Sunday’s Grade 1, $300,000
Teen Pauline, trained by Steve Asmussen, and Dreaming of Julia, trained by
Teen Pauline set a five-furlong track record in her July 25 unveiling, good
|
Note that Teen Pauline is cross-entered to Sunday’s Sorority Stakes at
Monmouth.
Pletcher and Stonestreet have already teamed up this meet with Kauai Katie, a
12-length debut winner who came back to garner the Grade 2 Adirondack, and the
same pattern could hold with Dreaming of Julia in the Spinaway.
Dreaming of Julia, a daughter of A.P. Indy and multiple Grade 1-winning
Pletcher, in search of his fifth Spinaway, has another speedy contender in
“They’re both good-sized fillies I think will appreciate more distance down the
|
The unbeaten So Many Ways will try to give trainer Tony Dutrow his second
straight Spinaway, following Grace Hall’s victory in 2011. A front-running,
eight-length debut winner at Parx, the Maggi Moss colorbearer rallied from off
the pace to win the July 20 Schuylerville going away. So Many Ways, by freshman
sire Sightseeing, reunites with Javier Castellano.
Baby J and Sweet Shirley Mae are also exiting the Schuylerville. The Rick
Dutrow-trained Baby J retreated to third after setting a contested pace, while
Sweet Shirley Mae faded to a poor fifth for Wesley Ward. Both performed better
first time out. Sweet Shirley Mae had beaten subsequent Grade 2 Sanford hero
Bern Identity, and Baby J had bested Spinaway rival Seasoned Warrior in their
mutual premiere.
The well-bred Seasoned Warrior is from the first crop of Majestic Warrior,
winner of the Grade 1 Hopeful in 2007, and out of Canadian champion Saoirse.
Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the Live Oak Plantation homebred came up
just a half-length short against Baby J at Belmont, and returned to roll by 3
3/4 lengths at Saratoga on August 12. Seasoned Warrior is drawn on the outside
of the seven-filly field.
“We were trying to get a race in her (at Belmont) so we would have her
experienced to possibly win up here, and she did so in good style,”
Mott said. “So, we’re looking forward to running her. She’s nice to train, looks a
lot like her daddy. Majestic Warrior marked her pretty well, and he broke his
maiden up here and won the Hopeful. So, maybe she can break her maiden up here
and win the Spinaway.”
Lucky Chappy has run consistently well, without managing to win, ever since
In his comeback, Lucky Chappy closed stoutly for second to Silver Max in the
|
Excaper, the runner-up in last fall’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, is another
genuine type who reliably runs his race. The Woodbine invader got a later start
to his sophomore campaign but could be peaking now. Runner-up in both the
Charlie Barley and Toronto Cup, the Ian Black charge captured an allowance in
his third start off the shelf, and could move forward again. Emma-Jayne Wilson
comes in to maintain their partnership.
The D. Wayne Lukas-trained Skyring, who beat recent Grade 1 Travers
dead-heater Golden Ticket in a Kentucky Derby Day allowance, has run two strong
races on turf. The English Channel colt came out on top in a blanket finish to
the James W. Murphy on Preakness Day, and in his only subsequent grass attempt,
he was beaten a neck when third in the Grade 3 American Derby.
Quick Wit, a better-than-appears fifth in the American Derby, scored a
hard-fought win in the Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame, which was
transferred to Saratoga’s sloppy, sealed main track.
King Kreesa, a wire-to-wire winner of two stakes at Belmont this season,
looms as the likely pacesetter. Other contenders include Shkspeare Shaliyah,
fourth to King Kreesa and Quick Wit in his last pair; Spring to the Sky, who has
been no match for Summer Front; and Unbridled Command and Set the Sail, who take
a class hike in their first stakes sortie. Politicallycorrect, the Grade 3 Ohio
Derby runner-up, is the sole main-track-only entrant.
Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com