Got Stormy, Uni Take On Boys Again in Fourstardave

Ask Mark Casse to sum up Got Stormy's season thus far, and he makes a statement that resounds with the world.

"Obviously, 2020 has not been stellar for her—as for many people, not just horses," the trainer said Aug. 21, one day before sending Gary Barber's 5-year-old daughter of Get Stormy  out to defend her title in the $400,000 Fourstardave Handicap (G1T) at Saratoga Race Course.

Even in a normal world, it would be hard to replicate the glorious week Got Stormy brought her connections last summer, when she blitzed the mile turf test in a course-record 1:32 and became the first female winner in the race's 34-year history. The win came just seven days after her victory in the Fasig-Tipton De La Rose Stakes at the Spa and set her up for close runner-up efforts in the Ricoh Woodbine Mile Stakes (G1T) and TVG Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) before she capped her season with a Matriarch Stakes (G1T) score.

Casse, who is hunkered down in Ocala, Fla., while leaving the hands-on tasks to his New York crew due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said he hopes to see Got Stormy round into form in the Fourstardave. But the mare faces a tall task as she takes on Breeders' Cup Mile winner and reigning champion turf female Uni among eight rivals. Got Stormy comes off a fourth in the July 4 Poker Stakes (G3T) at Belmont Park and was fourth in two other grade 3 events this year, along with a runner-up effort in the March 7 Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes (G1T).

"If you really look at this time last year or thereabouts, before she went to Saratoga she had good form, but it wasn't great," Casse said. "It all started around this time of year. We believe a truly fast course will help her regain her form, and we're keeping our fingers crossed. I know they're not supposed to have any rain, and we already know she likes Saratoga; she's undefeated there."

The Fourstardave, a Breeders' Cup Challenge event for the FanDuel Mile Presented by PDJF with an approximate post time of 5:46 p.m. ET, will be a pivotal race for Got Stormy to determine whether she makes another appearance at the World Championships. Unlike last year, the Woodbine Mile ticket is reserved for another Barber-owned Casse trainee, grade 1 winner War of Will. 

"She wouldn't run against War of Will," Casse said. "We'll take a look at how she runs in this race and figure it out from there. She's got to come with her 'A' game, but she's the same horse—she looks great and trains great."

Regular rider Tyler Gaffalione has the mount from post 4. 

Eclipse Award winner Uni, one of four runners for trainer Chad Brown along with Raging Bull, Valid Point, and Without Parole, will attempt to replicate her form from last year in her second start of 2020. The 6-year-old More Than Ready  mare, third in last year's Fourstardave, was also third in her first start of 2020, the June 27 Just a Game Stakes (G1T) at Belmont. 

"She missed some time with a splint issue, and we stopped breezing for five or six weeks," said Bradley Weisbord of BSW/Crow Bloodstock, which manages Uni on behalf of owners Michael Dubb, Head of Plains Partners, Robert LaPenta, and Bethlehem Stables. "The ground might have been a little soft in the Just a Game, and (jockey) Joel (Rosario) didn't think she got through it great, but she was short and she really needed the race."

Uni arrives off a sharp five-eighths breeze in company with multiple grade 1 winner Newspaperofrecord on the Oklahoma training turf Aug. 16, which she completed in 1:00.46. Jose Ortiz has the call from post 6.

"She just had her best breeze of the year last week, and we weren't completely sure about this race," Weisbord said. "We were 50-50 between the Fourstardave and the Distaff Turf Mile (G2T) at Churchill, but the breeze is what gave Chad the confidence to run her, so she's sitting on go."

Peter Brant's Raging Bull and John Gunther and Tonya Gunther's Without Parole will square off for the third time in a row. 

The winner of the Shoemaker Mile Stakes (G1T) at Santa Anita two starts back, Raging Bull was third last out in the July 10 Maker's Mark Mile Stakes (G1T) at Keeneland, where he was carried wide into the turn and finished a neck behind winner War of Will. Rosario will ride the 5-year-old son of Dark Angel from the rail, hoping to do one better than a runner-up finish in last year's Fourstardave. 

Without Parole, third in the Breeders' Cup Mile in his North American debut last year, seeks his first win since the 2018 St. James's Palace Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot for trainer John Gosden. The 5-year-old son of Frankel was a troubled third in the Shoemaker Mile, where he lacked racing room down the stretch. Last out, he was a closing fourth, beaten three-quarters of a length, in the Maker's Mark Mile where he went six wide into the stretch. Irad Ortiz Jr. will ride from post 8. 

Valid Point, owned by e Five Racing Thoroughbreds and Michael Ryan, has made all of his five starts at a mile and seeks a second top-level win after the 2019 Secretariat Stakes (G1T) at Arlington International Racecourse. The bay son of Scat Daddy was off the board last out in the Poker Stakes. Javier Castellano has the call from post 7. 

"I'm hoping the turf is firm for my four horses," Brown said. "Hopefully, they can all get clean trips and have an equal chance to win the race." 

Casa Creed, Emmaus, Halladay, and Chewing Gum round out the field. 

Entries: Fourstardave H. (G1T)

Saratoga Race Course, Saturday, August 22, 2020, Race 9

• Grade I
• 1m
• Inner turf
• $400,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 5:46 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Raging Bull (FR)	Joel Rosario	123	Chad C. Brown	5/2
2	2Casa Creed (KY)	Junior Alvarado	118	William I. Mott	20/1
3	3Emmaus (IRE)	Jose Lezcano	118	Conor Murphy	15/1
4	4Got Stormy (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	118	Mark E. Casse	8/1
5	5Halladay (KY)	Luis Saez	118	Todd A. Pletcher	4/1
6	6Uni (GB)	Jose L. Ortiz	120	Chad C. Brown	3/1
7	7Valid Point (KY)	Javier Castellano	119	Chad C. Brown	12/1
8	8Without Parole (GB)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	120	Chad C. Brown	4/1
9	9Chewing Gum (KY)	John R. Velazquez	115	William I. Mott	20/1