A slow start couldn’t stop Soul of an Angel from storming to victory in Saturday’s $220,000 Princess Rooney (G3) sprinting seven furlongs at Gulfstream Park, in the process securing a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Nov. 2 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1).
A five-year-old veteran making her 40th start, Soul of an Angel entered the Princess Rooney off a series of strong showings against fierce competition racing one mile or farther. During the spring she won the Ruffian (G2) over multiple Grade 1 winner Randomized. During the peak of summer she finished second by a head to champion Idiomatic in the Molly Pitcher (G3) before placing third in Saratoga’s Personal Ensign (G1).
Dropping down in class and distance worked wonders for Soul of an Angel in the Princess Rooney. Picking up hot jockey Drayden Van Dyke, Soul of an Angel broke slowly and settled as many as 7 1/4 lengths behind modest fractions of :23.10 and :45.79 set by longshot Cousin Kristi with 4-5 favorite Beth’s Dream in close pursuit.
Rounding the turn, Beth’s Dream took over the lead and appeared to have every shot at recording her fifth consecutive victory. But she stayed on her left lead while drifting out significantly, and in the final furlong Soul of an Angel surged past on the far outside to dominate by 3 1/4 lengths in 1:23.23. Sent off as the 11-5 second choice, Soul of an Angel paid $6.40 to win.
Beth’s Dream held second place by 2 1/2 lengths over Battle Cry, followed by Imonra, Maryquitecontrary, Unsolved Mystery, Cousin Kristi, Gallop d’Hermes, and Pacholli.
Bred by Westbrook Stables and owned by the partnership of C2 Racing Stable and Agave Racing Stable, Soul of an Angel is trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. The daughter of Atreides has compiled a 40-5-7-5 career tally with earnings of $672,675, and she’ll have a chance to become a millionaire at the Breeders’ Cup.
“We’re going to give her time off now. She’s not Breeders’ Cup nominated, but we’re going to pay that fee to do that. Her entry fee is paid for with this, so we’re going to go there for sure,” said Mark Cornett of C2 Racing. “It gives us some nice spacing.”
Cornett credited cutting back in distance as the key to Soul of an Angel’s success. The Princess Rooney, like the one-mile Ruffian, took place around one turn.
“When we bought her, we thought she was going to be a one-turn horse. That’s why we ran her in the Ruffian the first race after we bought her, and she confirmed what we thought,” said Cornett. “She ran so good it’s hard to pass up Grade 1s at Saratoga, so we kind of got that goal accomplished. She was Grade 1-placed up there, so we said let’s go back to why we bought her, which is the one-turn, seven-eighths to a mile type races.”
