Top 4-year-old filly Havre de Grace will
take on the boys in the Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward at 1 1/8 miles on September
3 at Saratoga,
owner Rick Porter confirmed Saturday morning.
Winner of the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap in April at Oaklawn Park
and runner-up last out to arch rival Blind Luck in the Grade 2 Delaware
Handicap, Havre de Grace will attempt to follow in the footsteps of the great
Rachel Alexandra, who in 2009 beat males in the Woodward and was named Horse of
the Year.
“Our ultimate objective is to get Horse of the Year,”
Porter said. “All along, that’s what [trainer] Larry [Jones] and I
have talked about.”
Porter would have run Havre de Grace, a daughter of the late sire Saint
Liam, in the Grade 1, $300,000 Personal Ensign against fillies and mares had
trainer Jerry Hollendorfer chosen to ship Blind Luck across the country for the
race. When Blind Luck was declared for the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar, Porter said he
believed he needed to do something equally as bold.
“I’m sure Blind Luck is trying to get Horse of the Year,
and Tizway [winner of the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap and Grade 1 Whitney] is
trying to get Horse of the Year. I thought if we could beat the boys in this
race, with who’s running in it, we might be in a little better
position,” Porter said. “With Blind Luck going in the Pacific
Classic, we’d be behind the eight ball if she was fortunate enough to win
it, and we’d have a heck of a time catching up to her.”
Possible opponents for Havre de Grace in the Woodward include Whitney
runner-up Flat Out, Friend Or Foe, Rule, Duke of Mischief
and Mission Impazible.
“If you look at the numbers, they are very inconsistent,”
Porter said of his potential rivals, “but they are all capable of jumping
up and running a huge number. That’s what we have to hope one of them
doesn’t do. We thought it was a good time to take a shot at them, and
we’re hoping we’re not making a mistake. Rachel has been the only
other filly that’s won [the Woodward]. If we can get in Rachel’s
class, we’ll be up in the sky.”