Grade 1 Champion Brightwork’s Shocking Return at Saratoga Prioress!

This Saturday’s $200,000 Grade 3 Prioress at Saratoga, a six-furlong dash for three-year-old fillies, features the much-anticipated comeback of Brightwork, trained by John Ortiz for WSS Racing.

Brightwork, a progeny of Outwork and the Malibu Moon mare Clarendon Fancy, was set to compete in the Grade 1 Test on August 3 but was withdrawn last minute due to an incident in the paddock where she flipped over.

“Following the paddock incident, where she sustained minor injuries, the veterinarians decided to scratch her for her safety and the integrity of the sport. It was quite a setback as she was more than prepared for that race,” Ortiz remarked.

Luis Saez will be riding Brightwork from gate nine. As a two-year-old, she won four out of her six starts impressively, securing victories in Saratoga’s Adirondack (G3) and Spinaway (G1). Ortiz later attempted to extend her to longer distances at the Alcibiades (G1) at Keeneland and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita Park, though she did not place in those races.

Brightwork is now returning to shorter sprints to kick off her season.

“We’ve managed her recovery well and kept her regular training schedule. She’s easy to train, very cooperative and understands her job well in the morning workouts. She’s not one to overdo it, but she fully commits to her training sessions,” Ortiz explained.

According to Ortiz, Brightwork has had productive training sessions alongside recent Spa allowance winner Boss Lady Bailey.

“I’ve been giving her a lead horse during workouts to simulate race conditions, and she’s really taken to it,” Ortiz added. “She and Boss Lady Bailey have been working well together, finishing neck and neck at the wire. I’m pleased with her intensity during these sessions—it’s like she’s also enjoying the workouts.”

Competitor Miuccia, ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., will start from the inside post and aims to achieve her first graded stakes win for owners JR Ranch and trainer Gustavo Delgado.

Miuccia, a daughter of Mitole and the Speightstown mare Bay Harbor, won her maiden at Gulfstream Park on her second attempt on March 17. Her fourth race saw her win the six-furlong Game Face at Gulfstream by 3 3/4-lengths on June 1, earning her a personal best Beyer Speed Figure of 90 from Daily Racing Form.

She then placed second in the seven-furlong Azalea on July 13 at the same track, 9 1/2-lengths behind Haulin Ice, who came seventh in the Charles Town Oaks (G2).

Gustavo Delgado, Jr., the trainer’s son and assistant, has overseen her preparations at Saratoga, including a sharp half-mile work in 47.85 seconds last Saturday on the Oklahoma training track.

“She seems to really enjoy the climate and environment here at Saratoga. She appears in better form than ever,” said Delgado, Jr. “Her last two performances have shown significant improvement. I’m really optimistic about her chances in this race.”

“She’s been training exceptionally well here, always looking athletic,” added Delgado, Jr.

Rigney Racing’s Two Sharp, an impressive recent maiden winner, will make her stakes debut from post 7 under Junior Alvarado. Last seen on August 2, she triumphed in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden sprint here, dominating throughout and posting a 98 Beyer.

New York-bred Jeremiah Englehart trainee Tricky Temper, ridden by Dylan Davis from post 3, seeks her third consecutive win this meet.

She comes off a three-length victory in the August 16 Union Avenue Handicap, a six-furlong sprint for state-bred fillies and mares, earning a lifetime best 91 Beyer following a strong state-bred optional-claiming win two weeks prior.

Bred in New York by Sequel Thoroughbreds and Lakland Farm, Tricky Temper was acquired at the OBS April sale for $230,000 by her current owner Mark H. Stanley.

Cash is King and LC Racing’s multiple stakes-winning Pennsylvania-bred Carmelina, ridden by Jose Lezcano from post 5, boasts a record of 12-5-2-0 under trainer Butch Reid, Jr.

Daughter of Reid, Jr.-trained Maximus Mischief and out of the stakes-winning St Averil mare Complete St., Carmelina secured state-bred stakes victories in last year’s Keswick and Shamrock Rose before ending her juvenile season with a victory in the open-company Gin Talking, sprinting seven furlongs in December at Laurel Park. She enters this race off a frontrunning neck victory in the seven-furlong Penny Chenery on August 11 at Colonial Downs, earning a career-high 81 Beyer.