SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Still basking in the glow of Dornoch’s upset victory in the June 8 Belmont Stakes, trainer Danny Gargan will look to add to his Saratoga Race Course success in the $175,000 Schuylerville Stakes this afternoon on the opening day card of the traditional Spa summer meet.
Previously a Grade 3 contest from 2006 through 2023, the Schuylerville lost its graded status for this year and will be a listed event. First held in 1918, the Schuylerville’s winners include Hall of Famers Ashado, La Prevoyante, and Cicada. Gargan, who earned the first Grade 1 victory of his career when Dornoch pulled off the 17-1 upset in the Belmont, will saddle recent debut winner Complexion, the 7-2 morning-line favorite, in the six-furlong sprint for juvenile fillies on the main track.
Owned by Arnmore Thoroughbreds and Carl and Yurie Pascarella, the Complexity chestnut is a half-sister to multiple Grade 1-winner Jack Christopher out of the Half Ours mare Rushin No Blushin, a half-sister to dual Grade 1 winner Street Boss. Complexion enters the Schuylerville off a bit of a bumpy debut victory going five furlongs on June 14 at Aqueduct. She bobbled at the break under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez but recovered quickly and was always in en route to a 61⁄2-length win in 58.
20. “She stumbled at the start and was able to pick herself up,” Gargan said. “Johnny was probably the most confident I’ve ever had a jockey walk in the paddock with me.
I never expect to win fi.
