Treadway Racing Stable's homebred Sail By breezed three-eighths in :37.40 over the inner turf at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., Sunday in preparation for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on November 5 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.
“It started off a little slower than I was anticipating, but that was fine. She's done everything and she's ready – she just needs to maintain herself,” trainer Leah Gyarmati said. “I had the rider on the radio and I said, 'You need to pick it up.' And she took off. She looked fantastic going down the stretch and galloped out great. I was happy with that.
“She's a nice filly and she's smart,” Gyarmati added. “She's almost too easy to ride. She's not rank. She's just going to do whatever you ask. I was happy with it. She came out of it great and cooled out great. She was squealing and happy.”
Sail By closed strongly to break her maiden at first asking in June at Belmont in a six-furlong maiden special weight and followed with a similar closing effort in the five-furlong Colleen on August 1 at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.
Following a pace-setting third in the off-the-turf P.G. Johnson in September at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., the Astern bay stalked and pounced to victory in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Miss Grillo last out on October 16 over firm going at Belmont.
“She has several races under her belt and they've been spaced nicely,” Gyarmati said. “She really just needs to maintain her fitness. We just have to keep her happy. She gallops very forwardly, too.”
Sail By will ship to California on October 31 and will be met there by Gyarmati, who saddled Treadway Racing Stable's Coasted to a game runner-up effort in the 2016 Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., rallying from last-of-14 under Hall of Famer Mike Smith to miss by a half-length to New Money Honey.
“I feel like it was one more jump and we had it. She ran huge,” Gyarmati recalled. “It was frustrating. She was sitting last and of course, there was traffic, so you just wonder how much that had to with the fact that we didn't get up there in time. That said, I can't complain about finishing second at the Breeders' Cup.”
Coasted won that year's P. G. Johnson and finished third in the Grade 3 Miss Grillo and although the two fillies have followed a similar path, Gyarmati said Sail By is handier.
“She's shown she can do whatever depending on the pace of the race,” Gyarmati said. “When she sprinted, she came from last first time out. She was as professional as could be – tipped out, took off and kept going.
“When there was no pace in the longer races, she ends up being closer,” Gyarmati added. “She's versatile and that's a good thing when you're not sure what you're going to be running against.”
Junior Alvarado, aboard for Sail By's last two efforts, is confirmed to ride at Del Mar.
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