“That's what you want to see, right? We were excited and this race set up beautifully for her time-wise to get from here to the Breeders' Cup,” said winning trainer Wesley Ward. “The timing gave her a couple of extra weeks [as opposed to a start in the Oct. 8 GII Thoroughbred Club of America]. She always relishes the time between starts. For her, it should work out perfect. Whether she's good enough, we'll find out.”

Rosario was impressed with Kimari's effort.

“She's special. She runs hard all the time and she ran a good race again today,” Rosario said. “She was very comfortable. She was loving what she was doing out there. For a second, I was worried the horse in front of me [Lady Rocket] would keep moving forward, but my filly kept gaining and I had a lot of confidence.”

'TDN Rising Star' Kimari returned from seven months on the sidelines to finish seventh in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint last November at Del Mar and just two days later Coolmore's M.V. Magnier signed the ticket on the filly for $2.7 million at the Fasig-Tipton November sale. She opened 2022 with an optional-claiming score at Gulfstream Mar. 3 and was third while attempting to defend her title in the GI Madison S. at Keeneland Apr. 9. She was fifth in the May 7 GI Derby City Distaff S. before getting up late for a half-length victory in the July 27 GII Honorable Miss S. at Saratoga last time out.

“She'll head back to Keeneland tomorrow,” Ward said. “It'll give her six weeks on both her and my home track, so hopefully everything works out.”

Ward continued, “A lot of things have worked out for her in her last two starts when she drew the outside. When you're last in, she bounces away from there. In the Breeders' Cup, it'll be a bigger field, so if she gets there down below, Joel will have to work his way out, so we'll see how it goes.”

Pedigree Notes:

Kimari, a daughter of graded winner Cozze Up Lady, has a yearling half-brother by Constitution who sold for $1.3 million two weeks ago at Keeneland September, and a weanling half-brother by Tiz the Law. Cozze Up Lady, who was bred to Charlatan this year, was purchased by the China Horse Club for $300,000 at the 2014 Fasig-Tipton November sale.

Sunday, Belmont The Big A
GALLANT BLOOM S.-GII, $242,500, Belmont The Big A, 9-25, 3yo/up, f/m, 6 1/2f, 1:16.58, ft.
1–KIMARI, 124, m, 5, by Munnings
                1st Dam: Cozze Up Lady (GSW, $407,169), by Cozzene
                2nd Dam: The White Lady, by Johannesburg
                3rd Dam: Maha Al Iman, by Pulpit
'TDN Rising Star'. ($152,000 Ylg '18 FTKJUL; $2,700,000 4yo '21
FTKNOV). O-Jonathan Poulin, Westerberg, Mrs. John Magnier,
Derrick Smith & Michael B. Tabor; B-China Horse Club
International Limited (KY); T-Wesley A. Ward; J-Joel Rosario.
$137,500. Lifetime Record: GISW-USA, G1SP-Eng, 16-9-2-2,
$1,118,827. Werk Nick Rating: A.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Lady Rocket, 124, m, 5, Tale of the Cat–Allons Danser, by
Eskendereya. ($27,000 Wlg '17 KEENOV; $60,000 Ylg '18
OBSOCT; $420,000 2yo '19 OBSAPR). O-Frank Fletcher Racing
Operations, Inc. & Ten Strike Racing; B-La Ciega LLC & Tale Of
The Cat Syndicate (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $50,000.
3–Sterling Silver, 118, f, 3, Cupid–Sheet Humor, by
Distorted Humor. ($13,000 Ylg '20 FTKSEL). O-Mark T.
Anderson; B-Mallory & Karen Mort (NY); T-Thomas Albertrani.
$30,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, 9HF, 2. Odds: 0.60, 2.50, 6.20.
Also Ran: Cheetara (Chi), Remain Anonymous.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs.

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Lady Rocket (Tale of the Cat) looks to pick up where she left off at the end of 2021. Earning her black-type victory in the Pink Ribbon S. at Charles Town in August, the dark bay checked in second in the GII Gallant Bloom H. Sept. 26 at Belmont. The Brad Cox trainee captured a sloppy renewal of Belmont's Pumpkin Pie S. Oct. 31 and romped by nine lengths in Aqueduct's GIII Go For Wand H. Dec. 4, earning a gaudy 107 Beyer Speed Figure for the one-turn mile. Cox also saddles the once-beaten GII Inside Information S. winner Just One Time (Not This Time).

Bell's the One (Majesticperfection), winner of the GI Derby City Distaff when run in September of 2020, dead-heated for second behind Kimari in last year's Madison and was fourth in the Derby City Distaff next out. The bay won the Roxelana S. back at Churchill in June and followed suit with a victory in Saratoga's GII Honorable Miss H. in July. A close second in the Open Mind S. beneath the Twin Spires Sept. 18, Bell's the One took this venue's GII TCA S. Oct. 9 and, after skipping the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, rallied to yet another score back in Louisville in the Dream Supreme S. Nov. 13.

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A wire-to-wire winner of the Go for Wand, Lady Rocket set quick fractions with Irad Ortiz, Jr. aboard, coasting through an opening quarter in :23.22 and a half-mile in :46.54. Geared down in the final sixteenth, Lady Rocket crossed the wire nine lengths the better of Bella Vita in second, stopping the clock in 1:36.52. She earned a 106 Beyer Speed Figure for her impressive effort.

Racing at a mile for the first time in the Go for Wand, going longer was a question for the 4-year-old filly, who had to dig down and fend off a late bid from Glass Ceiling to win her division of the seven-furlong Pumpkin Pie at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., by a neck in her last start.

With her hard-earned Pumpkin Pie victory in mind, Fletcher, who co-owns the daughter of Tale of the Cat with Ten Strike Racing, said he watched the Go for Wand with bated breath.

“I was really nervous because of the mile,” Fletcher said. “Her best distance was seven furlongs coming into this race and that was a really close race. We were scared to death of the mile. When she won as well as she did, we were shocked and surprised. I'm very pleased with how she ran. We watched it on the TV dumbfounded.”

With her first graded stakes victory now on her resume, Lady Rocket will be given time off to prepare for her 2022 campaign. Both Fletcher and trainer Brad Cox hope her performance Saturday is the start of a successful journey to Grade 1 glory.

“She'll be at Belmont for a bit before getting some time off,” Fletcher said. “Brad [Cox] said he thinks she needs a little break; she's been racing once a month for a while. She'll be on the farm for two or three months and then we'll point her to a Grade 1. She's becoming a lot stronger and is finding a new gear. I think she could even go beyond a mile now seeing how well she handled it.”

Along with Lady Rocket, Fletcher also owns multiple graded stakes winner Frank's Rockette and G3 winner Candy Man Rocket, who are both stabled with Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.

Frank's Rockette, who finished third in the listed Dream Supreme at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., in her last start on November 13, has now joined Mott's Florida string of horses after spending the fall in Kentucky.

“She was training at Churchill and is in Florida right now,” Fletcher said of the Into Mischief mare. “We'll point her to a nice race there. She came out of her last race well.”

Candy Man Rocket made an appearance on the road to the Kentucky Derby this spring when he won the G3 Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs in Tampa, Fla., and finished off the board in the G2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct.

Away from the races since a runner-up effort in the six-furlong Gold Fever at Belmont in May, the 3-year-old son of Candy Ride is working his way back to a campaign that will see him sprinting going forward.

“He's down at Payson Park (in Indiantown, Fla.) right now working on getting his feet a little better,” Fletcher said. “We found out in his last race that he didn't want to go long. He ran a great race at six furlongs and got caught at the wire. We think he'll be hard to beat at the sprint distance. He'll come back in a race down in Florida; we aren't sure where yet.”

As for next year's Kentucky Derby hopefuls, Fletcher shared his excitement for recent maiden special weight winner Rocket Dawg, who was a debut winner going seven furlongs at Churchill on November 19 by 5 ½ lengths. After flashing his talent in his debut, a step up to graded stakes company could be in the Classic Empire colt's future.

“He was very impressive in that debut. He's got a ton of potential and we're excited about him,” Fletcher said. “We'll run him back in an allowance and if he can hold the form from his maiden win in allowance company, we'll point him to the Southwest at Oaklawn. We think he'll do well.”

Rocket One, another impressive maiden winner for Fletcher this fall, will be returning to turf after giving the dirt a try with a pair of sixth-place finishes in the G2 Castle and Key Bourbon at Churchill on October 10 and an optional claimer in his most recent start on November 27.

A 1 ½ length winner of a maiden special weight at Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Ky., in his third career start, Fletcher said switching back to the turf makes the most sense for the 2-year-old Into Mischief colt.

“He's down at Payson Park right now and we'll get him back on the grass at Gulfstream Park this winter,” Fletcher said. “He showed us his potential and talent in that turf maiden and we know that's where he wants to be. I would like to have dirt horses since I prefer to run at Oaklawn, but I also want to win. So we'll get him where he needs to be to win.”

J L's Rockette, who finished seventh in the G2 Adirondack at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and ninth in the Ainsworth at Kentucky Downs in her last start on September 12, will be turned out and freshened for a few months before making her return to the races.

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In a field of six older fillies and mares, Lady Rocket entered the gate as the favorite and showed why with her run in the G3 stakes. Fastest at the break, Lady Rocket held a half-length lead early, as Miss Marissa pressed the pace on the backstretch. The favorite was able to maintain her lead into the far turn, Bella Vita making a run at the favorite entering the stretch.

Down the Aqueduct straight, Lady Rocket accelerated, pulling away from Bella Vita easily and striding out to a widening lead as the field approached the wire. Bella Vita was second, with Truth Hurts and last year's G3 Go For Wand winner Sharp Starr fourth.

The final time for the one-mile stakes was 1:36.52. Find this race's chart here.

Lady Rocket paid $4.40, $2.80, and $2.50. Bella Vita paid $3.90 and $3.30. Truth Hurts paid $4.30.

“She was very comfortable down the backstretch and Irad [Ortiz, Jr.] said he was full of horse the entire way around. We were kind of worried about the break and wanted to focus on her standing there. Her very first start at Saratoga, she stumbled. She has this tendency to want to break too fast. We make sure she stands right and gets a good start. They did a great job getting her out of the gate today. We were expecting a big performance but she exceeded our expectations with that one,” Dustin Dugas, assistant trainer for Brad Cox, said after the race.

“She was nice today. She's always tries hard. The mile was a question mark, but she handled it really well. I was waiting, biding my time. I just took it easy and tried to get her to relax up front and she relaxed. She waited for my call and that was the key. This was one of her best performances in her whole career,” jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. told the NYRA Press Office after the Go For Wand.

Bred in Kentucky by La Ciega LLC and Tale of the Cat Syndicate, Lady Rocket is out of the Eskendereya mare Allons Danser. She is owned by Frank Fletcher Racing Operations and Ten Strike Racing and trained by Brad Cox. She was consigned by De Meric Sales and purchased by B S W Bloodstock for $420,000 at the April 2019 Ocala Breeders' Sale Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds In Training. With her win in the G3 Go For Wand, the 4-year-old filly has four wins in eight starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of 11-6-3-1 and career earnings of $530,508.

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Earlier on the card, Ortiz, Jr. guided Truth Hurts to a rail-skimming score in the first division of the Pumpkin Pie for trainer and co-owner Chad Summers.

“They split the race so I got lucky I ended up on the right two horses,” said Ortiz, Jr. with a laugh.

Trained by Brad Cox, the 4-year-old daughter of Tale of the Cat entered from a runner-up effort to Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint contender Bella Sofia in the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom Handicap on September 26 at Belmont.

The graded stakes-placed Always Carina, with Jose Ortiz up, broke alertly and battled gamely on the lead with Lady Rocket through splits of :23.22 and :46.70 over the sloppy and sealed main track.

Lady Rocket edged clear of Always Carina through the turn as Glass Ceiling was angled off the rail late in the turn by Dylan Davis and set her sights on the leader. Lady Rocket, two lengths clear at the stretch call, was kept to task by Ortiz, Jr. and stayed on strong to secure a narrow head score over Glass Ceiling in a final time of 1:24.11.

Lake Avenue, Always Carina, Regal Retort, and Easy to Bless rounded out the order of finish. Piedi Bianchi and Don't Call Me Mary were scratched.

Ortiz, Jr., who was aboard for the Gallant Bloom effort, said his filly fought gamely to secure the win.

“I was just looking at the wire, trying to get there and keep riding hard and straightforward,” Ortiz, Jr. said. “I concentrated on the win, so I just kept riding. She gave me everything she had.”

Dustin Dugas, assistant to Cox, said the plan was to find a prominent trip for the dark bay, who was a gate-to-wire winner of the Pink Ribbon on August 27 at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in Charles Town, W. Va.

“Before the race, Brad I and talked about it and we wanted to get her on the bridle and away from there on a good note,” Dugas said. “She broke out of there running. Irad said maybe around the turn, he might have moved a touch early, which ultimately at the end of the race made it a little closer, but she dug in deep and found that class she needed to get to the wire first.”

Bred in Kentucky by La Ciega and Tale of the Cat Syndicate, Lady Rocket banked $55,000 in victory, while improving her record to 10-5-3-1. She returned $5.20 for a $2 win ticket.

Live racing returns Friday at Belmont Park with packed 10-race card which includes the $200,000 Ticonderoga for New York-bred fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles on the turf; the $150,000 Tempted for juvenile fillies going a one-turn mile; the $100,000 Awad for juveniles going 1 1/16 miles on the turf; and the $100,000 Atlantic Beach, a six-furlong turf sprint for 2-year-olds. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Park, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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Bella Sofia took the initiative at the start, darting out to a one-length lead over Lady Rocket, who was able to take up second position despite stumbling at the break. The 3-year-old filly went :22.46 for the first quarter and then :45.40 for the half-mile, her lead three-quarters of a length going into the far turn, with Lady Rocket still second.

Into the stretch, jockey Luis Saez gave Bella Sofia the cue to go, the filly putting five lengths between her and the closest contender before Saez powered her down. At the wire, she was 3 1/2 lengths in front of Lady Rocket, traveling the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.69. Lake Avenue and Don't Call Me Mary rounded out the field.

Find this race's chart here.

Bella Sofia paid $2.80 and $2.10. Lady Rocket paid $3.90.

“Luis [Saez] and I talked before the race and if someone else wanted the lead we'd let them go, but she's so quick out of the gate. The one time we got beat [in the Jersey Girl] she stumbled out of the gate bad. I don't think she necessarily needs to be on the lead, but when you have this type of horse you have to take advantage of it” trainer Rudy Rodriguez said after the race.

“She's very special. From Day One when I rode her and broke her maiden here, she gave me a feeling she's a Grade 1-winner. In the Test, she proved she can really run and today was easy for her, ” Saez told the NYRA Press Office after the Gallant Bloom. “She finished up strong and did it easy. I had a lot of horse.”

Bred in Kentucky by Two Tone Farms, Bella Sofia is by Awesome Patriot out of the Consolidator mare Love Contract. She is owned by Michael Imperio, Medallion Racing, Sofia Soares, Vincent Scuderi, and Parkland Thoroughbreds. The filly was consigned by Grassroots Training and Sales at the 2020 Ocala Breeders' Sales Company July Two-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale and purchased by Sallusto and Albina, agent, for $20,000. With her win in the G2 Gallant Bloom, Bella Sofia has career earnings of $542,600.

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Colonel Bowman earned a shot at stakes company by taking an Ellis Park allowance race.

“He's trained very well up to the race,” said Jorge Abrego, who oversees Cox's Ellis Park operation. “It was his first time going two turns last time; he handled it very well. After the race, he came back good, breezed a couple of times really good. I'm very excited because it's a mile and an eighth. I think he'll run well. I like the horse. I'm not really scared of the competition. I think he has a big shot to win the race.”

Abrego, who was around Colonel Bowman all spring at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., says he's noticed a change.

“He gallops a mile and a half every day,” he said. “Second round, he gets stronger and stronger. I think the two turns for him is very good.”

Cox entered three horses in the $125,000 RUNHAPPY Groupie Doll for fillies and mares: stakes-winning and graded stakes-place Dreamalildreamofu, sprint specialist Lady Rocket, and Indiana Grand stakes-winner Matera, who needs a scratch to run. When it was suggested that he was going to be busy in the paddock saddling horses, Abrego quipped, “I hope it keeps me busy in the winner's circle!”

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The seven-furlong Safely Kept is one of six stakes worth $600,000 in purses on the nine-race Fall Festival of Racing program that includes the $100,000 Primonetta at six furlongs and $100,000 Thirty Eight Go Go going about 1 1/16 miles, both for females 3 and up.

First race post time is 12:25 p.m.

Madaket Stables, Albert Frassetto, Mark Parkinson, K-Mac Stables and Magic City Stables' Hello Beautiful won back-to-back stakes, the Maryland Million Lassie and Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship, to cap her juvenile season and has earned all five of her career victories in eight tries over her home course for trainer Brittany Russell.

The latest win was perhaps her most impressive, rebounding from a pair of off-the-board finishes in out-of-town stakes including her graded debut to romp by 11 ¼ lengths in the Maryland Million Distaff Oct. 24. In all, her Laurel victories have come by 40 ½ combined lengths – more than eight lengths per win.

“We were just delighted with that performance, and I think the even better thing about it was how well she came out of the race,” Russell said. “She came out of the Distaff like it was nothing. She was back to the track bouncing within a couple days, so that makes us feel good moving forward into this race.”

Russell said she considered other spots for Hello Beautiful, including the Primonetta against older fillies, before settling on the Safely Kept which keeps her against fellow sophomores. Russell's husband, jockey Sheldon Russell – aboard for all five of the filly's wins – returns to ride from Post 8 in the field of nine.

“It's not restricted, but … it's what we wanted – stay home, with Sheldon, and try and win sort of an open stake,” Russell said. “She's amazing. She really is. We want nothing more than to see her continue to stay on the upswing like we thought we would be earlier in the year. We've just had to be patient and kind of ride the wave.”

One of Hello Beautiful's rivals will come out of the same barn. Frank Fletcher Racing Operations Inc. and Ten Strike Racing's Lady Rocket has raced just twice but is undefeated against maiden special weight and open allowance company at Saratoga and Keeneland for trainer Brad Cox. Russell worked for the Kentucky-based Cox for four years before returning to Maryland and going out on her own.

“I told him weeks ago when he was thinking about bringing her that we would take her,” Russell said.

Project Whiskey, Fly On Angel and Reagan's Edge all bring graded-stakes credentials to the Safely Kept. Cash is King and LC Racing's Project Whiskey won the Delaware Oaks (G3) July 4 and was second in the Monmouth Oaks (G3) but has had less success in two subsequent trips to Maryland, finishing off the board in the Weber City Miss at Laurel and Black-Eyed Susan (G2) at Pimlico Race Course. She will break from Post 7.

“She's drawn some pretty lousy posts so we were hoping for a little better draw, something toward the outside,” trainer Robert E. 'Butch' Reid Jr. said. “She's been stuck on the rail the last few times and hasn't gotten away from the gate real clean, so a little better break and a little better position for her helps. She's doing really well. On her day she's right there with them.”

Joseph Besecker's Fly On Angel stepped up to win the seven-furlong Charles Town Oaks (G3) Aug. 28 in her first start since being claimed by Maryland's leading trainer Claudio Gonzalez. In her only start since, she got bumped at the start and dueled through sharp fractions for a half-mile before tiring to be sixth in the six-furlong Miss Preakness (G3) Oct. 3.

“She came back good and her last breeze here at Laurel made me happy. She did really good that day and that's why we're going to run here,” Gonzalez said. “She didn't get a clear trip last time. We're going to try here because going seven-eighths maybe she'll have more of a chance to get to the lead.”

Gonzalez also entered BB Horses' Landing Zone, riding a four-race win streak into her 19^th career start and first in a stakes. She will be cutting back to a sprint for the first time since a 5 ½-furlong starter optional victory in the Laurel slop Aug. 13 to kick off her current stretch.

“This filly has changed. She's like a different filly now. She'd doing good, and after the last race she came back happy,” he said. “She trains good every day, better and better. I think she is going to run good.”

Lael Stables' Reagan's Edge ran behind Frank's Rockette in both the 6 ½-furlong Victory Ride (G3) July 4 at Belmont Park and six-furlong Prioress (G2) Sept. 5 at Saratoga, beating Hello Beautiful in the latter. Last out, she was fourth by three-quarters of a length in the seven-furlong Raven Run (G2) Oct. 17 at Keeneland.

Completing the field are 2019 Gin Talking winner Bella Aurora, Bobby's Goldengirl and Madam Meena.

Needs Supervision Set to Return in $100,000 Primonetta
Howling Pigeon Farms, Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable and Madaket Stables' multiple stakes winner Needs Supervision, unraced since mid-March, is set to return against nine rivals in Saturday's $100,000 Primonetta.

Needs Supervision was winless in three starts over the winter before the coronavirus pandemic paused racing for 2 ½ months in Maryland, returning May 30. She will be cutting back to her shortest distance since finishing second in the six-furlong Weather Vane last September at Laurel.

Winner of Fair Grounds' one-mile, 70-yard Silverbulletday at 2 and Laurel's seven-furlong Safely Kept at 3, Needs Supervision went to the sidelines after running third in the one-mile Nellie Morse March 14. Prior to that race she finished fourth in the Barbara Fritchie (G3) and second as the favorite in her 4-year-old debut, the What A Summer, both at Laurel.

“She was running good but there was something that was stopping her from being 100 percent, so we gave her a lot of time off,” trainer Jerry O'Dwyer said. “She went up to Bruce Jackson at Fair Hill and they started her back a bit up there and we got her back when she started galloping.

“We've had her back for a while now. She's been breezing regularly there at Laurel week in and week out, so she's ready for a start,” he added. “It's been a good while now, so we're looking forward to getting her back going.”

O'Dwyer said he looked at some out-of-town options to bring Needs Supervision back, but decided to stay home where she can run over her own track and have the services of fall meet-leading rider Sheldon Russell. They will break from Post 2 in a field of 10 at co-topweight of 125 pounds.

“We like being able to run her out her own back door and see what we've got,” O'Dwyer said. “She's been doing everything right. She's a quirky little filly but very talented in the right frame of mind. I think we've got her good right now. Sheldon has been breezing her regularly and he's quite happy with her.”

Needs Supervision has responded well to the time off and, though she's typically found herself in mid-pack during her races, O'Dwyer wouldn't be surprised to see her a little closer this time around.

“She hasn't been the greatest away from the gate. She breaks OK but she's never shown a ton of gate speed. She's always been kind of a fresh, active, athletic filly. There never seems to a bottom to her,” O'Dwyer said. “You would be expecting first time off the layoff that she's going to be a little fresher. I've only breezed her once from the gate since she came back, and she breezed good.

“We'll see what way the race unfolds, what's in there, what kind of speed there is. Ideally I'd like to see her break better than she had been; maybe being fresh and having a little bit of time off will help her do that,” he added. “It was always niggly stuff. She never had anything major wrong with her. She's a happy filly. She loves to train, she loves to race. It's great to have her back in the barn.”

Five Hellions Farm's Dontletsweetfoolya takes a three-race win streak into the Primonetta for trainer Lacey Gaudet. The daughter of Stay Thirsty was also nominated to the Safely Kept against fellow 3-year-olds but her connections opted to keep her against the older horses she's been facing all year.

Dontletsweetfoolya has progressed in each start since racing resumed, capturing a six-furlong maiden special weight July 24 and an open entry-level allowance going seven furlongs Sept. 5, both in front-running fashion at Laurel. Her three wins have come by 21 ¼ combined lengths, including a three-length second-level allowance triumph Oct. 1 at Pimlico.

“These owners are just incredible to work with. We worked this filly the last time as a 2-year-old last December, and I said, 'Look, guys. We have two options. We can either turn this filly out for 90 days and not even think about her or ask about her, because she's a little bit of a [head] case, or you can just lay her in right now and lose her for [$25,000],'” Gaudet said. “The filly was fast and talented, but just didn't have her head on straight. She was just a 2-year-old

“They had all the patience in the world with this filly. They made all the right calls. They sent her down to Brian Rice and he trained her down there for a little while,” she added. “We worked together, I went down to Ocala and saw her train on the farm, and he sent her up to us. They were just like, 'Tell us when we're ready. Tell us when to be there.' They've really let us be able to do the right thing by her.”

Jevian Toledo, up for all three of her wins, rides back from Post 6.

Never Enough Time, winner of the Alma North and Skipat going six furlongs at Laurel and Pimlico, respectively, before a third in the Nov. 1 Pumpkin Pie at Aqueduct; Aliso, Ashara, Giggling, Last True Love, S W Briar Rose, Suggestive Honor and Timely Tradition are also entered.

Wicked Awesome Tests Streak in $100,000 Thirty Eight Go Go
Warwick Stable's Wicked Awesome, winner of the Twixt Stakes over Labor Day weekend at Laurel Park, takes aim at extending her win streak to four races in Saturday's $100,000 Thirty Eight Go Go.

A 4-year-old daughter of Awesome Again, Wicked Awesome has won five of seven starts in 2020, two of them coming before racing was paused in Maryland amid the coronavirus pandemic. She returned to run fourth in the Obeah and fifth in the Delaware Handicap (G2), finding trouble in both races.

“She's been pretty special. We identified that kind of early in the year but this pandemic has kind of made the pathways for these horses a little bit tedious,” trainer Ferris Allen III said. “When we felt like she was a stakes horse we first ran her in the Obeah at Delaware and she was in trouble of couple times. Because the Del Cap came up so light we took a chance in that and she was also in trouble in that race a couple times. Particularly the Del Cap was more ambitious that what I would have ever chosen for her under ordinary circumstances.”

The experience proved beneficial for Wicked Awesome, who came from off the pace to win the 1 1/16-mile Twixt by four lengths. In against starter company on Claiming Crown preview day Oct. 2 at Pimlico, she romped by 10 ¾ lengths in a race rained off the grass, then came back to capture an open one-mile allowance Nov. 4 at Parx.

“After she had been through those two [Delaware] races and I guess you would say [was] unsuccessful, but to our eye she was not a misfit. She ran good races with troubled trips in both races,” Allen said. “From there we put her on a little bit more reasonable path and she's really paid us back for that as you can see.

“Once again, after she won the Twixt there was nowhere to run her, so she ran in the Claiming Crown race which we got lucky because it rained off the grass,” he added. “Then we were lucky to get an allowance race to fill at Parx for her last win. When you really look at it there was really nowhere to run between running in the Twixt and this race. I think we've been real lucky to have two races to run her in.”

Allen was particularly impressed with her most recent effort because Wicked Awesome displayed the tenacity to match her talent to overcome circumstances and win by a neck as the heavy favorite.

“She was going up against a very strong track bias that day at Parx and the filly we wore down to win was on the front end,” he said. “The track was very speed-favoring. We were quite worried at the top of the lane but she dug in and got the job done.”

Horacio Karamanos, a winner three straight times on Wicked Awesome including a March 6 optional claiming allowance at Laurel, gets the assignment from Post 8 in the nine-horse field.

Multiple stakes winners Artful Splatter and Las Setas line up against Wicked Awesome looking to get back on the winning track. James C. Wolf's Artful Splatter won the Geisha in January at Laurel and the George Rosenberger Memorial Sept. 26 at Delaware, both over off tracks. She finished fifth behind runaway winner Hello Beautiful in the Maryland Million Distaff Oct. 24.

Co-owned and bred by trainer Katy Voss, Las Setas won four straight races in the winter and spring of 2019 including a sweep of Laurel's 3-year-old filly prep races – the Wide Country, Beyond the Wire and Weber City Miss – earning a spot in the Black-Eyed Susan (G2), where she finished seventh. She has run just three times since and was sixth in the Distaff in just her second start of 2020.

Puerto Rican Group 2 stakes winner Lucky Stride; graded-stakes placed Eres Tu and Sweet Sami D; Awe Emma, Breviary and On the Town complete the field.

The post Laurel Fall Festival Of Racing: Talented Field Awaits Hello Beautiful In Safely Kept appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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