With The Moonlight Completes Big Weekend for Godolphin
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Photo: Coglianese Photos
With The Moonlight captures the Saratoga Oaks at Saratoga Race Course
If there's one sure-thing about the 2022 Saratoga Race Course meet, it's that trainer Charlie Appleby will long remember his first trip to the Spa.
The top European-based trainer for the famed Godolphin stable not only savored all of the excitement and electricity of a bustling weekend at Saratoga—not to mention the stifling heat—but he also pulled off back-to-back victories in the middle leg of the New York Racing Association's two Turf Triple series for 3-year-olds.
A day after winning the $1 million Caesars Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) with Godolphin's Nations Pride , the stable's famed royal blue silks returned to the winner's circle Aug. 7 when homebred With The Moonlight cruised to a 1 3/4-length victory in the $651,000 Saratoga Oaks Invitational Stakes (G3T) for 3-year-old fillies at Saratoga.
"It's my first time at Saratoga and I thoroughly loved it," Appleby said. "It's an amazing place and I can see why there's been a lot of history and lot of fun here."
What's not to love, especially when you win a pair of races to secure $910,000 in the span of 24 hours?
Like her stablemate in the Saratoga Derby, With the Moonlight took a big step forward after finishing second in the opening leg of the Turf Tiara for distaff runners. In her case, she could not hold off the Chad Brown-trained McKulick and settled for second July 9 in the Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1T) at 1 1/4 miles.
This time around, at a shorter 1 3/16-mile distance, the homebred daughter of Frankel was able to chase the pace from second through slow fractions of :50.14 and 1:15.18 on firm turf before taking charge in the stretch and holding off a late bid from McKulick, also a daughter of Frankel, to prevail in 1:54.60.
"It was a good performance," Appleby said after a result that gave the stallion Frankel a one-two finish in both legs of the Turf Triple for fillies. "We respected Chad's filly but we were confident coming in."
The fractions, after chasing splits of :48.64 and 1:13.20 in the longer Belmont Oaks, certainly helped With the Moonlight's cause as she and jockey William Buick worked out a great trip right behind the pacesetting Contemporary Art , one of three Brown-trained fillies in the field of five.
"They looked comfortable and she was in a nice rhythm. She was traveling well within herself. It was nice, even fractions so I knew coming off the turn, she was in A-1 position," Appleby said.
The victory was the first in a graded or group stakes for With The Moonlight, the 6-5 favorite ($4.30) who has captured four of her eight career starts.
With The Moonlight after her victory in the Saratoga Oaks Invitational Stakes
Out of the Dubawi mare Sand Vixen, she is a full sister to the group 1 winner Dream Castle and the sixth of her dam's nine foals. Sand Vixen's most recent foals are a Blue Point , a yearling filly, and a 2022 Earthlight colt.
Klaravich Stables' McKulick, the 7-5 second choice, finished a neck ahead of Marc Detampel and Fergus Galvin's New Year's Eve , a daughter of Kitten's Joy trained by Brendan Walsh.
"There really wasn't any pace in the race today," Brown said. "It was a totally different setup."
Appleby said he was unsure if With The Moonlight would return to Europe next week, but ruled out running in the final leg of the Turf Tiara, the Sept. 17 Jockey Club Oaks Invitational Stakes (G3T) at a 1 3/8-mile distance at Aqueduct Racetrack.