| Friday, July 18, 2014 Fashion Alert steps out in G3 Schuylerville By Jenny Kellner SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Fashion Alert made it 2-for-2 in stakes appearances, outfinishing Take Charge Brandi after a protracted battle to win the Grade 3, $150,000 Schuylerville, the opening-day feature for the 146th meet at Saratoga Race Course. Bumping with Evrybdymstgetstonz after breaking inwardly, Fashion Alert was quickly righted by Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez and took off in pursuit of Take Charge Brandi. The two were nearly inseparable as they pulled away from the rest of the field, dueling through fractions of 22.41 seconds for the first quarter-mile and 45.32 for the half. Gaining a narrow advantage once straightened for home, Fashion Alert dug down and edged away from her rival, hitting the wire 1 ½ lengths in front. Her winning time for six furlongs was 1:11.78. "She's definitely very talented," said Velazquez. "We wish we had a better break and got a better position at the first part. She kind of recuperated right away and got a good position going to the half-mile pole. From then on, I wanted to give her a little breather and see how she did, and down the lane she started leaning into the horse on the inside. Finally, she started getting away from her the last sixteenth of a mile. She didn't break as bad as last time out, but today was a little bit bad. So, I knew she was going to be quick enough to be there anyway." Owned by George Bolton and Barry Hall, Fashion Alert returned $2.40 as the 2-5 favorite in the field of five. Winner of the Astoria in her debut on June 14, she earned an additional $100,000 bonus for breaking her maiden at Belmont Park, for a total of $240,000, nearly double the $125,000 Bolton paid for her at auction in September. "I know that Wayne [Lukas] likes his filly [Take Charge Brandi] a lot," said trainer Todd Pletcher, who now has won five editions of the Schuylerville. "They got into a prolonged speed duel. You could tell they were both getting a little tired, but she showed some guts. You always want to get that first [win] out of the way. We just missed in the first race [on the card], so it's nice to get it done in the Schuylerville, a race we've always held in high regard." Take Charge Brandi was 7 ¾ lengths in front of Tulira's Star, with Evrybdymstgetstonz checking in fourth and Mast Cove finishing last. -30-
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