Lightly raced and a recent graded stakes winner of the Santa Anita turf, Phil D'Amato's Irish-bred Paris Secret is the horse to beat among a field of eight sophomores fillies going a mile and one eighth on turf in Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Honeymoon Stakes.
A winner of the G3 Providencia Stakes at a mile and one eighth on turf April 29, Paris Secret looks tough right back for D'Amato, Santa Anita's leading Hollywood Meet trainer with 14 wins and five added money victories.
A first-out winner going one mile on a turf listed as heavy in her native Ireland Oct. 31, Paris Secret made her U.S. debut here on March 18 going one mile on grass in the ungraded China Doll Stakes. Breaking slowly, she lacked room around the far turn and finished an even fourth.
Reserved off the early pace in the Providencia, Paris Secret rallied to prove best, winning by three quarters of a length at 3-1. With Kazushi Kimura now back at his Woodbine Racecourse base, top jock Juan Hernandez picks up the call.
Owned by Strand Beach, LLC, Paris Beach posted a solid 83 Beyer Speed Figure in winning the Providencia and will now be seeking her third win from four overall starts.
Dismissed at 19-1, Pleasant Wave rallied well to be second, beaten three quarters of a length by Paris Secret in the Providencia and with Diego Herrera riding back for trainer George Papaprodromou, she'll hope to run down the top selection on Saturday.
Owned by Calvin Nguyen and Joey Tran, Pleasant Wave, a Kentucky-bred filly by More Than Ready out of the Forestry mare Oak Trees Dancing, will be trying a route of ground for the second time as she tries to improve upon an overall mark of 5-1-1-0.
D'Amato's second Honeymoon entrant is Irish-bred Comanche Country, a two-time turf stakes winner at age two who returns from Churchill Downs following a ninth place finish going a mile and one sixteenth on turf in the G2 Edgewood Stakes May 5.
With Umberto Rispoli back at the controls, Comanche Country would be flattered by a quick early pace. Owned by Little Red Feather Racing, Sterling Stables, LLC and Marsha Naify, Comanche Country has three wins and two second place finishes from eight starts.
Third, beaten a length by second place finisher Comanche Country in the China Doll March 18, trainer Michael McCarthy's Tea N Conversation has been freshened and will be ridden for the first time by Kent Desormeaux, in what will be her ninth career start.
A respectable fourth going one mile on turf here in both the Lady of Shamrock and the Blue Norther Stakes on Feb. 12 and Dec. 30, Tea N Conversation is owned by Spendthrift Farm, LLC. By Candy Ride out of the Rock Hard Ten mare Lady Ten, Tea N Conversation broke her maiden four starts back going a mile on turf at Del Mar Dec. 3 and will be seeking her first stakes win in what will be her ninth career start.
A 2 ¼ length maiden winner in her second start going one mile on turf at Meadowlands Sept. 24, Irish-bred Selenaia makes her Southern California debut on the heels of a solid first condition allowance score going a mile on grass at Indiana Downs May 10, a race in which she rallied from well off the pace while earning an 82 Beyer.
Trained by Jonathan Thomas and owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Madaket Stables, LLC, Selenaia appears to be a solid fit and will be ridden by Joe Bravo.
THE GRADE III HONEYMOON WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER
Race 7 of 10 Approximate post time 4:30 p.m. PT
Broadway Girls – Antonio Fresu – 124
Comanache Country – Umberto Rispoli – 124
Pleasant Wave – Diego Herrera – 120
Selenaia – Joe Bravo – 122
Tea N Conversation—Kent Desormeaux—120
Paris Secret – Juan Hernandez – 124
Fast and Shiny – Tiago Pereira – 120
Una Palabra – Ramon Vazquez – 124
First post time on Saturday, Belmont Stakes Day, is at 1 p.m. with admission gates opening early to accommodate wagering on a tremendous undercard from Belmont Park at 8 a.m.
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