Annapolis Edges Portfolio Company in Pilgrim

The Nov. 5 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) could be next for Bass Racing's homebred Annapolis  after his thrilling victory in the $186,000 Pilgrim Stakes (G2T) Oct. 3 at Belmont Park. In the last five years alone, three Pilgrim winners have gone on to capture the country's top prize for juveniles on the lawn with Oscar Performance   (2016), Structor  (2019), and Fire At Will  (2020).

Annapolis, a son of War Front  , became the 100th black-type winner for his Claiborne Farm sire.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Annapolis entered the Pilgrim out of a stylish debut win on closing weekend at Saratoga Race Course, where he rallied from off the pace to score by 4 1/2 lengths under returning rider Irad Ortiz Jr.

Breaking from post 2 in a compact field of four, Annapolis sat second behind pacesetter Portfolio Company , who marked off splits of :24.34 for the quarter-mile and :48.96 to the half-mile under Joel Rosario. At the half-mile pole, Ortiz Jr. began to inch Annapolis closer to the leader and the two colts met up at the quarter pole after six furlongs in 1:12.22.

The front-running duo gained separation from their two competitors—Limited Liability  and Doctor Jeff —and battled gamely to the wire. Annapolis needed every inch of ground to get by a stubborn Portfolio Company, putting his head on the wire in a final time of 1:41.04 for the 1 1/16 miles on the firm turf.

Five lengths behind Portfolio Company was third-placed Limited Liability, who was 3 1/4 lengths clear of Doctor Jeff.

"With only four horses, there wasn't much speed in the race," Ortiz Jr. said, "I just broke well and tried to be close to the pace. I ended up second to the horse I had to try and beat, so I just went from there. He fought the whole way to the wire. The way he did it last time he looked like a nice horse, so we expected him to move forward and he did."

Byron Hughes, Pletcher's Belmont-based assistant, said he was pleased with how the race unfolded.

"He broke well and Irad had him in a great spot on the outside," Hughes said. "It was a good duel down the stretch and he was able to get a head down at the wire."

Rosario won five races on Saturday's card at Churchill Downs, including scores with Knicks Go  in the Lukas Classic (G3) and aboard Plainsman  in the Ack Ack Stakes (G3), both for trainer Brad Cox.

The veteran rider said he had no complaints about his trip aboard maiden winner Portfolio Company, who was exiting a runner-up effort in the Sept. 1 With Anticipation Stakes (G3T) at Saratoga for trainer Chad Brown.

"He responded well. The other horse (Annapolis) came to me a little bit early and then I had to just keep moving inside. It was a very good race in the end," Rosario said. "When he came to me, I had to hold my position. Turning for home, (Annapolis) moved a little early which engaged me to move forward a little more than I wanted to. You just have to ride them the way the race is playing."

Annapolis returned $3.30 to win off a $2 wager and increased his lifetime earnings to $165,000.

A Kentucky homebred, Annapolis is out of the graded-stakes winning Unbridled's Song mare My Miss Sophia , who was also conditioned by Pletcher. He is the first stakes winner for his dam, who has also produced the stakes-placed War Front filly Nevisian Sunrise . My Miss Sophia delivered another War Front colt this year.

Video: Pilgrim S. (G2T)

My Sister Nat Defends Waya Title

Peter Brant's My Sister Nat  demonstrated an impressive turn of foot to successfully defend her title in the $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Waya Stakes (G3T), an 11-furlong inner turf test for fillies and mares 3 years old and up.

The 6-year-old Acclamation  mare was victorious in last year's running of the Waya, which was contested at 12 furlongs on the inner turf at Saratoga.

Always Shopping , piloted by Ricardo Santana Jr., broke alertly and led the field through relaxed splits of :25.63, :52.01, and 1:17.52 over the firm turf. My Sister Nat, with Jose Ortiz up, settled comfortably in sixth position in front of stablemate Orglandes , who was squeezed between rivals in the opening jumps and trailed.

Ortiz urged My Sister Nat into contention through the final turn and the mare picked off rivals at a rapid pace with Orglandes following in her wake under Irad Ortiz Jr. My Sister Nat made the lead at the stretch call and powered home a comfortable 2 1/2-length winner in a final time of 2:15.37. Orglandes completed the exacta by a neck over a game Always Shopping.

My Sister Nat returned $3 on a $2 win wager.

"In this kind of race they usually go slow," Ortiz said. "It felt like they went :50 or :51 but I was following who I thought was the right horse and around the three-eighths pole I put her in the clear and she gave me such a great feeling. She just was handling the course really well. She gave me a great kick from the three-eighths pole to the wire, and she kept running."

The ultra-consistent My Sister Nat, who has placed in an additional seven graded stakes in North America, entered the Waya from a closing third in the Sept. 4 Flower Bowl Stakes (G1T) at Saratoga where she encountered traffic trouble.

Dan Stupp, Brown's Belmont-based assistant, said he was pleased to see My Sister Nat secure the win.

"She's a very nice and very honest mare. She's had a very consistent career. She shows up every time with her run," Stupp said. "Sometimes pace dynamics don't work out in her favor, and we get a little unlucky but Jose always rides her well and she always shows up. It's nice to see her put in another strong effort."

Sister Otoole , Beautiful Lover , Call Me Love , and Lovely Lucky  rounded out the order of finish.

Bred in France by Ecurie Des Monceaux, My Sister Nat is out of the blue hen Galileo mare Starlet's Sister, who produced 2018 champion turf female Sistercharlie  as well as last year's Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1) hero Sottsass .

Video: Fasig-Tipton Waya S. (G3T)