Dependable and durable.
That’s the best way to describe Borrowing Base, a 5-year-old mare who should be among the favorites in today’s $80,000 Saratoga Dew over 11⁄8 miles at Saratoga Race Course.
The daughter of Personal Flag has raced 11 times already this season, and has hit the board on six occasions. She is also coming off an excellent effort here last month, when she rallied to win by 13⁄4 lengths over the same distance she will try today.
“She’s a very honest horse. She’s a sweetheart, and the soundest horse I’ve ever had,” said trainer Patrick Quick.
“She will do anything for you. She will come back and race nine days after her last one, if you ask her to. She’s never been sick, and she’s never had an injury. She’s always ready to go. I’ll tell you that she’s one of best horses I’ve ever been associated with. I really love this horse.”
Owned by Daddies Girls Stable, Borrowing Base has run 37 times in her career, with five victories, nine seconds and 10 thirds for
career earnings of $342,272.
Although she hadn’t won in more than 12 races before her last start, she has finished in the money nine times over that span.
“Obviously, she’s a closer, and she needs some speed in the race. I think that will come from Charlie Baker’s horse, Talking Treasure, or maybe Ice Cool Kitty. She loves Saratoga, as she showed in her last race. Nothing bothers her,” said Quick.
Javier Castellano will ride Borrowing Base, just as he did when she won her last time out.
Talking Treasure, with John Velazquez up, has won three of her last five races, including the $81,000 Fleet Indian here on
July 30, but she has never gone this distance before. She has six wins in 12 career starts, but is lightly raced this year, with only a second-place finish in the Susan B. Anthony Handicap in June to go along with her win in the Fleet Indian.
Baker’s other entry in this race, New York Citi, is a likely scratch, but she won five straight races before finishing third 10 days ago in a seven-furlong test here.
Other horses in the field for older fillies and mares are Ice Cool Kitty (Edgar Prado), Morning Gallop (Alan Garcia), Aristo (R.A. Dominguez) and Precise Lady (JR Leparoux).
Third in the Fleet Indian, Ice Cool Kitty’s last win was in the Montauk Handicap at Aqueduct last November. She is trained by Richard Dutrow.
Morning Gallop, trained by Mark Hennig, has been in the money in nine of her last 10 outings.
Aristo was boxed inside in her last race here on a yielding turf, but she was second on a much firmer surface her previous race at Belmont.
Precise Lady has struggled as a sprinter, but trainer Patrick Kelly apparently thinks stretching her out will do the trick. She has four wins in 26 career starts, but has not finished in the money this year.
Castellano was her rider in nine of her 10 previous starts.
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