Directive keeps rolling at Saratoga with second straight win
Juddmonte’s Gun Runner filly absorbed a gate scratch, tracked the pace, and won Saratoga’s $120,000 allowance by a length to stay unbeaten since April 30.
Juddmonte has another filly on the rise, and this one looked the part at Saratoga. Directive, a daughter of Gun Runner, shrugged off the delay created by the scratch of Bernieandtherose, settled just off the pace and won the $120,000 allowance optional claiming race by a length in 1:48.32, a result that said more about her trajectory than the margin ever could.
The 2-5 favorite paid $2.86 to win under Flavien Prat, who was sharp again in a Saratoga afternoon that turned into a three-win session for the rider. Chad C. Brown had Directive in the right spot from the start, and the filly answered by taking control of her own race once U Lite Up My Life went to the front through an opening quarter in :23.22. Measure finished second, U Lite Up My Life was third and Chit Chat was fourth in the race for fillies and mares 3 and up at 1 1/8 miles on dirt.
What makes Directive interesting is not just that she won again, but how she got there. She had debuted with a second at Aqueduct on April 3, then broke her maiden there on April 30, and followed that up with another professional run at Saratoga. The first two starts came on wet going at Aqueduct, so she has already shown she can handle a change in conditions and keep moving forward when the surface or setting is not ideal.
That kind of profile matters at Saratoga, especially for a Juddmonte homebred from a black-type family. Directive is out of Antonoe, who won the GI Just a Game Stakes in the U.S. after earlier Group 3 success in France, and she is a half-sister to Segesta and Salamis. Brown and Juddmonte are not asking a lot of a lightly raced filly like this unless they think the ceiling is real, and this was the sort of allowance win that can push the next decision up a rung.
Directive improved to 3-2-1-0 with earnings of $128,750 after the victory, and the timing only added to the value. With the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival spotlight on Saratoga, she delivered a clean, composed performance that made her look less like a horse enjoying a nice run and more like one ready for tougher company next time.
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