Zagora to defend her title in the Grade 1, $600,000 Diana Handicap at Saratoga
Zagora will have to be on the top of her game to defend her title in the Grade 1, $600,000 Diana Handicap, which will be hosted at Saratoga on 28th July, 2012.
This time the race will be much harder, since some of the toughest runners will be aiming to dethrone her.
After securing a victory in the Diana Handicap, the Martin S. Schwartz’s runner finished seventh in the Grade 2 Canadian Stakes at Woodbine, but demonstrated her ability when she secured back-to-back victories in the Grade 3 Endeavour Stakes and the
Grade 3 Hillsborough Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs.
The daughter of Green Tune, out of mare Zaneton, is in good shape, since she landed a massive victory in the Grade 3 Gallorette Handicap at the Pimlico Racecourse on 19th May, 2012, where she completed 1 1/16 miles in 1 minute
and 41.73 seconds.
After the Gallorette Handicap, she was not a 100% but recovered as Brown remarked:
"She came out of the Gallorette with a popped splint, and we freshened her for a couple of weeks to fix that."
Now, the charge of Chad Brown is ready to take what’s hers on the 1 1/8 mile track but, with Tapitsfly, Winter Memories and Hungry Island running, it may not be that easy.
Some speculation rose regarding the form of the mare after she failed to deliver in the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley Stakes at Keeneland in April, 2012. The trainer clarified this and commented:
"She caught a slow pace in the Jenny Wiley, and she's 0-for-3 at Keeneland. It's not her course. Otherwise, she's been perfect this year."
Tapitsfly, trained by Dale Romans, is likely to be the pacesetter for this race and, she might be the biggest threat to Zagora on the track.
Owned by Frank L. Jones, the older mare seized an impressive victory in the Grade 1 Just A Game Stakes at Belmont Park on 9th June, 2012, where she efficiently tackled the 1 mile course and defeated, Winter Memories, in 1 minute
and 32.34 seconds.
Zagora will be ridden by Ramon Dominguez, who will break from post 3 with 120 pounds. Same weights have also been assigned to Tapitsfly, Hungry Island and Winter Memories.
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