Royal Lahaina and Centring, first and second in the Go for Wand Handicap last
The 1 1/16-mile
The one-mile Go for Wand was the first graded stakes win for Royal Lahaina, who
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“Royal Lahaina has been training great and she’s doing very well as she gets
older,” said Pletcher assistant Byron Hughes, who also will saddle Teen
Pauline in the Affectionately. “She’s won at this distance before and I don’t
think she’ll have any problem with it.”
Royal Lahaina, no worse than third in seven starts at the Big A, is the 2-1
second choice on the morning line. Jose Ortiz will ride from post position 2.
Teen Pauline, most recently third in the Comely in her return to dirt,
drew post 5 under Irad Ortiz Jr. She is listed at 7-2 on the morning
line.
“She’s been training well over the dirt here at Belmont, so we’ll see how she
likes the inner track,” Hughes said of the Stonestreet Stable color-bearer.
Centring will attempt to ring in the new year on a winning note and gain her
first stakes victory as she prepares for retirement. The daughter of A.P. Indy
will get some significant class relief in the Affectionately, having made six
straight starts in graded stakes, including four Grade 1s.
In 2013, she held her own against some of the most formidable fillies on the
East Coast, finishing third to Princess of Sylmar in the Beldame Invitational,
third to Royal Delta in the Personal Ensign Handicap and
third to Tiz Miz Sue in the Ogden Phipps Handicap.
“She’s been running well and hopefully we will win a black-type race with
her before we retire her, probably sometime early in 2014,” said Tom Albertrani,
who trains Centring for Darley Stable. “She’s been placed in a few Grade
1s,
which has been great for her pedigree; we’ll see if we can get her to win a
stakes.
“She’s been running against the top fillies and mares on this side of the
coast,” he added. “I think with a little extra distance we can turn the tables
on the filly that beat her last time out.”
Rajiv Maragh is back aboard Centring, who drew the rail as the 8-5 favorite on
the morning line.
Rounding out the field are the Chad Brown-trained Street Secret, who began her
career in Germany and most recently finished seventh in the Turnback the Alarm,
and Welcome Guest, first or second in four 2013 starts for trainer Tony Dutrow.
In the Interborough, Albertrani will be represented by another Darley Stable
runner in Delightful Quality. Like Centring in the Affectionately, Delightful
Quality will be seeking her
first stakes victory, as she takes on some familiar faces in the six-furlong
Interborough.
Never off the board in 11 career starts, the Elusive Quality mare has been a
model of consistency. Through six starts in 2013 she has one win, four seconds,
and a third to her credit, with her lone victory coming in an optional claiming
race on May 24 at Belmont Park. Following that performance, she placed third in
the Bed o’ Roses Handicap, run on June 15 at Belmont, then rattled off two
consecutive runner-up finishes at Saratoga, despite encountering trouble in both
starts. In her most recent outing, she finished second to Ullapool in the
Garland of Roses, run over a muddy Aqueduct main track, besting Interborough
entrants Baby J and Miss Mischief by three-quarters of a length and 4 1/2
lengths, respectively.
Albertrani believes the Interborough
may finally be her breakthrough race.
“She’s been very consistent all year for us,” said Albertrani, who won the
2009 Interborough with Zada Belle. “She ran a really good race in the Garland of
Roses so we’re hoping that she’ll be even better this time around.”
As with Centring, Albertrani indicated that Delightful Quality’s career may
be coming to a close.
“She’ll probably be retired early next year,” the trainer said, “so hopefully
we can get a black-type win with her before she leaves.”
Owned by Darley Stable and to be ridden by Jose Ortiz, Delightful Quality
drew post position 5 and is the 2-1 favorite on the morning line.
Dropping in class and turning back in distance is the Pletcher-trained
Fantasy of Flight, who is coming off of a sixth-place finish in the one-mile Go
For Wand, and a third-place finish in the 1
1/16-mile Turnback the Alarm on October 26 at Belmont. Hughes hopes a return to sprinting will be enough to get Fantasy
of Flight back to the winner’s circle, as she is without victory in 2013.
“She has a high cruising speed so it seems like she’ll be better off at six
(furlongs),” said Hughes. “She’s run well at the distance before and is coming
into the race in great shape.”
Irad Ortiz Jr. will ride the Tiznow mare, who is 7-2 on the morning line,
for owner Sanford Robbins. The pair will leave from post position No. 4.
Lion D N A has proven to be a shrewd claim for trainer Rudy Rodriguez and
owners Michael Dubb and Bethlehem Stable. Haltered for $35,000 in late August,
the bay daughter of Lion Heart has rewarded her new connections with three
seconds and a first through four starts. Though the Interborough represents a
significant bump in class, her versatility may help to offset the stiffer
competition, as she has run well both on and off the pace, and on tracks labeled
fast, good, and muddy.
The five-year-old mare will be ridden from post position 2 by C.C. Lopez
and sits at 6-1 on the morning line.
Rounding out the field are P J’s Superego, winner of an optional claiming
race on December 19 at Aqueduct for trainer Joe Orseno; Baby J, most recently
third in the Garland of Roses; and Miss Mischief, who is also exiting the
Garland of Roses after finishing fourth.
Five Star Momma was entered but will not run, according to trainer Jena
Antonucci.
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