Grade 3 winner Yuugiri will be pointed to the $150,000 Carousel Stakes for older female sprinters Feb. 25 at Oaklawn, trainer Rodolphe Brisset said Sunday morning.
Yuugiri was among Oaklawn's leading 3-year-old fillies last year after winning the Fantasy Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles in April. Following a lengthy vacation, Yuugiri was a sharp winner of her comeback race, a Dec. 30 allowance sprint at Oaklawn. Brisset said he plans to keep Yuugiri around one turn in 2023, with the goal of winning a Grade 1 race to enhance her broodmare value.
Yuugiri's major spring objective, Brisset said, is the $600,000 Madison Stakes (G1) for older fillies and mares at seven furlongs April 8 at Keeneland. Brisset said another spring option for Yuugiri is the inaugural $250,000 Matron Stakes for older fillies and mares at six furlongs March 31 at Oaklawn.
“We gave her an easy week after the win and she's back galloping,” Brisset said. “What I did, I worked backwards from the Madison. The goal is to run her in the Madison at Keeneland. The timing is right with the calendar, so now she's pointing for the Carousel. How she runs in the Carousel, we will decide if we go to the Madison or the Matron.”
A daughter of Shackleford out of the Medaglia d'Oro mare Yuzuru, Yuugiri has a 3-2-1 record from seven lifetime starts and earnings of $619,710. The Dec. 30 race was Yuugiri's first start since finishing 13th in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) last May at Churchill Downs.
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