Lightly raced Portfolio Duration took command right out of the starting gate and never relinquished the lead, stubbornly holding off the late charge of Cankoura to win the G1 New York Stakes by a head at Saratoga on Friday, 5 June.
The four-year-old filly by Night Of Thunder entered the New York off a runner-up finish in the G2 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile in her previous start. The Chad Brown trainee has never finished worse than second in five career starts.
Drawn on the rail and coming out of shorter races, jockey Flavien Prat utilized her inside draw and tactical speed to take advantage of what was a paceless 1 3/16-mile turf affair. She cruised easily to the lead, carving out comfortable splits over the first six furlongs of the race of :24.39, :49.21, 1:12.17, and 1:35.36, and then used her acceleration to turn back stablemate Kathynmarissa and the hard-charging French invader Cankoura to win by a head.
Portfolio Duration was bred in England by Michael E. Wates out of the winning Dansili mare, Shemya, and is a half sister to Cormorant (Kingman), winner of the G3 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial. A granddaughter of two-time French group winner Shemima (Dalakhani) and from the family of G3 Sheepshead Bay Stakes winner No Show Sammy Jo (Lope de Vega), Portfolio Duration has a juvenile half brother by Palace Pier and a yearling half brother by Modern Games.
Night Of Thunder was crowned Champion sire in GB and Ireland for the first time in 2025. In total, he sired 32 Black Type winners last season including his first British Classic winner in Desert Flower and the Dewhurst hero Gewan. 2026 has started in similar vein and already includes Ombudsman winning his third G1 in the Dubai Turf and the 2,000 Guineas hero Bow Echo.
