Patch Adams Graduates to the Big Leagues in GI Woody Stephens Stakes

The son of Into Mischief outkicked a formidable group of sophomore sprinters and now stands atop the division

Patch Adams Delivered a Stellar Performance at Saratoga / ADAM COGLIANESE / NYRA

SARATOGA SPRINGS, New York (Special for Turf Diario).- Patch Adams left no room for doubt in Saturday’s $500,000 G1 Woody Stephens Stakes presented by Mohegan Sun, cruising to a commanding victory over a competitive field of 10 sophomore sprinters at Saratoga.

Representing China Horse Club and WinStar Farm — the latter also his breeder — and named after the famous physician and clown, Patch Adams settled just off the pace under Luis Sáez over the muddy 7-furlong strip, took command entering the stretch, and secured his first graded stakes win for his connections in a race honoring Hall of Fame trainer Woody Stephens, a multiple Belmont Stakes winner.

Earlier this year, the Into Mischief colt tested the Triple Crown trail, running twice in Grade 1 events at two turns, but the drop in distance made the difference, according to his trainer Brad Cox, a two-time Eclipse Award winner.

“It’s funny that a horse who breaks so well in sprints didn’t quite get it done going two turns. Sometimes horses leave you scratching your head. That was the case over winter and spring, but everything changed at Churchill Downs. We shortened him up, and today he responded again,” said Cox, who also saddled the lackluster Gunmetal (Gun Runner), who finished last.

Sáez wasted no time after the break, positioning Patch Adams just behind early leaders Macho Music (Maclean’s Music) and Madaket Road (Quality Road), who set brisk fractions of 22.11, 44.40, and 1:08.73.

Approaching the far turn, Patch Adams angled out, made a decisive move to seize the lead in the final 200 yards, and pulled away under measured urging to win by 2 1/4 lengths in a final time of 1:21.38.

Madaket Road, ridden by John Velázquez for fellow Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, finished second, a neck ahead of third-place Big Truzz (Justify), with Joel Rosario aboard. 2023 Champion Two-Year-Old Citizen Bull (Into Mischief) rounded out the superfecta.

The rest of the order included T Kraft (Connect), Gate to Wire (Munnings), Macho Music, Chancer McPatrick(McKinzie), Neoequos (Neolithic), and Gunmetal, with Colloquial (Vekoma) scratched late. Notably, Macho Musicand Chancer McPatrick dead-heated for seventh.

“Luis was persistent. I was watching thinking, ‘He’s pushing him to catch the leaders,’ hoping he’d have enough left to finish. But he did — he finished very strong,” Cox said.

Sáez, who scored his first Woody Stephens win in 2020 aboard No Parole, described the stretch run as “pretty exciting.”

“I really like this horse. He had been working well, and today he ran a great race,” he said. “The plan was to get a good position early, and we did that. He was in a perfect spot throughout. I’m very proud of him. I knew he would run hard, and he did. He found his place, and when we hit the stretch, he had a great kick.”

Velázquez lamented a stumble at the start that cost him ground on Madaket Road:

“We broke okay but he stumbled in the first strides. I tried to catch Macho Music but couldn’t. After that, it was a clean trip, but the other horse was better.”