Given ‘Time To Mature,’ Eres Tu Continues Comeback In Saturday’s Royal Delta Stakes

Edward Seltzer and Beverly Anderson's Eres Tu is scheduled to seek her fourth straight comeback victory in Saturday's $100,000 Royal Delta (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

The 5-year-old daughter of Malibu Moon, who is undefeated since returning from an 18-month layoff and joining trainer Arnaud Delacour's stable, will also pursue her second straight graded-stakes triumph in the 1 1/16-mile stakes for older fillies and mares that will headline Saturday's 12-race program.

“She's a very big filly. She's probably 17 hands or more. My guess is that all the time off she had helped her really mature and come to her full potential,” Delacour said. “She's been great since Day 1 with us. She hasn't missed a breeze. She's done everything so well, so that's exciting.”

Formerly trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Eres Tu broke her maiden in her second career start in November 2018 at Fair Grounds, where she went on to finish second in the Silverbulletday, third behind Serengeti Express in the Rachel Alexandra (G2) and fourth in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) before going to the sidelines.

The homebred mare returned to action with a 2 ¼-length optional claiming allowance victory last October at Keeneland. She followed with a 1 ½-length score in the Nov. 26 Thirty Eight Go Go Stakes and a length triumph in the Dec. 26 Allaire DuPont (G3), both at Laurel Park.

“When you look at the type of horses she ran against as a 3-year-old – there's a bunch of Grade 1 winners in there – she showed that she was a quality filly,” Delacour said. “The time off gave here the time to mature – that's the key with her.”

Irad Ortiz Jr. is scheduled to ride Eres Tu for the first time Saturday.

Allen Stable Inc.'s Mrs. Danvers will seek her third-straight victory and second stakes in a row in the Royal Delta. The Shug McGaughey-trained 4-year-old daughter of Tapit is coming off a dazzling 6 ½-length victory in the Comely (G3) at Belmont Nov. 27.

Jose Ortiz has the return call aboard Mrs. Danvers.

Miracle's International Trading Inc.'s Dream Marie is set to participate in her third straight graded stakes of the Championship Meet. The Matthew Williams-trained daughter of Graydar finished second behind next-out winner Letruska in the Rampart (G3) and fifth in the Inside Information (G2).

Leonel Reyes will be back aboard Dream Marie Saturday.

e Five Racing Thoroughbreds' Gibberish is scheduled to seek her fourth straight victory Saturday. The Saffie Joseph-trained daughter of Lea won back-to-back optional claiming allowances at Gulfstream Park before scoring a front-running triumph in the Treasure Chest Stakes at Delta Downs Nov. 27. Joseph is also slated to saddle Ken Copenhaver's Queen Nekia, who finished a close third in last year's running of the Royal Delta.

Tyler Gaffalione has the mount on Gibberish, while Corey Lanerie has been named to ride Queen Nekia.

G Watts Humphry Jr.'s High Regard, Robert Stack and Daniel Walters' Bajan Girl, and Al Rashid Stables LLC's Hallawallah round out the field.

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Eres Tu Helps Toledo Complete Christmastide Stakes Day Hat Trick In Allaire Du Pont At Laurel

Edward Seltzer and Beverly Anderson's homebred Eres Tu kept her perfect comeback season intact and became a graded-stakes winner in the process with a popular one-length triumph in Saturday's $150,000 Allaire du Pont (G3) at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

The 27th running of the 1 1/8-mile du Pont for fillies and mares 3 and up, traditionally contested over Preakness (G1) weekend, was moved following racing's return from the coronavirus pause to serve as the headliner on a Christmastide Day program that featured eight stakes worth $850,000 in purses.

Named for the avid sportswoman and horsewoman best known as the owner of Hall of Famer Kelso, the unprecedented and unsurpassed winner of five consecutive Horse of the Year championships from 1960-64, the du Pont was the last graded-stakes event of 2020 on the East Coast.

Eres Tu ($3.40), trained by Arnaud Delacour, earned his second straight stakes victory and gave jockey Jevian Toledo his third win of the afternoon and second in a stakes. Toledo also captured the $100,000 Dave's Friend for sprinters 3 and up aboard Whereshetoldmetogo.

The winning time was 1:50.57 over a fast main track. Twixt Stakes winner Wicked Awesome closed to be second, holding off Another Broad, fourth in last year's du Pont, by a head. They were followed by Landing Zone, Needs Supervision, Ice Princess and Alittlelesstalk.

Eres Tu has now won all three of her starts since joining Delacour's string at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md., over the summer. She had won one of six starts for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen and run third to subsequent Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Serengeti Empress in the Rachel Alexandra (G2), and also finished fourth to eventual Grade 1 winner Street Band in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) last year.

It would be another 19 months before Eres Tu would race again, and winning an open entry-level allowance at Keeneland Oct. 14. Last time out, the 4-year-old daughter of Malibu Moon became a stakes winner in the Thirty Eight Go Go Nov. 28 at Laurel.

Multiple stakes winner Needs Supervision, a winner over Eres Tu in the 2019 Silverbulletday and fitted with blinkers for the first time, got out quickly and took the field of seven through a quarter-mile in 24.61 seconds chased by Landing Zone and Eres Tu, who Toledo kept in the clear three wide.

The three horses rounded the far turn together before Eres Tu began to edge away as her main combatants dropped back. At the same time, Wicked Awesome began to launch a bid on the far outside along with Another Broad to make a late bid, but Eres Tu had plenty left to repel the challengers.

“I know [Needs Supervision] was going to be a little bit fast, so I let my filly get away from there because I want to be in a good position. So, I let [Needs Supervision] go and then I came around and I was in a perfect spot the whole way,” Toledo said.

“Turning for home, she just had her ears up waiting for horses,” he added. “I got a little bit worried because she didn't want to switch leads and I knew they were coming, but she got the job done. She's a nice filly.”

Notes: In addition to Toledo's three wins, trainer Claudio Gonzalez won twice with Miss Leslie ($7) in the $100,000 Anne Arundel County for 2-year-old fillies and Harpers First Ride ($2.40) in the $100,000 Native Dancer for 3-year-olds and up … The 20-Cent Rainbow 6 (Races 4-9) saw its jackpot carryover swell to $14,260.39 for Sunday's nine-race program. Multiple tickets with all six winners Saturday each returned $30.60. There will also be a carryover of $1,696.86 in the $1 Super Hi-5 for Race 1.

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Allaire du Pont Stakes Highlights Stakes-Heavy Christmastide Day Program At Laurel Dec. 26

Edward Seltzer and Beverly Anderson's Grade 2-placed Eres Tu, unbeaten in two starts since returning from more a year layoff, goes after her third straight win and second in a stakes in the $150,000 Allaire du Pont (G3) Saturday, Dec. 26 at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

The 27th running of the 1 1/8-mile du Pont for fillies and mares 3 and up, traditionally contested over Preakness (G1) weekend, was moved following racing's return from the coronavirus pause to serve as the headliner on a Christmastide Day program featuring eight stakes worth $850,000 in purses.

Joining the du Pont are four juvenile stakes – the $100,000 Gin Talking for fillies and $100,000 Heft, both sprinting seven furlongs, and $100,000 Anne Arundel County for fillies and $100,000 Howard County, each at about 1 1/16 miles.

Sprinters 3 and up will go six furlongs in the $100,000 Willa On the Move for females and $100,000 Dave's Friend, while the $100,000 Native Dancer for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles rounds out the stakes action. First race post time is 12:25 p.m.

Eres Tu went winless in three starts as a 3-year-old in 2019, running second to Needs Supervision in the Silverbulletday Stakes, third to subsequent Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Serengeti Empress in the Rachel Alexandra (G2) and fourth in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) behind Street Band, who would go on to capture the Cotillion (G1).

The 4-year-old daughter of Malibu Moon got a long break following the Fair Grounds Oaks and was moved from Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen to Fair Hill (Md.) Training Center-based Arnaud Delacour, who stayed patient bringing Eres Tu back to the races.

“I got her early in the summer, and she looked great. She's a big filly; she's 17 hands at least. Right away I really liked her,” Delacour said. “Everything she did before me she probably wasn't at her best because she's so big. She probably needed a little bit of time, so the owner gave her plenty of time and she came back really strong. She filled out nicely and to me she's a very nice prospect.”

Eres Tu, whose name translates to 'It's You' in Spanish, worked steadily for her return, which came in a 1 1/16-mile entry-level allowance Oct. 14 at Keeneland – her first start in 19 months. Under Ricardo Santana Jr., she rated off just off the lead before taking over at the top of the stretch and going on to win by 2 ¼ lengths.

“I was not surprised because when you look at her form when she was with Steve Asmussen before, she ran against some Grade 1 fillies,” Delacour said. “She ran against Street Band, she ran against the winner of the Oaks that year. You're talking about solid horses she had to face and be competitive with, so I was pretty confident she could produce a good performance when she came back.”

Eres Tu made her Laurel debut in the 1 1/16-mile Thirty Eight Go Go Nov. 28, where she was overlooked at nearly 5-1 odds. Ridden by Trevor McCarthy, who gets a return call from Post 4, she stalked the leader for a half-mile, took over and opened up before cruising to the wire 1 ½ lengths in front while under wraps.

“She obviously has a good cruising speed and she can keep going. That's kind of what you want when you go two turns on the dirt,” Delacour said. “I'm pretty happy that we're going even longer, a mile and an eighth, because I think she'll be even more efficient. But, that's only a guess. She needs to confirm that.”

Five of Eres Tu's rivals also have graded-stakes experience led by Farfellow Farm Ltd.'s Another Broad. Purchased for $340,000 out of last November's Keeneland breeding stock sale and moved to Asmussen, she is winless with four thirds in seven 2020 starts having most recently finished third behind Grade 2 winners Envoutante and Bonny South in the 1 1/8-mile Falls City (G2) on Thanksgiving Day.

Fourth in last year's du Pont for previous trainer Todd Pletcher, Another Broad will break from Post 2 under Johan Rosado.

Flying P Stable, R. A. Hill Stable and trainer Danny Gargan's Ice Princess enters the du Pont off a runner-up finish behind Mrs. Danvers in the 1 1/8-mile Comely (G3) Nov. 27 at Aqueduct. The daughter of Grade 1 winner Palace Malice won the Maddie May Feb. 23 and was beaten a neck when second in the Fleet Indian Sept. 4, both against fellow New York-breds.

“She should have won the race at Saratoga. She had a really bad trip,” Gargan said. “She got stuck down on the inside and she doesn't like to be on the inside of horses. That's her big thing. She likes to be outside. But she's really never done anything wrong.”

Ice Princess has been first or second in four of her five 2020 starts, the lone exception coming when ninth to subsequent Preakness (G1) winner Swiss Skydiver in the Fantasy (G3) May 1 at Oaklawn Park.

“I shipped her to Oaklawn in a last-minute ditch effort because COVID hit and everything got canceled in New York,” Gargan said. “She got on a van and went all the way from New York to there and it just didn't work out for her. It was probably a bad decision just trying to make something happen. It didn't work out for us there, but she's always done pretty good.”

Ice Princess got some time off following the Fantasy and nearly won the Fleet Indian in her first start in four months. Victor Carrasco is named to ride from Post 5.

“She was a nice 2-year-old. She didn't get to run much this year because after the Oaklawn race I sent her and turned her out and they kind of canceled some races I was pointing toward,” Gargan said. “I didn't run her much before and we skipped a couple races because they were a little too short for her so I think the distance is never going to be a problem. She'll run all day.”

Howling Pigeon Farms, Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable and Madaket Stables' Needs Supervision is a two-time stakes winner, having beaten Eres Tu in the Silverbulletday at Fair Grounds and returning home to capture the seven-furlong Safely Kept last November at Laurel Park.

Based with trainer Jerry O'Dwyer at Laurel, where she owns a record of 2-2-2 from seven starts, Needs Supervision has run in 10 consecutive stakes including a third last out in Laurel's six-furlong Primonetta Nov. 28, her first start in 8 ½ months.

“I was a bit disappointed she was laying so far out of it early on. It took her a while to find her feet and get going and come home, but she came home well so I was glad to see that,” O'Dwyer said. “That's why I'm opting to go back to two turns with her. She's won [at] over a mile and 70 [yards] as a 2-year-old and she seems to have a good engine in her. I think she can carry it, so we're going to stretch her out.”

By 2012 Haskell (G1) winner Paynter, Needs Supervision will race for the first time with blinkers, O'Dwyer said. Fall meet-leading rider Sheldon Russell, up for her comeback race, has the assignment from outside post 7.

“She's been training good,” O'Dwyer said. “I do have the blinkers on her now. I'm putting them on her to help her relax and focus in that sense. We've had them on her in the morning and she's pretty relaxed in them, which is nice. So, we're going to put them on her and help her because she gets a little high-strung at times.”

Completing the field are Alittlelesstalk, a multiple stakes winner at Emerald Downs; Landing Zone, who had a four-race win streak snapped when third in the Safely Kept Nov. 28 at Laurel; and Wicked Awesome, winner of Laurel's 1 1/16-mile Twixt Stakes Sept. 5.

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Laurel Park: Hello Beautiful Annihilates Safely Kept Rivals; Eres Tu, Dontletsweetfoolya Earn Fall Festival Wins

Already a multiple stakes winner against fellow Maryland-bred/sired horses, including an 11 ¼-length romp in the Maryland Million Distaff last month, Hello Beautiful handled open stakes company with aplomb to stay perfect at Laurel Park in Saturday's $100,000 Safely Kept.

The 30th running of the Safely Kept for 3-year-old fillies was the third of six stakes worth $600,000 in purses on a Fall Festival of Racing program that included $100,000 Thirty Eight Go Go going about 1 1/16 miles and $100,000 Primonetta at six furlongs, both for females 3 and up.

Madaket Stables, Albert Frassetto, Mark Parkinson, K-Mac Stables and Magic City Stables' Hello Beautiful ($3.40) three-length triumph was her second straight win and fourth in a stakes, and improved to 6-0 lifetime over her hometown track. The winning time was 1:22.26 for seven furlongs over a fast main track.

Hello Beautiful won the Maryland Million Lassie and Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship to close her 2-year-old campaign, and had tried open stakes twice this year. She lost all chance when shuffled back at the start of the Aug. 9 Audubon Oaks then was outrun when sixth in the Sept. 5 Prioress (G2). Among her competition that day was runner-up Reagan's Edge, who resurfaced in the Safely Kept.

“She's so special. It means so much,” winning trainer Brittany Russell said. “You always want to win races, but with a filly like this it's such a relief when she runs the way she did today.”

Russell's husband, Laurel fall meet-leading rider Sheldon Russell, allowed Hello Beautiful to settle off the right hip of 2020 Charles Town Oaks (G3) winner Fly On Angel through a quarter-mile in 22.69 seconds and a half in 45.08. Russell gave Hello Beautiful her cue midway around the turn and the Golden Lad filly eagerly responded to gain separation from her rivals led by Reagan's Edge, who had moved into contention at the top of the stretch but was no match for the winner.

“Sheldon and I discussed that [not having the early lead] could possibly happen so we were prepared for it,” Russell said. “To be fair, I wasn't concerned. I knew Sheldon would take care of it.”

Reagan's Edge was second, 5 ½ lengths ahead of Landing Zone, who had a four-race wins streak snapped but was able to edge previously undefeated Lady Rocket by a head for third.

The last sprint stakes for females on the 2020 calendar in Maryland is the $100,000 Willa On the Move for fillies and mares 3 and up going six furlongs Dec. 26.

“I don't know exactly what the plans are moving forward,” Russell said. “I think we'll keep her in training but I think we'll just enjoy today and make a plan from here.”

Eres Tu Becomes Stakes Winner in $100,000 Thirty Eight Go Go
Edward Seltzer and Beverly Anderson's Grade 2-placed Eres Tu, making just her second start in 20 months, sat a perfect stalking trip before taking over the lead on the turn and turning away a late bid from On the Town to win the 10th running of the $100,000 Thirty Eight Go Go.

Ridden by Trevor McCarthy for trainer Arnaud Delacour, 2019 Rachel Alexandra (G2) runner-up Eres Tu ($11.80) ran about 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.62 to register her first career stakes win in her eighth start.

Based with Delacour at Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md., Eres Tu returned to action with a 2 ¼-length allowance victory Oct. 14 at Keeneland – her first race since running fourth in the March 2019 Fair Grounds Oaks (G2).

“She came to us at the beginning of the summer and she looked really good. It seems to me that she was a sizeable filly. She's probably 17 hands so I guess she needed plenty of time to mature, and she did,” Delacour said. “She came in in great shape so we just had to train on and never look back. The last race was very good and I was pretty confident about this race because she looks like she moved forward a little bit, so it was a good test and she lived up to expectations.”

McCarthy kept Eres Tu in the clear two wide as Awe Emma posted splits of 23.83 and 47.42 seconds. Eres Tu, whose name means 'It's you,' in Spanish, met little resistance when taking over the top spot on the turn, going six furlongs in 1:11.92. Eres Tu straightened for home in command and won by 1 ½ lengths over Lucky Stride. On the Town was third and favorite Wicked Awesome was fourth, snapping a four-race win streak.

“It was perfect,” Delacour said of the trip. “She's a pretty big filly with a long stride so she needs to be relaxed and have things her way. She was in the clear and in my opinion that's how we need to ride her.”

Delacour said he would consider bringing Eres Tu back in the $150,000 Allaire du Pont (G3) for fillies and mares 3 and up going 1 1/18 miles Dec. 26.

Dontletsweetfoolya Sprints to Impressive $100,000 Primonetta Win
Five Hellions Farm's Dontletsweetfoolya extended her win streak to four races in her stakes debut with a front-running 5 ¼-length triumph in the 33rd running of the $100,000 Primonetta to kick off the Fall Festival of Racing's stakes action.

Breaking from the middle of a nine-horse field, Jevian Toledo sent Dontletsweetfoolya ($10.40) from the gate, outrunning multiple stakes winner Never Enough Time and Giggling to lead through a quarter-mile in 22.39 seconds. Dontletsweetfoolya remained in command after a half in 45.31 and opened up in the lane when challenged by Never Enough Time to win in 1:09.79 for six furlongs.

Dontletsweetfoolya, a 3-year-old daughter of Grade 1 winner Stay Thirsty trained by Lacey Gaudet, has steadily moved up in competition this year. She graduated in maiden special weight company July 24 and won an open entry-level allowance Sept. 5, both at Laurel, then emerged from an early duel to win a second-level optional claimer Oct. 1 at Pimlico – all over older horses – by 21 ¼ combined lengths.

Never Enough Time, winner of Laurel's Alma North and Pimlico's Skipat this fall, finished second, while fellow multiple stakes winner Needs Supervision – racing for the first time since mid-March, came flying late from far back for third.

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