Trainer Brendan Walsh said a one-turn mile is the right fit for stakes-winner Zofelle, which is why he will send the 4-year-old Zoffany bay to Belmont Park for Saturday's Grade 1, $250,000 Just a Game over the Widener turf course.
Owned by Heider Family Stables, Zofelle was third, beaten a neck in the Grade 3 Mint Julep on May 30 at Churchill Downs, where she broke from the outside, tracked the pace in third and maintained her position down the stretch while in pursuit, but was unable to hold off the late charge of Secret Message and stablemate La Signare.
Zofelle joined Walsh's barn last fall after racing in Great Britain for Hugo Palmer and won her first three North American starts for the trainer, two of which were at a mile, including a stakes win in the Pago Hop on December 28 at Fair Grounds.
Notching a victory in Saturday's race will be no easy task, as she will have to face Breeders' Cup winners Newspaperofrecord and Uni. Zofelle is 12-1 on the Just A Game morning line.
“It's a tough race, but it will suit her well. She's training well and I think that she'll run well,” Walsh said.
Bred in Ireland by Fullbury and Minch Bloodstock, Zofelle is out of the Galileo broodmare Height of Elegance, who is a half-sister to Group 1-winner Sequoyah – the dam of Irish champion Henrythenavigator. She also comes from the same family as 2013 Breeders' Cup Turf winner Magician.
Walsh said he plans on running La Signare, who won the 2018 Grade 3 Wonder Again at Belmont, in the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley at Keeneland following a runner-up effort in the Mint Julep. The French-bred daughter of Siyouni beat Zofelle two starts back in the Sand Springs at Gulfstream Park.
“She's doing well, and we have the Jenny Wiley under consideration,” Walsh said. “We're lucky to have two very nice fillies. Hopefully, they can hold their own against Grade 1 company.”
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