Leading Change pulled off a major upset in the Grade I Travers Stakes at Saratoga, defeating most the country’s top 3-year-olds during a prominent weekend of North American and international horse racing.
Travers Stakes Shock at Saratoga
According to race reporting, Leading Change outran most the 3-year-old generation in the event at Saratoga Race Course.
Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series Winners
The weekend’s global fixture slate featured multiple “Win and You’re In” qualifiers for the upcoming Breeders’ Cup World Championships, according to UPI. At Ascot in England, Juddmonte’s homebred 5-year-old mare Kalpana captured the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes by 1 1/2 lengths over Calandagan. Trained by Andrew Balding, Kalpana secured an automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. Barry Mahon, European racing manager for Juddmonte, noted that the race featured a high-caliber international cast, stating that it represented “the who’s who of the best mile-and-a-half horses in the world,” as reported by UPI.
Additional Breeders’ Cup qualifiers included Listenupschance, who won the Grade I Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar to earn a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, and Moonrise, who captured the Group 3 Princess Margaret Japan Cup Stakes at Ascot to secure a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, according to UPI.
Saratoga Filly Division Highlights
At Saratoga, Counting Stars secured a victory in the $500,000 Grade I Coaching Club American Oaks on Saturday, drawing clear by 4 1/4 lengths under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. according to UPI reporting. Counting Stars previously finished third in the Kentucky Oaks and won the Grade I Acorn, and now aims for the Grade I Alabama Stakes on August 22 at Saratoga. In other Saratoga results, Fully Subscribed defeated favorite Scottish Lassie by a half-length in Friday’s $250,000 Grade II Shuvee, while Built captured the Grade II Alfred G. Vanderbilt, according to NYRA and UPI accounts.
International Racing Results
In Germany on Sunday, the Jessica Harrington-trained 4-year-old Hotazhell secured a victory by a nose over Timeforshowcasing in the Group 1 Grosser Dallmayr-Preis – Bayerisches Zuchtrennen at Munich. According to UPI, the win marked Hotazhell’s first victory since October 2024, defeating race favorite Wimbledon Hawkeye in a competitive international field.
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