Meet racing's newest millionaire. Raging Sea (Curlin), closing in an all-out stretch drive, just got up to nail pacesetter Idiomatic (Curlin) in the shadow of the wire to win Friday's GI Personal Ensign Stakes at Saratoga.
Billed as the renewed rivalry between Idiomatic and her GI Ogden Phipps upsetter Randomized (Nyquist), the Personal Ensign featured four runners from that June 8th race–all four finishing inside the top five and missing only the recently-retired Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief). In fact, this is a group of fillies and mares who have taken turns beating or nearly beating one another with even 8-1 shot Soul of an Angel (Atreides) coming only a head short of upsetting Idiomatic last out in the GIII Molly Pitcher Stakes at Monmouth July 20. Fourth in the Ogden Phipps two back, Raging Sea rebounded last out to take the GII Shuvee Stakes in what wound up being the perfect prep over course and distance July 21.
Breaking side by side in the outer two gates, it was Randomized who jumped first to the early lead Friday but Idiomatic was quick to counter punch and the pair took it to one another into the first turn while opening up a gap back to Xigera (Nyquist) and Raging Sea who took up a solo fourth. With neither conceding an inch up front, the opening quarter ticked off in :23.28 and it was far back the eventual winner who had just Soul of an Angel beat up the backstretch. It was Idiomatic who made the first real move into the far turn and, for a moment, looked free and clear as Randomized threw up the white flag and retreated through three-quarters in 1:10.53. But looming from the back was Raging Sea who just kept finding, despite switching back to the wrong lead at the sixteenth marker, down the Saratoga stretch and nailed last year's champion older dirt female in the shadow of the wire to top a Curlin-sired exacta.
“She [Raging Sea] had been training really well and the race set up for her,” said winning trainer Chad Brown who also trained the fourth-place finisher Randomized. “Randomized and Idiomatic really hooked up there and it set it up for this horse. A little disappointed Randomized didn't fire as well, but she missed a little time with a couple little things between the last start and this start. I'm thinking maybe she felt it around the quarter pole. But Raging Sea–it was her day today, and she ran down a real Champion. I'm just so proud of her, so happy for Mr. John Clay, who bred this horse and actually RNA'd her as a yearling. He believed in her, sent her in to us, and she's really had a great career. Very rarely has she disappointed us. It's easy to be patient when you have a good owner like John. We rested her this winter, we brought her back and she's one of those horses that's just constantly improved–her pedigree would say she would. Obviously, we saw the best of her today.”
Brown noted that the GI Spinster Stakes at Keeneland Oct. 6 would be next for his newest Grade I winner.
Winning jockey Flavien Prat added: “To be honest on the form, I knew I was going to make a run. I didn't know if they could hold me off or not. It felt like he [Florent Geroux aboard Idiomatic] was still going well from where I was, it was just a matter of if I could get there on time.”
Pedigree Note:
Hill 'n' Dale's Curlin continues to produce at the top level with Raging Sea becoming his 23rd Grade I winner. Out of an unraced Storm Cat mare who brought $1.6m as a KEESEP yearling in 2007, she is her dam's first graded stakes winner but is a half to MSP Welcoming (Tapit), herself the dam of MSP Reconcile (War Front). Readers may recognize Raging Sea's third dam Weekend Surprise (Secretariat), the dam of none other than Horse of the Year and late leading sire A.P. Indy (Seattle Slew) along with MGISW Summer Squall (Storm Bird). Stormy Welcome last produced a yearling City of Light filly who sells at Keeneland September as hip 1827. She was barren to Curlin for this season but returned for another attempt at a full-sibling in 2025.
Friday, Saratoga
PERSONAL ENSIGN S.-GI, $485,000, Saratoga, 8-23, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/8m, 1:49.14, ft.
1–RAGING SEA, 120, f, 4, by Curlin
1st Dam: Stormy Welcome, by Storm Cat
2nd Dam: Welcome Surprise, by Seeking the Gold
3rd Dam: Weekend Surprise, by Secretariat
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($300,000 RNA Ylg '21 KEESEP). O/B-Alpha
Delta Stables, LLC (KY); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Flavien Prat.
$275,000. Lifetime Record: 11-6-1-1, $1,060,978. *1/2 to
Welcoming (Tapit), MSP, $179,812. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click
for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Idiomatic, 124, m, 5, by Curlin
1st Dam: Lockdown (SW & MGISP, $445,900), by First Defence
2nd Dam: Rising Tornado, by Storm Cat
3rd Dam: Silver Star (GB), by Zafonic
O-Juddmonte; B-Juddmonte Farms Inc (KY); T-Brad H. Cox.
$100,000.
3–Soul of an Angel, 120, m, 5, by Atreides
1st Dam: Factor One, by The Factor
2nd Dam: One Last Salute, by Salutely
3rd Dam: Angie's Star, by Lord Rebeau
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($3,000 RNA Ylg '20 FTKOCT). O-C Two
Racing Stable & Agave Racing Stable; B-Westbrook Stables LLC
(KY); T-Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. $60,000.
Margins: HD, 10 1/4, 5. Odds: 6.20, 0.80, 8.40.
Also Ran: Randomized, Xigera. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
RAGING SEA, daughter of @HillnDaleFarm stallion Curlin, pulls off a huge upset in the Personal Ensign Stakes! Flavien Prat and Chad Brown team up for another unforgettable moment at Saratoga! pic.twitter.com/Azf9N8ESOy
— NYRA (🎪) (@TheNYRA) August 23, 2024
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