Klaravich Stables, trainer Chad Brown, and jockey Flavien Prat stole the show on the Travers Day undercard Aug. 29 at Saratoga Race Course, uniting for a pair of Grade 1 wins that also punched a ticket for both horses to the Breeders’ Cup through the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In.
The Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series is an international series of stakes races, the winners of which receive automatic starting positions with fees paid into a corresponding race of the 2026 Breeders’ Cup World Championships, to be held at Keeneland Oct. 30-31.
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Both victories came in impressive fashion as Fully Subscribed dominated her foes in the Personal Ensign Stakes (G1) by 9 3/4 lengths and Ways and Means schooled her rivals by 5 1/2 lengths in the Ballerina Stakes (G1).
Fully Subscribed’s Personal Ensign win earned an automatic berth to the $2 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) through the Challenge Series. This was the 4-year-old Tiz the Law filly’s second Challenge Series appearance this year, having been a distant second 12 3/4 lengths behind Nitrogen in the Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1) at Saratoga in June.
Nitrogen is currently No. 1 in the division after running a strong second against males in the Whitney Stakes (G1) earlier this month. However, a lot can change in the five months between the Ogden Phipps and the Longines Distaff, and the display Fully Subscribed showed Saturday suggests she’s not the same filly from June. After a confidence-boosting win in the July 24 Shuvee Stakes (G2) in which she ran down dual grade 1 winner Scottish Lassie, who also returned for the Personal Ensign, in the final strides, the chestnut filly was prepared for her return to Grade 1 company.
Prat worked out a fantastic trip, breaking sharp and forcing Snowyte and Scottish Lassie to go forward while sitting a garden trip on the rail. He was able to tip outside those two approaching the quarter pole. It didn’t take long to sort out who was best.
Fully Subscribed soared through the stretch as she widened the margin, completing 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.23 as the favorite. Scottish Lassie was second and Nerazurri finished third.
“She’s always trained super, like a Grade 1-quality filly,” Brown said. “Came up a little bit short to start the season, but she’s kept improving slowly and steadily, and she’s a high-quality race mare. … She got to show her stuff and show what she can really do.”
The Payson Stud-bred filly will now have her chance to turn the tables on Nitrogen in the Breeders’ Cup on the heels of this performance, provided she continues to improve with more racing.
Ways And Means Defends Home Track in Ballerina
Meanwhile Ways and Means, a homebred for Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables, just needed to roll out more of the same at the track she’s dominated at. The 5-year-old Practical Joke mare entered Saturday a winner in five of six starts at the Spa, her only defeat when running second as a 2-year-old in a race she emerged with an injury.
That form at her home track drew much respect from the bettors as she was favored in a deeply talented field of nine, and she flicked those rivals away with ease to clinch her spot in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) through the Challenge Series.
Prat worked out a similar trip as he did on Fully Subscribed, taking back in fourth as Maida, R Disaster, and Echo Sound sped off to set quick fractions.
She responded when Prat asked and inhaled those rivals approaching the quarter pole, taking command and immediately adding distance between her and the field. Closing runs by Kilwin and Beauty Reigns were only good enough for second and third, respectively, as Ways and Means skipped to a 7-furlong win in 1:22.05.
Even away from Saratoga, Ways and Means has been widely respected as one of the top female sprinters in the game throughout her career. She was favored in the 2024 Filly and Mare Sprint at Del Mar and finished fifth, beaten only 1 1/4 lengths after a less-than-ideal trip.
Now, she’ll have the chance to avenge herself as she likely heads to Keeneland the favorite once again.
“She runs so well fresh,” Brown said about not giving the mare another start before the Breeders’ Cup. “A long career, you can see I rested her between that last race she had. … I let her refill her tank and gave her plenty of time. I’m inclined to do the same thing now, final career start being the Breeders’ Cup, if she tells me.”
Hymn Continues Improvement, Takes Forego
Luckily for the contenders in the Forego Stakes (G1), the Klaravich/Brown/Prat trio did not have a contender. Although if they did, they would have had to run a stellar race to take down Hymn as he picked up the highlight victory of his career and earned a Win And You’re In berth to the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) in the process.
A homebred for Fleur De Lis Stables, who co-own with William Sparks and Bret Jones, Hymn has always been a quality runner, but his early career saw him staying in the allowance levels with a few minor stakes appearances.
This year, trainer Ron Moquett has continued to develop the 4-year-old McKinzie gelding into a stakes runner. In June, he earned his first stakes victory in the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash at Laurel Park and in July he traveled to Saratoga to run second in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes (G2). Those building blocks reached their peak Saturday as Hymn took a further step and won his first Grade 1.
“I called it. It’s in print places,” Moquett said about his early belief in the horse. “I thought he was a beautiful, wonderful horse from day one, and I hated having to geld him. When I did, I said, ‘Let’s just make him a racehorse and try to win the Breeders’ Cup.’ So we’re good.”
Jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. got out of the gate to put pressure on pacesetting Tip Top Thomas in the early stages. He was then able to take a bit of a breather before engaging that rival entering the far turn.
Tip Top Thomas battled hard, but Hymn had his measure by the 3/16th pole. Senior Officer, T Kraft, and Crazy Mason were all putting in runs, an exciting battle…for second. Hymn never wavered and, although he didn’t draw off from the competition, never looked like they had much of a chance to get him.
Hymn completed 7 furlongs in 1:22.48 while Senior Officer and T Kraft finished in a dead heat for second.
Hymn will need to stretch out an extra furlong for the Dirt Mile, which will be contested around two turns at Keeneland instead of the Forego’s one. He raced beyond a mile early in his career, but not since June 2025. He did finish second in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race in his second career start.
The $2 million Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) is also a possibility for Hymn, with Moquett saying he plans to run again in the Oct. 2 Phoenix Stakes (G2) at Keeneland, a Win And You’re In for the Cygames Sprint.
Iron Man Cal Punches Dirt Mile Ticket in Pat O’Brien
Another opportunity to clinch a Challenge Series berth in the Dirt Mile was on the line in the Pat O’Brien Stakes (G2) on the West Coast, and it’s conqueror may have been a bit of a surprise if you had not been watching California racing the last two months.
Iron Man Cal had been a turf horse for most of his career, including a runner-up finish in the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) at Del Mar. However, he trained well on the dirt and trainer Phil D’Amato decided to take a chance.
He was rewarded with a strong third-place finish behind Journalism July 18 in the San Diego Handicap (G2), and cutting back to one turn for the 7-furlong Pat O’Brien led to his first win on dirt and at the graded level.
“He just worked so well in the morning on the dirt, it was just a no brainer with where he was in his career,” Gary Fenton, managing partner of Little Red Feather Racing who co-own with Madaket Stables, told FanDuel TV. “To take a chance like we did in the San Diego, it payed off then and it certainly paid off now.”
There were some tense moments in the paddock as the 4-year-old gelding lost a shoe and needed it to be repaired, but he was able to collect himself by the time they reached the gate.
Jockey Joel Rosario, riding the gelding for the first time, got him out quickly and took the leading role. He set solid fractions throughout, and despite late bids by Moonlight and Big City Lights, who would finish second and third, he would last til the end.
Winning by a half-length, he completed 7 furlongs in 1:22.02.
Now with proof of being able to compete on the new surface and having past success over a mile, the Brereton Jones-bred Iron Man Cal is an intriguing new addition to the division and will look to keep the momentum going at Keeneland.
