This Is Her ‘Moment’

Moment Is Right (Medaglia d’Oro), a smart wire-to-wire winner after gamely turning back favored Decked Out (Street Boss) in Belmont’s Astoria S. June 4, headlines Friday’s opening day co-featured GIII Schuylerville S. at Saratoga. Trainer Wesley Ward will also be represented by Banree (Macho Uno), a dazzling debut winner over the boys at Keeneland Apr. 16. She followed with a fifth-place finish–also against males–after some trouble at the start in the Tremont S. June 5. “They’re doing really well,” Ward commented. “Both are coming into the race great, so we’ll see what happens. Going into the race, it’s a toss-up as to which one’s better, that’s for sure, and I’d even lean the other way a little bit. A lot of it has to do with the trip and what have you, but they’re both pretty talented 2-year-old fillies.” Trainer Todd Pletcher will saddle the 2-1 morning-line favorite Positively Royal (Bernardini). The $325,000 KEESEP yearling purchase easily handled four rivals in her Belmont unveiling June 18. “She’s a very professional filly,” said Pletcher, who has won this race five times. “She trained at my dad’s all winter and trained very well. She was one of the first ones to come in. She ran to expectations first time out and has trained accordingly since. We’ve been fortunate over the years to have some nice fillies in here, and I think she is of that same caliber.”