Roja wires Intercontinental Stakes, Motion eyes Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint

Graham Motion did not just win the Intercontinental Stakes. He turned Saratoga’s Grade 2 turf sprint into a branded barn performance, with Roja blasting from the outside post, controlling every step, and giving Motion a clean Motion exacta when stablemate Italian Soiree chased home second.

Roja broke sharply under Irad Ortiz Jr., crossed over to the front, and never gave the field a real opening in the 5 1/2-furlong test for fillies and mares 4 and up. She carved out fast fractions of :21.35, :43.13 and :54.46, then finished in 1:00.44 to win by 1 1/4 lengths on firm turf. The race was carded as Race 8 at 4:40 p.m. during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course, where the Intercontinental carried a $250,000 purse and drew 24 original nominations plus one supplement.

The numbers make the win more than a neat graded-stakes box score. Roja returned $13.44 to win, and the official exacta paid $103.94 for a $1 ticket, with the trifecta at $252.45 and the superfecta at $502.96. More important for Motion, this was a turf sprint that exposed real depth in his shedrow. Italian Soiree gave the trainer a one-two finish, while previously unbeaten Gratefully never found a clean beginning and faded after the early scramble, and Shoot It True never got close enough late to threaten the winner.

Roja’s profile keeps getting better. BloodHorse noted that the 4-year-old Karakontie filly had now won four of seven starts and posted her second straight victory, with this marking her first graded stakes triumph. She had already won an allowance optional claiming race at Churchill Downs on April 29, and her previous stakes near-miss was a nose loss in the Stormy Blues Stakes at Laurel Park last June. Owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Madaket Stables LLC, and out of a Redmeansgo mare, she looks built for exactly this kind of quick turf work.

The bigger story is where Motion goes next. Daily Racing Form reported that Motion and Ortiz were already talking about the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint as a possible fall target, and that is not a throwaway mention. A horse that can clear from the outside, ration speed through honest fractions, and still finish the job at Saratoga has the profile of a horse that can matter beyond one summer stakes. Motion said he was “tickled with both of them,” and the barn’s Saratoga statement was loud enough to make the division pay attention.

Roja was not close to the Saratoga 5 1/2-furlong course record of 59.80 set by Cogburn in the 2024 Jaipur Stakes, but the final time still fit the track’s fast sprint history. It also came after Pipsy won the 2025 Intercontinental in 1:00.98, a reminder that this race often rewards the horse with the most speed and the cleanest break. On June 4, Roja had both, and Motion had the kind of graded-stakes result that can carry all the way to Del Mar.