Resurgent For the Flag Hopes to Capture One Dreamer

After a year-long layoff during her 3-year-old season, For the Flag  returned to the turf and appears to have benefited from the time away. Now, she has her sights set on the Sept. 7 One Dreamer Stakes at Kentucky Downs.

The one-mile-and-70-yard contest for fillies and mares 3 and up carries a $500,000 purse with half coming from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund. 

The 4-year-old gray or roan daughter of Uncle Mo   has hit the board in each of her four 2023 starts, going 3-1-0. It was her last time out—the Kentucky Downs Preview Ladies Turf Mile Stakes—that she missed on the winner's circle by three-quarters of a length. She hasn't gone more than a mile since her second and third career starts, both 1 1/16 miles. 

What We're Watching For

Fellow 4-year-old Haughty  comes into the race dripping with graded stakes experience, including placing in the 2021 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T). She also won the 2022 Lake Placid Stakes (G2T). This year hasn't been the best for her, but if Haughty can rekindle some of the magic of last year, she's a legit threat. 

By Empire Maker, the Kentucky-bred Haughty likes to set the pace early. She's been approaching the triple-digit Equibase Speed Figures of her 3-year-old campaign. If she crosses that threshold, the race may be hers for the taking.

Keep in mind, she is also entered in the Sept. 9 Ladies Turf Stakes (G3T) at Kentucky Downs. The lure of the $1 million purse ($400,000 from KTDF) may be too good to pass up.