Roses for Debra Tries to Stay Hot in Intercontinental

A field of 10 older filly and mare turf sprinters are scheduled to enter the gate June 7 for the $200,000 Intercontinental Stakes (G2T) at Saratoga Race Course.

The ninth race on a 12-race card, the Intercontinental will be run at 5 1/2 furlongs on the Mellon Turf Course, which is a bit shorter than the 2022-23 distance of six furlongs when run at its usual home of Belmont Park. Saratoga saw a light rain the morning of June 6 and there was a chance of rain in the evening Thursday, although those chances had been reduced to a coin flip in updated forecasts.

Morning-line favorite (6-5) Roses for Debra  has won five of her past seven races since being transferred to trainer Christophe Clement in the spring of 2023 and enters off a clear victory in the Giant’s Causeway Stakes (G3T) April 13 at Keeneland. The 5-year-old daughter of Liam’s Map   won a pair of stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs on the Saratoga turf last summer, including the Caress Stakes (G3T). Roses for Debra was bred in Pennsylvania by Blackstone Farm and is owned by Cheyenne Stable and John O’Meara.

Clement also will send out recent License Fee Stakes runner-up Gal in a Rush , whose last graded stakes appearance came when she finished second in the 2021 Matron Stakes (G3T) at Belmont Park.

Trainer Wesley Ward will saddle two for the Intercontinental: Kaufymaker  and Love Reigns . The 3-1 second choice, Love Reigns most recently finished second in the Giant’s Causeway Stakes, finishing 1 1/4 lengths behind Roses for Debra in her first start since August 2023. Bred by Patrick Grogan and owned by Stonestreet Stables, the 4-year-old daughter of U S Navy Flag  breaks from the far outside post.

Owned and bred by Gregory Kaufman, Kaufymaker is likely to be part of a contested early pace, along with Everyoneloveslinda  and Lady Milagro . Successful most recently in an allowance-level races last year, Kaufymaker was a close-up third in the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2T) before being sidelined for nearly a year, but has won three of her past five starts since returning to the races in October 2022. The Intercontinental will be her first start since a ninth-place finish in the Woodford Stakes (G2T) against males at Keeneland last October.

Also contesting the Intercontinental will be Future Is Now , a Maryland-bred owned by Larry Johnson and trained by Michael Trombetta who won the May 17 The Very One Stakes at Pimlico Race Course.

Spicybug  ships in from California off an allowance-level win for owner Mike Rutherford and trainer Michael McCarthy. A $250,000 yearling purchase, the 4-year-old daughter of Speightstown has won three of her past four starts.

Trained by Mark Casse and owned by Gary Barber, Run for the Hills  was third last out on a yielding Churchill Downs course in the Unbridled Sidney Stakes (G3T), after winning an allowance race on good turf April 7 at Keeneland. Roses for Debra had a four-race win streak snapped last summer with a third-place finish in the Turf Monster Stakes (G3T) on Parx Racing‘s yielding turf course.