Idiomatic to Put Winning Streak on the Line in Phipps

While the 3-year-old male division searches for someone to assume control with back-to-back major wins, the sport's most impressive winning streak will be on the line during the historic, first-ever Belmont Stakes (G1) card at Saratoga Race Course.

Juddmonte's champion mare Idiomatic  has bounced out of her 2024 debut victory in the La Troienne Stakes (G1) in fine fashion and is scheduled to seek a seventh straight win June 8 in the $500,000 Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1) at the Spa.

The mile-and-an-eighth Phipps is shaping up as one of the highlights of the star-studded Belmont Stakes undercard with a possible rematch of the top two finishers in last year's Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1), the victorious Idiomatic and Klaravich Stables' Randomized .

"She's doing super. She came out of the La Troienne well and the streak continues," Juddmonte USA general manager Garrett O'Rourke said about the daughter of Curlin   trained by Brad Cox. "She's been one of those delights who shows up for every race. For a filly with as little expectations as I had for her when she went into training, she has been nothing but a very pleasant surprise for us."

The Ogden Phipps figures to be the next step in a campaign limited to races against fillies and mares that will close out her racing career with the goal of back-to-back Distaff wins in what will likely be her final start. 

O'Rourke said there has been no talk of facing males with the winner of 10 of 13 starts—including four straight grade 1s in her most recent starts—and said it would take a "special situation" to change those plans.

"We haven't talked about it and I'm not one to force Brad into anything just because people think it would be neat. We'll only do it if she has a genuine shot of winning. Otherwise we'll keep doing what we're doing like last year. That was the plan going into the winter, to prepare for races like the Personal Ensign, Juddmonte Spinster, and Breeders' Cup Distaff (a trio of races Idiomatic won last year). That's the logical way to go with her," O'Rourke said. "If you go out of the division you would wonder why you would do it if it knocks her off her game and affects the rest of the year so she can't run in a race like the Personal Ensign. To face males, it would have to be a special situation that screams at us."

Now 5, Idiomatic figures to become another member of Juddmonte's regal broodmare at the end of the year.

"I never say never but it makes sense," O'Rourke said about the possibility of 2024 being her final year of racing. "We could have made that decision last year. More likely than not it will be her final year, but that decision will be made by the family (of the late Prince Khalid Abdullah) and not me."

In the May 3 La Troienne, the homebred daughter of the First Defence  mare Lockdown  used her speed and long stride to record a 3 3/4-length score on a sloppy, sealed track at Churchill Downs over a field that included likely Ogden Phipps rival Pretty Mischievous , the champion 3-year-old filly of 2023 who was 5 1/4 lengths back in third. It was the first race in six months for the $3 million earner, a deserved rest after a 2023 campaign that saw her win eight of nine starts with one second while earning the Eclipse Award as the champion older dirt female and finishing third in Horse of the Year voting.

"We didn't intentionally plan a hard campaign for her last year. We went step by step from 'Can she win a stakes?'  to 'Can she win the Distaff?' which she did," O'Rourke said. "It was natural progression without her ever stubbing her toe. It was a hard year and an unconventional year for a champion. She absolutely deserved her time off. We gave her a full 90 days at the farm, sent her to Brad in New Orleans and she has done great since then."

The stellar field for the Ogden Phipps also includes Dorth Vader , who was fourth in the La Troienne; Doubledogdare Stakes (G3) winner Raging Sea ; Soul of an Angel , who captured the Ruffian Stakes (G2) in her last start; and Tizzy in the Sky , an easy winner of the April 14 Top Flight Stakes.

The Ogden Phipps is one of the six grade 1 stakes on tap for the stellar June 8 card being run at Saratoga due to the construction at Belmont Park.