NYRA/Chelsea Durand
By Sarah Mace
Thursday’s 16th running of the $100,000 Saratoga Dew for New York-bred fillies and mares at Saratoga Race Course produced a satisfying owner-trainer exacta.
Chester and Mary Broman’s homebred Out of Orbit went gate-to-wire under a heads-up ride by jockey Luis Saez. Closing into second was fellow Broman homebred and uncoupled stablemate Held Accountable. Trainer Phil Serpe saddled the pair.
While the Saratoga Dew was 4-year-old Out of Orbit’s stakes debut, stakes winner Held Accountable was making her second start in 13 days following a seven-month layoff. As Serpe put it after the race, “If we can get something like this done for Mr. and Mrs. Broman it’s good for us.”
The 1 1/8-mile Saratoga Dew attracted a field of six, but since Held Accountable was the only prior stakes winner in the group, introduced some new faces to the New York-bred stakes ranks.
One of the newcomers, Lucky Move, who earned an allowance win at the same trip two weeks ago at the Spa, took the lion’s share of the support and was bet down to 9-5 by post time. Fetching, a lightly raced but talented filly and the only sophomore in the field, was the 5-2 second choice for her dirt and stakes debut. Held Accountable and Out of Orbit with were next in the betting rankings at 7-2 and 9-2 respectively. Cartwheel at 6-1 was stepping up for her stakes debut. A third Broman homebred Turn and Bern was the field’s 13-1 longshot.
Blasting off from the inside post, Out of Orbit established a comfortable lead, then moderated the pace as the field strung out behind her – about 10 lengths from front to back. Unpressured along the backstretch and around the far turn, Out of Orbit kept to her task, preserving a one-to-two length cushion in front of Cartwheel, her nearest pursuer, as she carved out very comfortable fractions of 23.81, 49.01 and 1:13.99. The back-markers of the field were Held Accountable and Lucky Move.
NYRA/Coglianese Photos
Even as the closers began their bids, Out of Orbit never felt the heat. The 4-year old opened more daylight in upper stretch and was never menaced, even as her stablemate made a closing bid in the middle of the track.
Out of Orbit ultimately crossed the finish line 2 1/4 lengths to the good. Held Accountable under Eric Cancel, finished a head in front fellow-closer Lucky Move in third. Completing the order of finish were Cartwheel, Turn and Bern and Fetching. The final time for the nine furlongs was 1:54.09.
Serpe explained how the strengths of each his charges factored into his thinking about the race. “I was a little concerned about [Out of Orbit stretching out to 1 1/8 miles], but she came in here and really looked good and really was training great. Luis [Saez] is just a pro at that because if you’re not getting a breather, that’s one thing. But he slowed it down like he always does on the backside, and that filly can go at that pace anytime. My concern was holding on in the stretch, because I knew that Held Accountable would be coming.”
Saez chalked up the victory to his mount and a good trip. “We got away pretty easy. I knew Lezcano’s filly [Cartwheel] had some speed, but we broke well from the one hole. Last time, when I rode her [on June 21 at Belmont Park], she stumbled. Today, she broke good and we made the lead. She kicked on well turning for home.”
Cancel, aboard Held Accountable reported, “The trip was good. She’s just a laid-back filly who takes her time. I tried to time her right for her run. She was there, but [Out of Orbit] never stopped.”
A 4-year-old daughter of Malibu Moon, Out of Orbit completed her New York-bred conditions in February with a second-level allowance win, and in four subsequent starts nibbled around the edges in open competition, compiling a pair of third-place finishes.
Freshened briefly between April 12 and June 21, she contested back-to-back sprints, finishing fifth in the slop at Belmont on June 21 and a non-competitive sixth at Saratoga on July 24. The sprint starts clearly served her well for the stretch-out.
Out of Orbit is the first foal out of Kibosh, a winning stakes-placed mare by Discreet Cat also bred by Bromans. She has a winning 3-year-old half-sister by the Broman homebred Friend Or Foe named Call It a Truce and a juvenile half-brother by American Pharoah named Not Phar Now. Kibosh foaled a Frosted colt this year and has been bred to Good Magic.
From 21 lifetime starts, Out of Orbit now four wins to her credit with five seconds and five thirds. She had earned $302,478.
