2W Stables' Bronx Beauty, an eight-time stakes winner over her first four seasons of racing, continues the pursuit of her elusive first graded triumph in Saturday's $200,000 Inside Information (G2) at Gulfstream Park.
The 42nd running of the seven-furlong Inside Information for fillies and mares 4 and older is among seven graded-stakes worth $4.725 million on a blockbuster 12-race Pegasus World Cup Invitational Series program featuring the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) at 1 1/8 miles on dirt and $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) at 1 3/16 miles on the grass.
First race post time is 11:40 a.m. Both Pegasus races will be part of NBC's live national telecast from 4:30 to 6 p.m. The Inside Information is carded as Race 9 (4:35 p.m.).
Bronx Beauty, a daughter of Grade 1 winner Liaison bred in Pennsylvania, owns 10 wins and $618,070 in purse earnings from 25 career starts, all for owners Richard and Marie Woll, for whom Margotta purchased the now 6-year-old mare as a yearling. Both natives of the Bronx, Woll named the horse after his wife.
Twenty-two of Bronx Beauty's starts have come in stakes, six of them graded, including a head loss to Lady's Island in the Dec. 12 Sugar Swirl (G3) at Gulfstream, a race where the winner survived a jockey's objection for interference to earn her second straight win in the six-furlong sprint.
It marked the third straight year Bronx Beauty capped her season in the Sugar Swirl, running fourth in 2018 and 2019. She also launched 2020 in the Inside Information, where she got hung out wide and raced near the back of the pack before finishing eighth.
“We bought her to take advantage of the Pa-bred program because we're right across the road in New Jersey. She really turned out to be a very, very hard-knocker,” Margotta said. “We didn't pay much for her but she's earned over $600,000 and she just got the elusive Grade 3 placing. It was almost a Grade 3 win. We almost got it by default.
“She's been a very productive, very sound filly. You look at her record. Fortunately we've been able to manage her along nicely,” he added. “She won the MATCH series the year before last when that came back into play, which was a great thing for everybody. She's just really been a pleasure to have around.”
Bronx Beauty signaled her ability early on by winning five of her first six races including the open Colleen Stakes in her second start and both open and state-bred stakes at Penn National and Parx. She's won at least one stake in each of her racing seasons, including two stakes at 2 and 3 and three stakes at 4.
“When I was first breezing her in the morning she identified herself that she was going to be good. How good we didn't know,” Margotta said. “She's always shown us that she had ability.
“We're going to give her another year. The people that own the horse are longtime clients and sportsmen and they don't jump right into the breeding shed. They like to race,” he added. “We're going to see how we do here. Obviously, a Grade 2 on her resume, if she hits the board, would be great. If she wins, we're over the moon. She's a valuable broodmare no matter what happens.”
Margotta said he has not seen a decline in interest from Bronx Beauty as occasionally happens with older mares. Luis Saez, aboard in the Sugar Swirl, will ride back from Post 3 in a field of eight.
“Sometimes that will happen and she's shown no signs of that. And on the flipside of that coin, you will see some older fillies and mares that really light up the board later in their careers at 4 or 5,” Margotta said. Quite frankly, we had offers to sell her as a broodmare but [the owner] in the game to race. He loves the game. We're blessed to have her in the barn.”
Bronx Beauty will face a familiar foe in Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, Michael Anspach and Bethlehem Stables' Cinnabunny, the 4-year-old Golden Lad filly trained by Brad Cox that closed to be third in the Sugar Swirl, beaten three-quarters of a length for it all.
Cinnabunny was making her stakes debut in the Sugar Swirl after winning four of her first six career starts by 10 combined lengths, all last year at Parx for trainer Kathleen Demasi and Anspach's Shooting Star Stable, which also bred the filly in Pennsylvania.
“She ran really well last time. She didn't break quite as well as we needed to in order to win,” Cox said. “When she was coming, she got sandwiched late. She just didn't have much racing luck down the lane. But, she's a really nice filly that we're hoping can win a graded stakes.”
Irad Ortiz Jr. has the return call on Cinnabunny from Post 2.
CJ Thoroughbreds, Left Turn Racing and Casner Racing's two-time Grade 3 winner Sally's Curlin will attempt to rebound off a pair of off-the-board finishes, the most recent coming in the one-mile Rampart (G3) Dec. 12 at Gulfstream. Trained by Dale Romans, the 5-year-old daughter of two-time Horse of the Year and 2014 Hall of Famer Curlin mare won the seven-furlong Hurricane Bertie (G3) at Gulfstream last March and the one-mile Chilukki (G3) in late 2019 at Churchill Downs.
Corey Lanerie has the riding assignment from Post 7.
Miracle International Trading, Inc.'s Dream Marie is a 4-year-old daughter of Graydar that ran second in the Rampart, her third career graded-stakes placing. She owns a 2-2-1 record from eight lifetime trips at Gulfstream, including seconds in the one-mile Davona Dale (G2) and 1 1/16-mile Hollywood Wildcat last winter and spring, respectively.
Dream Marie will break from Post 1 with jockey Leonel Reyes.
Completing the field are Pacific Gale, five times Grade 3-placed; Piedi Bianchi, twice Grade 1-placed as a juvenile in 2017; Sound Machine, winner of the Glitter Woman last winter at Gulfstream and most recently fourth by length in the Sugar Swirl; and Thissmytime, riding a two-race win streak including an off-the-grass Filly & Mare Turf Preview Nov. 22 at Gulfstream Park West.
The post ‘Hard-Knocker’ Bronx Beauty Chasing Graded Success In Saturday’s Inside Information appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
