Catch a Glimpse Favored in Lake Placid

On some level the connections of the six 3-year-old fillies expected to face Catch a Glimpse, who is undefeated on the grass, hope she doesn't bring her "A" game when she runs in the $300,000 Lake Placid Stakes (gr. IIT) Aug. 21 on the turf at Saratoga Race Course.

Catch a Glimpse, who races for the partnership of Michael James Ambler, Gary Barber, and Windways Farm, is the 8-5 morning-line favorite to win for the ninth consecutive time in the 1 1/8-mile Lake Placid. Her win streak began in August 2015 with an allowance win at Woodbine.

The front-runner will again be partnered with jockey Florent Geroux, who has been aboard the City Zip   filly ever since they won the grade II Natalma Stakes at Woodbine last September. As a team, Catch a Glimpse and Geroux have captured seven graded stakes, including the 2015 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (gr. IT) and the grade I Belmont Oaks Invitational, their most recent victory together.

Norm Casse, chief assistant to his father, Mark, Catch a Glimpse's trainer, said Geroux has the right touch with the filly, who can be a handful.

"She is a very nervous and flighty filly, and I think that Florent is really good at just letting horses do what they want and be comfortable within the body of a race," the younger Casse said. "He doesn't mess with her too much. I think some guys would get in her way and that would be very detrimental. Florent seems to get along with horses like that.

"But she definitely has matured recently too. We figured out how to make her happy in the paddock and how to make her happy in the morning. But really, knock on wood, the crowd doesn't really rile her up as much anymore, either."

Catch a Glimpse again appears to be the controlling speed. She led from start to finish in both the Belmont Oaks and the grade III Penn Mile, a race she won by 2 1/4 lengths over males in June.

"She likes to go," Norm Casse said. "She likes to get out there and be comfortable. Her greatest asset is that she sits the perfect trip every time she runs. She typically doesn't ever have a bad trip, and I think that makes it a little easier to keep this winning streak going.

"I don't know if we know what her preferred distance is, but cutting back shouldn't be any disadvantage for her. If anything, it's more of an advantage for her. We're just excited to get the chance to run her again. She has really done well since the Belmont Oaks, and it seems she is sitting on another big race."

Catch a Glimpse drew post 2 for the inner-turf race.

Top challengers Sunday include Phillips Racing Partnership homebred Time and Motion, who enters off of a runner-up finish in the Belmont Oaks in which the daughter of Tapit   finished just a half-length behind Catch a Glimpse. After carrying equal weight of 121 pounds in the Belmont Oaks, Time and Motion will carry 118 on Sunday, four less than Catch a Glimpse.

"I guess you just have to put pressure on (Catch a Glimpse) early, but meanwhile do you take yourself out of your own game to do that?" said Jimmy Toner, trainer of Time and Motion. "That filly is going to be tough to beat. She's a top-quality filly, and there is a reason she has put up all those '1s' before her name. It is what it is. We're going to give it another try and see what happens.

"I'll just let (jockey John Velazquez) figure it out; that's what we are paying him for."

Time and Motion, who will start from the inside on the inner-turf course race, is the second morning-line choice at 3-1. Sheep Pond Partners and All-Pro Racing's Elysea's World, third choice at 4-1, enters off a runner-up finish to Ancient Secret in the Lake George Stakes (gr. IIT) July 22 on the Saratoga turf.