Heavy is the head that wears the crown, but for the reigning queen of the GII Bed O' Roses Stakes, it proved to be figurative weight she could valiantly bear en route to her title defense.Ways and Means (Practical Joke) looked to be beaten at the head of affairs, but gamely re-rallied in the final yards to nail a wildly unlucky Grand Job (Justify) by a nose in an exciting 2026 running at Saratoga.The Chad Brown trainee has had a very short career the last two seasons–her 2025 campaign was only two races long with starts in the GI Derby City Distaff and the GII Bed O' Roses Stakes to her credit. She ran third in the former and dominated the latter by 7 3/4 lengths to post a career-best 111 Beyer in the process. Thus far, her 2026 has taken a similar path as Ways and Means again resurfaced off a layoff at the Derby City, but this time ran second to Florida-bred wonder R Disaster (Awesome Slew). The betting public clocked the pattern, and sent her off as the 3-5 favorite with Grand Job close on her heels in the pools at 6-5 odds.The field broke in a line, but the top two wasted no time getting out to the front with Grand Job quickly taking control from the rail through an opening quarter in :22.07. Ways and Means was never too far away from her, and they distanced themselves from the field after a half-mile in a stiff :43.97 heading into the bend. Coming off it, as Grand Job seemingly gave Ways and Means the slip, the eventual winner refused to yield and relentlessly closed the gap heading into the final yards. Offering one last lunge at the wire, it took a photo to separate them, but the 2025 champion would defend her crown by a lucky nose. Senza Parole (Gun Runner) was 9 1/2 lengths back in third.“When that horse [No. 1, Grand Job] sprinted away from her [Ways and Means], there were a fair number of horses who would have had their hearts broken, if you will. The fact that she regained her confidence and bore down again, I think that says a lot about her heart and determination,” said trainer Chad Brown.“I know the filly that was second looks like she's really turning into a top filly, so I knew [Ways And Means] was going to have her work cut out for her wearing her down. I'm just thankful that we got her nose down in time.”Brown continued, “I was telling Flavien [Prat] that we brought her back in training to win the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland and I think she'll love the seven-eighths at Keeneland. You can see she's just getting there at six-and-a-half. If we can just keep her healthy and ready for that race in the fall, she'll be very competitive.”When asked about the shortened season in 2025, Brown said Ways and Means got sick again [she came out of the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint in 2024 with an ankle chip that put her on the sidelines until last year's Derby City] and he was forced to pull the plug on her entire year.“Her best races are definitely here, but I have been having trouble keeping her in a regular campaign. She's run well at Aqueduct, too. The one Del Mar race wasn't too good–then again, she came out of that with an ankle chip. There's some question marks. She's going to have to take her game on the road, like I spoke about, and to Keeneland, primarily.”Brown added that Ways and Means's final year of racing will predominantly be spent in New York with her next target being the 'WAYI' GI Ballerina Stakes Aug. 29 with an eye on a potential career finisher in the World Championships this fall at Keeneland. WAYS AND MEANS gets up to win the Grade 2 Bed o' Roses Stakes pres. by Boldyn Networks for the second year in a row under Flavien Prat for trainer Chad Brown.Chad Brown has now won this race four years in a row! pic.twitter.com/FMwflpgbgf— NYRA () (@TheNYRA) June 5, 2026Pedigree Note:Ways and Means is a half-sister to a pair of accomplished runners, namely fellow Grade I-winner Surge Capacity (Flintshire {GB}) and track-record setting graded winner Highly Motivated (Into Mischief). She's the most recent to the races, but does have a juvenile half-sister named Alpe d'Huez (Good Magic). Strong Incentive's youngest is a yearling colt by Into Mischief and she was bred back to the stallion for 2026.The dam is herself a daughter of SW G G's Dolly (Comic Strip), and thus a half-sibling to MSP Hall Pass (Freedom Child) and Loan Guarantee (Malibu Moon), the mother of GSW Wow Whata Summer (Summer Front). This is the extended female family of French Group 1-placed Monsagem and multiple Group winner Tullius (Ire).Friday, SaratogaBED O' ROSES S. PRESENTED BY BOLDYN NETWORKS-GII, $300,000, Saratoga, 6-5, 4yo/up, f/m, 7f, 1:21.05, ft.1–WAYS AND MEANS, 124, m, 5, by Practical Joke 1st Dam: Strong Incentive (SW, $123,568), by Warrior's Reward 2nd Dam: G G's Dolly, by Comic Strip 3rd Dam: Parfait, by Kingmambo'TDN Rising Star'. O/B-Klaravich Stables (KY); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Flavien Prat. $165,000. Lifetime Record: GISW, 12-6-3-1, $1,362,500. *1/2 to Surge Capacity (Flintshire {GB}), GISW, $547,100 and Highly Motivated (Into Mischief), GSW, $667,375. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.2–Grand Job, 124, m, 5, Justify–Sure Route (GB), by Ishiguru. ($105,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Bell Tower Thoroughbreds, Medallion Racing and Mark Stanton; B-Fullbury (KY); T-William Mott. $60,000.3–Senza Parole, 120, f, 4, Gun Runner–Senza Te, by Street Cry (Ire). 'TDN Rising Star'. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($120,000 RNA Ylg '23 KEESEP; $240,000 RNA 2yo '24 OBSAPR). O-Don Alberto Stable; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $36,000.Margins: NO, 9HF, HD. Odds: 0.73, 1.29, 11.09.Also Ran: Scalable, Vincey Girl, Praying. Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.The post Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way: Ways and Means Re-Rallies Late to Defend Bed O’ Roses Crown appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.