How to bet the 2025 Yaddo Stakes

A dozen New York-bred fillies and mares are entered for the turf in Friday’s $150,000 Yaddo S. at Saratoga. The grassy affair will be contested at 1 1/16 miles on the inner lawn and attracted a very even cast with a lot of speed likely to be on display in the event. I’ll look inside with a pair of runners likely to be saving ground in the early stages of the tilt as my top selections.

Yaddo Wagers

• $10 win and place #2 Awesome Czech ($20)
• $6 exacta box 1-2 ($12)
• 10-cent superfecta 1,2 with 1,2,6,10 with 1,2,6,10 with all ($10.80)

The Horacio De Paz-trained #2 Awesome Czech (6-1) loves the course, evidenced by her 4-3-1-0 local line, and comes in fresh for this encounter. The Mendelssohn four-year-old hit a bit of a lull in the latter portion of her sophomore campaign, but has found some of her best form this season. The filly was equipped with blinkers last time and led throughout in an allowance test against open foes, and she comes in fresh with some solid morning activity as of late, as well.

Awesome Czech is far from a need-the-lead type and could sit an ideal trip behind a contested early tempo in the feature. The talented bay will be a menacing figure late at a nice price with Ricardo Santana, Jr. retaining the ride. 

Four-time stakes victress #1 Moonage Daydream (4-1) will make her first run of 2025 for trainer Jorge Abreu in hopes of defending her crown in the tilt. The Candy Ride mare reeled off a trio of black-type wins in succession to conclude her four-year-old campaign and has thrived since being stretched out from sprint distances. The bay has excellent tactical foot but runs well from just off of the early tempo, and I envision her receiving a positive voyage while never far back beneath repeat pilot Flavien Prat. 

#6 Brocknardini (10-1) is not especially consistent, but the George Weaver pupil has flashed considerable ability on multiple occasions, including in her dominant allowance triumph on the course most recently. The stakes-winning filly is two-for-four locally with a second, and the one-run closing type will benefit from the expected healthy early tempo in this spot to help set up her late burst. She looks like a nice exotics piece at a price under Manny Franco. 

Conditioner Miguel Clement has had a magic touch at this meeting, especially in the stakes ranks, so I will surely toss in his #10 Silver Skillet (6-1). The multiple stakes winning daughter of Liam’s Map sports a healthy 4-2-1-0 mark at The Spa and was assigned a nice post slot outside of the other pace in the field. Joel Rosario will take the reins.