By Christie DeBernardis
Klein Racing's Break Even (Country Day) looks to take her perfect record to seven-for-seven in Saturday's GII Prioress S. at Saratoga. Opening her account with a pair of decisive scores at the Fair Grounds in January, the dark bay wired Oaklawn's Purple Martin S. Mar. 30 and romped by 5 1/2 lengths in the GII Eight Belles S. at Churchill Downs May 3. Taking the field from gate to wire in the Jersey Girl S. at Belmont June 9, she took to the turf last time at the Spa, registering another front-running victory in the Coronation Cup S. July 14.
The likely favorite faces another unbeaten filly in Risky Mandate (Strong Mandate), who has only faced the starter twice and never in stakes company. Graduating by 6 1/4 lengths in her Churchill Downs debut June 22, the dark bay made easy work of a local allowance, winning by 3 1/2 lengths July 24.
“It's never a good feeling in a small field to see one horse control everything, but that won't change our game plan,” trainer Tom Amoss told the NYRA notes team. “We're going to run our race and see what happens. She's trained very well over the track.”
The Chad Brown-trained Royal Charlotte (Cairo Prince) suffered her first loss at the hooves of Covfefe (Into Mischief) last time, finishing a well-beaten sixth in Saratoga's GI Test S. Aug. 3. Victorious in her Gulfstream unveiling in March, she won a muddy Keeneland optional claimer a month later. Capturing Monmouth Park's Hystericalady S. May 27, the gray scored a facile win in Belmont's GIII Victory Ride S. July 5.
One worth noting in this field's trio of longshots is Break Curfew (Into Mischief), a former stablemate of Royal Charlotte. The $220,000 FTKOCT buy was initially campaigned by Brown and Klaravich Stables, finishing off the board only once in six starts for that outfit. Trainer Steve Asmussen claimed her in the name of his assistant Toby Sheets for $75,000 out of a winning effort here last time Aug. 17 and must like what he has seen since to drop her into the deep end in this test.
Rounding out the field are Kept True (Yes It's True), who enters off a pair of wins against fellow Empire-breds; and South of France (Quality Road), who closed out 2018 with a win in Aqueduct's Tepin S. in November and was second in her seasonal bow at the Spa Aug. 11.
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