LoPresti: Enchanting Lisa ‘reminds me more of Successful
Dan than she does Wise Dan’
Fresh off an allowance win in her debut dirt start at
Keeneland, Mort Fink’s Enchanting Lisa will give the dirt another try in
Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Chilukki at Churchill Downs.
The half-sister to two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan and
multiple Grade 2 hero Successful Dan will be facing stiffer competition
Saturday, but trainer Charlie LoPresti is optimistic about the move to dirt
after the War Chant four-year-old made her first seven starts on either synthetic or grass surfaces.
“When we went to Saratoga with her, she trained really well
on the dirt,” LoPresti said. “Jose Lezcano wanted me to run her on the dirt
after he breezed her but we ended up going to the grass race because we thought
it might be a little easier. So she finished second in that turf race to a nice
filly of Jonathan Sheppard’s (Chat).
“After that Lezcano said, ‘Next time you run
this filly, run her seven-eighths or a mile on the dirt and they won’t be able to
catch her.’ So we gave it a try at Keeneland and it ended up working because we
won. Rosie Napravnik rode her at Keeneland and after the race she said, ‘I guess
your jock was right because I wouldn’t ever run her on anything but dirt again.’
“Saturday is a little bit of an ambitious spot,” LoPresti added. “I wish it
was maybe a Grade 3. She’s 10-1, which is probably about right on her, but if
she hits the board it’s going to really increase her value.”
LoPresti compared her to Successful Dan more than Wise Dan
because of her newly discovered dirt ability.
“She reminds me more of Successful Dan than she does Wise
Dan,” he noted. “It’s mainly been because of the way she’s been training on the
dirt and the way she’s looked on the dirt. But we’re excited for Saturday and
we’ll see what happens.”
Enchanting Lisa will break from post position 9 in the
10-horse field for the Chilukki, a one-mile dirt contest for distaffers, under
jockey Robby Albarado.
Also at Churchill this weekend, trainer Steve Asmussen will start a pair of stakes runners
beginning with
Speedinthruthecity on Friday in the $58,000 Dream Supreme and culminating with Lemon Drop Dream in Saturday’s $58,000 Bet on
Sunshine.
Both sprinters are coming out of graded stakes performances
at Keeneland. Speedinthruthecity finished fourth in the Grade 2 Thoroughbred
Club of America on October 4 while Lemon Drop Dream filled the same spot in the
Grade 3 Phoenix one day earlier.
Asmussen assistant Galen Prewitt said Thursday morning that
Speedinthruthecity might not have been at her best in the Thoroughbred Club of
America, and that he was looking for a big performance from her in the Dream
Supreme.
“I know she finished fourth only beaten four lengths but I
still think she may have been a little off that day,” Prewitt said. “She came
out of the race in good shape though and has been doing well since. I expect her
to run better here at her home track on Friday. She’s taking a drop in class and
I think this race will set up nicely for her.”
The four-year-old daughter of City Zip will break from the far
outside in post position 9 with Ricardo Santana Jr. getting the call. She has
been made the 9-5 morning-line favorite for Friday’s six-furlong contest.
Prewitt also said that he was happy to draw the inside in
post 1 with Lemon Drop Dream, who will be ridden by Alan Garcia.
“We were happy to get the one-hole with (7-2 co-second choice) Lemon Drop Dream,”
Prewitt said. “He usually runs well when he can get to the lead early and on the
rail so I think the race should set up perfectly for him on Saturday.”
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