Saturday’s $100,000 De La Rose at Saratoga produced a tussle between a pair of Chad Brown trainees formerly based in France, with the 5-2 Uni wearing down 3-2 favorite Precieuse in the final yards.
The De La Rose was scheduled as one of six turf contests on Whitney Day, but after heavy overnight rain, the one-mile affair turned out to be the only race at all on the grass. Three undercard races intended for turf were transferred to the main track, and the two other turf stakes were postponed to next weekend – the Lure moved to August 11 and the Waya (G3) to August 12.
Soft ground proficiency thus became a prerequisite for the De La Rose, although the top two were entitled to perform on better going too. The eventual exacta filled the last two spots in the field early, as Precieuse was content to settle and Uni hit the gate, forcing jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. to regroup. Up front, it was another ex-French performer with soft ground form, Pas de Soucis, who dictated splits of :25.50, :50.83, and 1:16.07 on the inner turf. Thundering Sky and On Leave stalked, but neither could lift down the lane.
When Precieuse uncorked her move on the far turn, the trailing Uni followed her and spun out widest into the stretch. Precieuse collared Pas de Soucis, only to be collared in turn by the surging Uni. The stablemates battled to the line, and Uni proved just the stronger in 1:40.09 for the soggy mile.
Uni was returning to top form in her first start back from illness. The More Than Ready filly loomed large in the May 26 Gamely (G1) at Santa Anita, but had to scratch after developing a fever. The De La Rose was just her second outing of the year, following her course-record comeback in the April 14 Plenty of Grace at Aqueduct, where she sped the mile in 1:33.42.
Precieuse, unraced since her subpar last in the 2017 Coronation (G1) at Royal Ascot, ran a mighty race herself to miss by a head in her American debut off the 13-month layoff. Last year’s Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas) (G1) heroine stands to add to her resume in the fall.
Pas de Soucis held third, reporting home another two lengths astern. On Leave finished fourth, clear of Lido, Bletchley, and the tailed-off Thundering Sky. Care Lady and Well Acquainted were scratched.
Owned by Michael Dubb, Head of Plains Partners, Robert LaPenta, and Bethlehem Stables, Uni improved her resume to 11-5-2-2, $596,872. She earned her first stakes credits in France versus the boys, winning the 2017 Prix Matchem at Maisons-Laffitte and placing third in the Prix de la Californie over Cagnes-sur-Mer’s Polytrack. Third in the Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1) in her U.S. premiere and runner-up in the Lake Placid (G2), Uni scored in the Sands Point (G2). She concluded her sophomore campaign with a fourth in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1).
Uni was bred by Haras d’Etreham in Great Britain and initially sold for €40,000 as an Arqana August yearling. The chestnut is out of the Dansili mare Unaided, who is a half-sister to Group 3 scorer Whazzis and 2004 Chesham winner Whazzat, the dam of current Group 2 hero James Garfield. This is also the immediate family of promising British juvenile Nate the Great, second by a neck in the June 23 Chesham and third in the July 28 Pat Eddery back at Ascot.
Quotes from Saratoga
Trainer Chad Brown on Uni: “She has done well and thankfully we’ve been able to get her home after her illness (shipping fever) and were able to get her back feeling right again and training well. We picked this race out about three weeks ago and we said, she is doing well, so let’s get her back started. And, man, she ran great today.
On his exacta: “Both horses ran great. No surprises. They both were training super, and I was confident that they would handle the soft ground, and Uni handled it a little bit better today. They both were training very similar.
On runner-up Precieuse: “Is off a long layoff and she had a right to get a little tired at the end, and I think she ran great and I think she has a great future in front of her too.”
