Hills; and Kerry. The main-track-only entrants Hot Fudge, Everyoneloveslinda, and Speedy Traveler were scratched, along with Roses for Debra.
“When I entered her,” Clement said of Roses for Debra, “she was fine. Then the next morning she had a temperature. She is better, but she is still coughing; it is not over yet. We just have to give her the time.”
Dontlookbackatall rewarded her backers with $19.20 while improving her resume to 13-6-5-0, $487,290. Interestingly, the Caress marked her third clash with Danse Macabre, who had beaten her in both previous stakes meetings over six furlongs. Danse Macabre was third in the 2022 Matron, one spot ahead of Dontlookbackatall, and they ran one-two in last fall’s Glen Cove S. Dontlookbackatall had the edge in their Caress rematch, between her race fitness and her proficiency at the trip.
Danse Macabre was using the Caress, her first start of the year, as a springboard to the Aug. 31 Ladies Turf Sprint (G2) at Kentucky Downs.
“That’s our goal,” trainer Kelsey Danner said. “That’s why we picked this race because the timing worked out better. She likes it there – perfect distance (6 1/2 furlongs). That’s why we didn’t come back until now because that’s been our goal.”
Clement indicated that Dontlookbackatall has a few possible options, ranging from Kentucky Downs or Presque Isle Downs to the Aug. 23 Smart N Fancy S. back over the Caress course and distance.
Dontlookbackatall became the first graded winner for her Pennsylvania sire, the War Front stallion Peace and Justice. Bred by A1A Racing in the Keystone State, the dark bay also ranked as a top seller for her sire when bringing $150,000 as an OBS March juvenile. Her dam, the Arch mare Celtic Arch, previously produced Grade 2-placed En Wye Cee. This is the immediate family of multiple Group 3 scorer and German classic-placed Rocchigiani, who’s now plying his trade in Hong Kong under the name of Flaming Rabbit.
