SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The trainer Ignacio Correas believed his stable star, Didia, would win the New York Stakes a year ago at Belmont Park. She came close, beaten three-quarters of a length rallying into the walking pace set by the winner, Marketsegmentation. Correas thought Didia would win the New York this year, too. This time she did. With a perfect trip under Jose Ortiz, Didia came off the rail at the quarter pole and jumped on the leaders like a cobra striking a rat. Third at the head of the homestretch, she was first at the stretch call and no one was catching Didia, who lashed through her final furlong and a half in under 17 seconds, real racehorse time. Her margin of victory in the Grade 1, $750,000 New York was 1 1/2 lengths. She proved her trainer right. Didia finished a somewhat disappointing 10th last fall in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf. Correas sent her to Gulfstream Park in January and Didia won the Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf. He ran the mare at his home track, Keelenand, in the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley in April. Both those 1 1/16-mile races fell short of Didia’s best distance. The 1 3/16-mile New York had been her target for months. :: DRF Belmont Stakes Packages: Save up to 52% on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more “The last three weeks, she has been training like she was ready for the world,” said Correas, who called a six-furlong dirt breeze May 25 at Keeneland the best work he’d ever seen from a horse he trained. “It was really hard for me to lose it last year – I never expected to lose it last year.” Didia, badly overlooked in win betting, somehow paid $20.60 while clocking 1:52.29 over a firm course, a raw time that produced an elite 100 Beyer Speed Figure. Saratoga got one round of brief, heavy rain Saturday afternoon, and there had been rain Thursday night, but the forecast looked much worse several days ago for a mare who probably could not have won on a soft course. “The harder the ground, the more she likes it,” Correas said. Neecie Marie, running back to her excellent 4-year-old debut last month, finished a strong second. Eleventh of 13 off the first turn, Neecie Marie moved up boldly down the backstretch, jockey Joel Rosario skimming the rail to pass more than half the field. Rosario had to steady briefly at about the 4 1/2-furlong marker but wound up getting through. “I was just trying to get a position, and, you know, she was able to stay where I wanted. I was able to follow the other horse that won the race. She’s very good,” Rosario said. Another 1 3/4 lengths back in third came 7-year-old War Like Goddess, still a handful during the preliminaries. Making a belated 2024 debut after missing her intended April start in the Bewitch at Keeneland because of a lacerated leg, War Like Goddess had the worst trip among the top three, steadying at the head of the backstretch and after starting to make a run, getting shuffled back to last past the three-furlong marker. Once clear, she finished fastest, a strong showing from a mare who wants 1 1/2 miles. “If she gets a little better trip, she’ll be right there,” said trainer Bill Mott. “If we’re going a mile and a half, she wins anyway.” Surprisingly sat second as Royalty Interest set a solid pace, 47.74 for the first half-mile, and held well to finish fourth, a nose in front of late-running McKulick. English Rose, an absurdly heavy favorite at 7-5, beat one horse, 80-1 shot Be Your Best. “She was restless in the gate, and she jumped a bit slow, and I didn’t get to where I wanted to be,” jockey William Buick said. “Obviously, she didn’t run her usual race.” Didia ran hers. By Orpen out of a Brazilian mare named Delambre, Didia was a three-time Group 1 winner in Argentina campaigning during 2021. She was purchased by Merriebelle Stables and sent to Correas, with Resolute Racing buying into the mare this past winter. Even before Didia made her North American debut in July 2022 at Colonial Downs, Correas sang her praises. Like Didia, Correas was born and raised in Argentina, the son and grandson of trainers, and after assisting his father, he rounded out his training apprenticeship with a stint in France under the legendary Alec Head. Correas comes from means, but when he first arrived in Saratoga 24 years ago, working for trainer Billy Badgett, Correas had left behind a sure path to success in Argentina, buried far below the top of the game here. But he has always known Argentine form inside and out. And adding what he’d seen of Didia racing back home to the horse in front of him two years ago, Correas believed this mare could be special. Correas has the patience rarely shown by horsemen in the modern era. Rather than rush Didia into top-class racing, he eased her there: The New York, her fifth start for Correas, marked her first start in a North American Grade 1. “She’s an awesome filly, no doubt the best turf filly I ever trained,” said Correas, who won a Breeders’ Cup Distaff with the Argentina-bred Blue Prize. “This filly doesn’t need that much help. I try to stay out of her way.” Correas can be very particular with his jockeys, and he recently has placed his trust in Ortiz, who could not have ridden Didia any better. The mare settled in fourth during the early stages, and unlike in some previous runs, let go of the bit and dropped her head, putty in Ortiz’s hands. “She was loaded,” Ortiz said. “At the top of the stretch, what a great feeling, that ‘nobody-can-beat-me’ feeling. It’s unique.” Correas thought he had that feeling in June 2023 at Belmont. A year Saturday at Saratoga, he stood in the winner’s circle and let it wash over him. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.