Personal Ensign Could Be Next For Breeders’ Cup-Bound Dorth Vader originally appeared on Paulick Report.
John Ropes’ Florida homebred Dorth Vader captured Friday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Ogden Phipps presented by Ford at Saratoga Race Course, securing a “Win and You’re In” berth to the G1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff in November at Del Mar.
Trained by George Weaver, the 5-year-old Girvin dark bay stalked and pounced under Hall of Famer John Velazquez en route to a 4 3/4-length victory over Dazzling Move and the favored Raging Sea. Dorth Vader’s 1:49.10 final time for the nine furlongs over the sloppy and sealed main track returned a 94 Beyer Speed Figure, just one tick shy of her figure for a head runner-up to subsequent Champion 3-Year-Old Filly Pretty Mischievous in the 2023 Grade 1 Acorn at Belmont Park.
Weaver said Dorth Vader exited her first top-level triumph in good order and will look to make the most of her “Win and You’re In” berth later this year.
“She came out of the race well,” said Weaver. “We’re just glad to win. The filly is very talented and those are hard races to win. So, everybody is delighted. I think she proved she can handle the distance. We answered that question. So, we will look to get to the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.”
Dorth Vader’s prep races for the Distaff are to be determined, with one eye towards the Grade 1, $500,000 Personal Ensign on Aug. 23 at Saratoga, as of right now.
“I don’t want to overrun her. We ran her three times so far this year, probably looking at two races in-between, maybe three, depending. The Personal Ensign looks kind of interesting, since it’s right here and she ran well over the track,” Weaver said. “But we will just let the filly tell us what to do.”
Dorth Vader was 8-1 versus a field that included Grade 1 winners Raging Sea and Randomized for five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown. Weaver believed Dorth Vader was sitting on a big effort, but the talented field and rainy day raised some questions.
“She has been training well, but we just never know. It’s not like a maiden race when you think you might have an edge. You just hope to get a good trip and get it done,” Weaver said. “She’s pretty sure footed and luckily she dealt with the track well.”
Dorth Vader, who entered from a troubled fourth in the Grade 1 La Troienne in May at Churchill Downs, improved to 15-5-2-1 with $893,218 in earnings.
This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
