Saratoga Race Course attendees will be in for a rare sight later this week, as trainer Jack Sisterson will unveil a one-eyed filly in the second race there Sept. 1. Perfectly Mperfect, owned and bred in New York by Torie Gladwell, has reportedly been progressing in her morning workouts and is set to debut at six furlongs on the dirt.

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Despite her unique appearance, Sisterson described Perfectly Mperfect as “a very straightforward filly that’s moving forward nicely.” On Aug. 27 the 2-year-old breezed out of the gate and completed four furlongs over Saratoga’s main track in :48.48 seconds. She has been training on the grounds since June.

The filly is by stakes-winning sprinter Sharp Azteca out of Kiska, a mare Gladwell bred in 2016 in the name of Mystic Bloodstock. She sold Kiska as a yearling but later bought her back after her racing career was cut short by an injury when ninth in her own 2018 Saratoga debut. Gladwell also owns Perfectly Mperfect’s second dam, Bliss, keeping the three of them together as “a lovely family,” in the owner’s words.

Perfectly Mperfect was born healthy but lost her right eye as a result of an infection several months after she was born. Gladwell, who also serves as the co-founder of consignment company Top Line Sales, took an unusual step in order to remain a part of her filly’s future.

“We sell most of our homebreds, but knowing this filly was going to have a handicap her whole life, I decided after the surgery we would keep and race her,” Gladwell said.

Gladwell described the 2-year-old as a “farm favorite,” claiming that she has been spoiled from birth. In training, riders and grooms called her “Un Ojo,” coincidentally the name of the popular one-eyed gelding who won the 2022 Rebel Stakes and most recently raced at Saratoga Aug. 2, finishing second in an allowance optional claimer. With that name taken, Gladwell came up with another clever and loving way to honor her horse’s disability.

Courtesy of Torie Gladwell

One-eyed or partially blind horses in racing are rare but several memorable examples prove that the disability still allows for success on the track. In addition to Un Ojo, who qualified for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve last year but was scratched in the lead-up to the race, Pollard’s Vision, and Patch actually participated in the run for the roses in 2004 and 2017, respectively. 

Pollard’s Vision, named after partially blind jockey Red Pollard, went on to win multiple graded stakes races in 2004 and 2005.

Patch, missing his left eye and unfortunate enough to draw the far outside post in both the Derby and Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets, still managed to finish third in the latter race at long odds.

Perfectly Mperfect drew the No. 2 post in Friday’s race, an $88,000 maiden special weight for fillies bred in New York.

Trevor McCarthy will ride. The jockey has ridden several of Sisterson’s horses this year, most notably when he won the June 2 Penn Oaks aboard 3-year-old filly Malleymoo. 

In a field of nine, Perfectly Mperfect is set to have one of the favorites, trainer Chad Brown’s debuting 2-year-old Dolomite, to her inside and seven other first- or second-time starters to her outside. Compared to drawing the rail, having at least one horse within view on her left is likely a benefit.

“Fingers crossed she’s as special as we hope,” Gladwell said.–Patrick Moquin