SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Just from the sound of their names – Idiomatic and Randomized, Randomized and Idiomatic – it feels natural these two horses would be rivals. Idiomatic beat Randomized by a half-length last fall in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, but their head-to-head record now stands at 1-1 after Randomized held off Idiomatic by a head and won the Grade 1, $750,000 Ogden Phipps Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga. Randomized earned her win, digging in gamely against last year’s champion older female, but trip made all the difference in the Phipps: Randomized had a great one, Idiomatic not so much. No fractions were posted during the race, perhaps owing to Tizzy in the Sky breaking through the gate before the start. Led back around to be reloaded, Tizzy in the Sky wound up finishing last at 17-1 but still affected the outcome. Leaving from the rail under Joel Rosario, Randomized popped straight to the lead, Rosario steering right into the first turn in order to force anyone attempting to press the pace – Idiomatic, for instance – to go wide. Tizzy in the Sky raced behind Randomized, and her jockey, too, made more of an effort to stay out rather than get in as the field hit the turn. Idiomatic could have avoided a wide run around the turn had she broken better, but she didn’t. Unsettled in her stall and rocking back as the starter pushed the button, Idiomatic beat only Soul of an Angel into the first two strides. A habitual front-runner, the long and tall Idiomatic likes to gallop along with her reaching stride, but she was playing catch-up while losing ground from the start Saturday. “She was not standing perfectly in the gate,” jockey Florent Geroux said. “She’s so big, sometimes she’s not the best away from there. In this particular race they’re all looking at me and they’re trying to go on the outside all the time.” :: Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.  Indeed, the jockeys inside Geroux were riding his horse as much as theirs. And when the fractions were published in the official chart, it became clear that Randomized had pulled a great trip. After going her first quarter-mile in a tepid 24.34, Randomized, with a brisk tailwind no less, went her half-mile in a pedestrian 48.99, the easiest of leads for a filly who’d been second in the BC Distaff and was a blowout winner of the Grade 1 Alabama over this track last summer. “She looked like she was where she wanted to be, on the lead at Saratoga, where she had her biggest win,” said Chad Brown, who trains Randomized for Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables. Randomized, by Nyquist out of French Passport, by Elusive Quality, had a fabulous 3-year-old season that began in June with a decidedly subpar showing in the Acorn Stakes. She returned this year from a winter break and clunked home a well-beaten second as the odds-on favorite in the May 4 Ruffian at Aqueduct. “I just wanted to see her get back on track,” Brown said. “Last time, even though it was off a layoff, I thought it was a disappointing loss. She was the class of the field, but as it turns out, she just needed the race. She put in two fabulous works at Saratoga, which gave me a lot of confidence she was going to bounce back.” It was not until Idiomatic had gone past the half-mile pole headed to the three-furlong marker, still wide, that she tried to mount a challenge. Idiomatic made a quick move to reach contention, lost a bit of momentum cornering for home, but then gained steadily on Randomized. “When [Rosario] came off the turn, it looked like he was sitting pretty good and Idiomatic was being asked a little bit. I thought it would still be close, but that would at least allow us some separation in the middle of the stretch, which proved key for us to get there,” Brown said. Randomized needed every inch of help she could get. She got a good bob at the wire, and Idiomatic, in another stride or two, would have been the winner. “I know we ran the best horse in the race,” said Brad Cox, Idiomatic’s trainer. Yet this goes down in the books a win for Randomized, who was timed in 1:49.58 for 1 1/8 miles (99 Beyer Speed Figure) over a fast track and paid $14. The top two were much the best, Pretty Mischievous 4 1/2 lengths back in third. Raging Sea was a nose behind here, with Soul of an Angel and Tizzy in the Sky bringing up the rear. “I was sure at some point Idiomatic was going to be challenging me,” Rosario said. Randomized was up for the challenge, good fortune blowing at her back on a windy Saturday at Saratoga. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.