Letruska, Swiss Skydiver Square Off in Personal Ensign

Led by Letruska  and Swiss Skydiver , nine fillies and mares will line up in the $600,000 Personal Ensign Stakes presented by Lia Infiniti (G1) Aug. 28 at Saratoga Race Course.

Carded as race 10 of 13 on a loaded Travers Day, on which six grade 1s will be run, the Personal Ensign will see the 2020 Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Swiss Skydiver return on three weeks' rest to face the speedy Letruska, the hottest female dirt horse in the country.

After what trainer Ken McPeek called "a magical season" in 2020, in which pretty much everything went right for the daughter of Daredevil  , 2021 has been a year of frustrations and interruptions, as Swiss Skydiver has endured an infection that nearly kept her out of the Apple Blossom Stakes (G1) at Oaklawn Park; shipping fever that scuttled plans to run in the Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park; and an EHV-1 quarantine at Saratoga that had McPeek scratching the Shuvee Stakes (G3) off her schedule in July. 

As a result, McPeek tried her in the Aug. 7 Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga, in which she finished fourth.

"That's horse racing. We started off really well with a win in the Beholder Mile Stakes (G1)," at Santa Anita Park, McPeek said, "And since then, it's been a little of this, a little of that. Our path hasn't been straight and narrow."

With the Personal Ensign always circled on the calendar, McPeek needed to get a race into her, her last run having come in the Apple Blossom in April, and thus her start in the Whitney.

"She came out of the Whitney good," he said. "I have no reservations about running her back in three weeks."

Peter Callahan's Swiss Skydiver will be ridden by Jose Ortiz and break from post 4. 

Unlike Swiss Skydiver, St. George Stable's Letruska's road to the Personal Ensign has been direct and smooth, with 15 wins from 20 starts, including four victories this year, all in graded stakes races.

"She shipped to Saratoga a week ago and she traveled well," said trainer Fausto Gutierrez. "The next race is always the most important, and she's ready for this one. She's one of the top horses in the division, and one of the top horses in this race." 

"The way she runs is no secret," he went on, referring to her front-running style. "She'll run free, and post 6 is fine. How you break is more important than the post position." 

Letruska (Super Saver  ) will be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. 

Trainer Chad Brown will saddle two 5-year-old mares, Dunbar Road  and Royal Flag . 

Dunbar Road will break from post 1 with Flavien Prat in the saddle. The daughter of Quality Road   last had her picture taken in July 2020 in the Delaware Handicap (G2) and has raced just twice this year, fifth-place finishes in the La Troienne Stakes presented by Twinspires.com (G1) and the Shuvee. Both times she came up empty in the stretch.

The multiple grade 1 winning millionaire's stablemate Royal Flag  (Candy Ride  ) drew post 5. Ridden by Joel Rosario, she is nothing if not consistent, having finished in the top three in all 10 of her races, with a Saratoga win last out in the Shuvee Stakes (G3).  

"Hopefully, Royal Flag will have a similar trip where she has a big pace in front of her and she can come with her run," Brown said "It would be the ultimate for her. It's quite a family. She's been an improving horse over the years, and it would be well deserved."

Jockey Mike Smith, who's won this race four times, most recently in 2019 on Midnight Bisou , ships in from California to ride the Bob Baffert trainee As Time Goes By , who will be racing off the West Coast. The rider-trainer duo won the Personal Ensign in 2018 with Abel Tasman .  

"The further the better for her. She's been working really well, so hopefully we'll get a  good, clean break. I think she'll like that big track," he said. "I've been very high on her and took my time with her, so hopefully this race could be her coming-out party. It's a tough race, but it's a good spot for her."

Completing the field are Bonny South  (post 3, Manuel Franco); Miss Marissa  (post 7, Daniel Centeno); Harvey's Lil Goil  (post 8, Luis Saez); and Graceful Princess  (post 9, John Velazquez).  

Entries: Personal Ensign S. Presented by Lia Infiniti (G1)

Saratoga Race Course, Saturday, August 28, 2021, Race 10

• Grade I
• 1 1/8m
• Dirt
• $600,000
• 4 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 4:47 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Dunbar Road (KY)	Flavien Prat	118	Chad C. Brown	20/1
2	2As Time Goes By (KY)	Mike E. Smith	120	Bob Baffert	6/1
3	3Bonny South (KY)	Manuel Franco	120	Brad H. Cox	10/1
4	4Swiss Skydiver (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	124	Kenneth G. McPeek	7/2
5	5Royal Flag (KY)	Joel Rosario	120	Chad C. Brown	10/1
6	6Letruska (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	124	Fausto Gutierrez	6/5
7	7Miss Marissa (KY)	Daniel Centeno	120	James T. Ryerson	20/1
8	8Harvey's Lil Goil (KY)	Luis Saez	122	William I. Mott	8/1
9	9Graceful Princess (KY)	John R. Velazquez	120	Todd A. Pletcher	15/1