Grade 1 winner Bella Sofia, who closed 2021 with a fourth in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1), returned to the work tab Sunday for the first time this year going three-eighths of a mile in :37.01 on Belmont Park's dirt training track. Trevor McCarthy was aboard.
“It was her first three-eighths and she worked very nice,” trainer Rudy Rodriguez said. “She galloped out in :52. She looks very good.”
The 4-year-old daughter of Awesome Patriot won 4-of-6 sophomore starts, taking the Grade 1 Longines Test in August at Saratoga ahead of a score in the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom Handicap in September at Belmont. She completed her campaign in the Breeders' Cup at at Del Mar.
Rodriguez said he is hoping to map a route back to the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint in November at Keeneland that will include stops at Belmont and Saratoga.
“We'll be patient with her and let her tell us when she's ready and then we can map out a plan,” Rodriguez said. “Our goal is to bring her back to the Breeders' Cup nice and fresh.”
Bella Sofia is owned by Michel Imperio, Vincent Scuderi, Sofia Soares, Gabrielle Farm, Mazel Stable Partners, Matthew Mercurio, Medallion Racing, Parkland Thoroughbreds and Barry Fowler.
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