Godolphin's Eternal Hope Back in Action in Glens Falls

The Godolphin European fleet has been stronger than ever this year, and British trainer Charlie Appleby and his team will seek to keep the royal blue wave flowing when he starts homebred Eternal Hope  in the $250,000 Glens Falls Stakes (G2T) Aug. 1 at Saratoga Race Course.

Although Appleby has proven more than capable of saddling a winner off the bench, 4-year-old Eternal Hope has the odds stacked against her in the 1 1/2-mile Glens Falls. Unraced since a victory in the Sands Point Stakes (G2T) last October, she will need to defeat seasoned routing specialists such as Chop Chop , Alpha Bella , and Atomic Blonde  as well as the talented Chad Brown duo of McKulick  and Royalty Interest .

Eternal Hope, a listed stakes winner in Europe over the 1 1/2-mile trip and victorious in the 2023 Jockey Club Oaks Invitational Stakes (G3T) over 1 3/8 miles, is reportedly in fine condition heading into her 2024 debut.

"She hasn't been seen since her American starts last year, but her preparation has gone well," Appleby said of the daughter of Teofilo . "We feel that, at that trip, she's a filly we saw who can get to a good level in America. We're looking forward to getting her back out. There will be a bit of improvement for the run, but she goes there in great shape."

Flavien Prat has the call on Eternal Hope.

Selective's Chop Chop, grade 1-placed as a juvenile, has flourished as a 4-year-old since stretching out in distance, scoring the biggest win of her career in Keeneland's 1 1/2-mile Bewitch Stakes (G3T) April 26. The City of Light   filly has since returned with back-to-back runner-up efforts in the Keertana Stakes at Churchill Downs and Robert G. Dick Memorial Stakes (G3T) at Delaware Park.

"She was obviously a very good 2-year-old," said trainer Brad Cox. "The 3-year-old season was not quite what we were looking for, but she has rebounded and had a good 4-year-old season. She's found a new talent, something different, going long on the turf. She has handled that marathon distance, and we are going to give her another shot" Thursday.

Frankie Dettori will be aboard Chop Chop, who draws just to the outside of front-running fillies Alpha Bella and Royalty Interest. All three fillies are possible pacesetters.

While Royalty Interest, a gate-to-wire winner of the Sheepshead Bay Stakes (G3T) finished a disappointing 10th after pressing the early pace in her only Saratoga start in the June 7 New York Stakes (G1T), fellow Brown trainee McKulick has a 2-2-0 record in five starts at the Spa.

Klaravich Stables' McKulick turned in perhaps one of her finest performances yet when capturing last year's edition of the Glens Falls over star turf mare War Like Goddess . The latter bypasses Thursday's race after taking consecutive runnings in 2021-22 for trainer Bill Mott. Her connections have elected to skip the Glens Falls in favor of the Aug. 31 Flower Bowl Stakes (G2T) at the end of the Saratoga meet.

McKulick, ridden by regular partner Irad Ortiz Jr., will need to return to the form that saw her take the Orchid Stakes (G3T) at Gulfstream Park earlier this season.

"She's shown an affinity for Saratoga before. I'm not sure what happened last time out (when fifth in the New York Stakes), but getting her out to the mile-and-a-half distance should help her cause," Brown said.