Sunday, September 19, 2010
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- Ribaudo looking forward to Gallant Bloom for Qualia's return; Grand Couturier on the mend
- Donk prepping Freud fillies for stakes
- Check the Label exits Garden City in good order
- Friend Or Foe breezes 5f
Working in company with 4-year-old Join in the Dance, the Indian Charlie colt zipped five furlongs in 1:00.04, the second-fastest of 32 moves at the distance, as he aims at the Grade 1 Champagne at
"In most cases, with 2-year-olds, there is a progression from their first to their second races," said Pletcher. "But he kind of got there real quick. It's not very often you have a maiden winner pointing to a Grade 1 where you are hoping they run as well as they did in their maiden race."
In addition to Uncle Mo (which is slang for momentum), Pletcher sent out a trio of fillies, all of whom are under consideration for the Grade 1 Beldame on Super Saturday, October 2.
Life At Ten, whose six-race win streak was snapped when she finished third in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign, and multiple Grade 1 winner Devil May Care both went five furlongs in 1:00.06, while Awesome Maria, who returned from an 11-month layoff to win the Riskaverse at the Spa on September 2, breezed a half-mile in 49.50.
Other notable Pletcher works included Rose Catherine (4f, 50.01, inner turf), Interactif (4f, 52.06, inner turf), and Exhi (5f, 1:00.47).
Pletcher added that Grade 1 Woodward winner Quality Road, who is being pointed to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs on November 6, will likely return to the worktab next weekend.
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Qualia, who had an eventful outing in her last race, finishing eighth in the Grade 1 Ballerina at Saratoga after shedding a shoe in the paddock, bumping with Pretty Prolific at the break and then having her saddle slip, continues to work well towards Saturday's Grade 2 Gallant Bloom, trainer Bobby Ribaudo reported this morning.
"She breezed very well the other day, [4f, 48.10, September 12]," he said. "No signs of anything. We still have to get it out of our minds, the experience she had at
The trainer said that Qualia will have a final tune-up either tomorrow or Tuesday for the 6 ½-furlong Gallant Bloom.
"This race will tell us if she's back on track, and whether we can think Breeders' Cup or not," he said.
Ribaudo added that multiple Grade 1 winner Grand Couturier, who was not entered in today's Northern Dancer Stakes at Woodbine after wrenching an ankle during a gallop on Thursday, is much improved but remains day-to-day.
"He's about 90 percent now," said Ribaudo. "He should be fine in a few days. If he is able to come back, you have the Knickerbocker [Grade 3, October 17,
The 7-year-old Grand Couturier, who has earned more than $1.4 million, won back-to-back editions of the Grade 1 Sword Dancer in 2007 and 2008, took the Grade 1 Turf Classic Invitational in 2008 and also won the Grade 2 Bowling Green in 2009.
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A pair of Freud fillies in David Donk's barn are both looking toward upcoming stakes, with turfer Paraiba all set for Saturday's John Hettinger, and runaway maiden winner Hessonite looking toward New York Showcase Day on October 23.
In the 1 1/8-mile John Hettinger,
"Brutal trip there," Donk said. "She drew the rail and got a very wide trip. The course was probably a little harder than she would have preferred, so she was kind of flat through the stretch."
In the Hettinger, Paraiba is expected to meet You Go West Girl and Akilina, both of whom she outfinished when second in the Mount Vernon at Belmont on May 30, as well as Exclusive Scheme, Great Gracie Dane, Luna Charm, and possibly Cody Samora.
"She's run with those fillies before and I think she stands a good chance," Donk said. "It's a good spot."
Paraiba is campaigned by William J. Punk and Philip Dileo, who also own Hessonite, another New York-bred daughter of Freud, who ran off to an 8 ¼-length maiden win at
Fifth in a 1 1/16-mile turf maiden race at
"I don't know if she beat anything yesterday – and not that she ran that fast – but she did it the right way," Donk said. "Freuds run on everything, fortunately. The dam side is all European, I don't think anything has ever been on the dirt, so there wasn't a good line to go on from that looking at her pedigree. She was pretty professional and she made it look nice. I don't have many options with her. I guess I'll go to the Maid of the Mist on Showcase Day, but I'll be backing up to seven-eighths. I'd love to run a mile."
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Check the Label, winner of yesterday's Grade 1, $250,000 Garden City, has come out of the race in good order.
"She seemed like she came out of the race pretty well," said Adrian Rolls, assistant to trainer H. Graham Motion. "She stayed up here [at
The next start for the 3-year-old Stormin Fever filly has yet to be determined, but the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth Challenge Cup at Keeneland on October 16 is a likely spot, according to Motion.
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Friend Or Foe, most recently sixth in the Grade 1 Travers on August 28, worked five furlongs in 1:02.35 this morning as his connections ponder the next start for the New York-bred son of Friends Lake.
"He looked very good," said John Kimmel, who trains Friend Or Foe for Chester Broman. "Rajiv [Maragh] was up on him and liked the way he finished up."
Among the options for Friend Or Foe, 3-0-0 from five starts, are an overnight stakes at
"I don't think we're going to look at the Breeders' Cup Classic; maybe next year," said Kimmel.
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