Trainer Rudy Rodriguez said the work was designed to help the 4-year-old Trinniberg filly with the cutback in distance after making her last two starts at 1 1/16-miles at Belmont, including an open allowance win in September and an off-the-board effort in the Empire Distaff on October 30.

“She did it the right way,” Rodriguez said. “We put company on her and tried to sharpen her up a little bit. She cooled out good.”

Bred in New York by her owner, the talented bay boasts a record of 7-4-1-0 with purse earnings of $185,350.

Rodriguez said J. W. Singer's Magic Circle is training well into next Saturday's $250,000 G2 Demoiselle, a nine-furlong test for juvenile fillies which offers 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points.

The Kantharos filly, who finished a close second to Gerrymander last out in the one-mile Tempted on November 5 at Belmont, breezed five-eighths in 1:02.02 November 23 over the Belmont dirt training track.

“She's doing very good. We'll work her again next week,” Rodriguez said. “She's coming into the race good and we just have to hope she likes the two turns.”

Magic Circle was a maiden winner at first asking sprinting seven furlongs in September at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., ahead of a tiring fourth in the one-mile G1 Frizette on October 3 at Belmont.

Rodriguez said Magic Circle should appreciate the stretch out in distance.

“I'm hoping we can sit behind the speed and make a run. She's a very kind filly and you can do what you want with her,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said that Michael Imperio, Vincent Scuderi, Sofia Soares, Gabrielle Farm, Mazel Stable Partners, Matthew Mercurio, Medallion Racing, Parkland Thoroughbreds, and Barry Fowler's Bella Sofia is off for a freshening ahead of a 4-year-old campaign.

The Awesome Patriot sophomore filly, who was unraced as a juvenile, went 4-for-6 in a tremendous campaign that included wins in the G1 Longines Test in August at the Spa and the G2 Gallant Bloom Handicap in September.

She completed her season with a fourth-place finish in the G1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint after traveling wide from the outermost post 5 under regular pilot Luis Saez.

“We didn't run our best race in California. I knew we were in trouble from the draw, but we were pleased with her year,” Rodriguez said. “We'll give her a little break and bring her back next year. We sent her to the farm and we'll give her two or three months and get ready for Belmont. Hopefully, she'll come back even better.”

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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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The $1 Pick 6 returned $1,787 to bettors who selected 5-of-6 winners correctly. Sunday's sequence commenced when Masked Marauder [No. 10] was victorious in Race 5, taking the 5 1/2-furlong maiden claiming contest for New York-breds 3-years-old and up over the Mellon turf course, returning $12.40 on a $2 win wager. River Card Stable's Masked Marauder was ridden by Eric Cancel for trainer Wayne Potts.

In Race 6, 36-1 longshot Dream Lith [No. 8, $75] won the 6 1/2-furlong maiden sprint. David Cohen guided the Medaglia d'Oro filly – owned by Cypress Creek Equine and Arnold Bennewith – to victory for trainer Robertino Diodoro.

Peter Brant's Regal Glory [No. 7, $5.20] kicked off the stakes action at the Spa with a win in the $120,000 Fasig-Tipton De La Rose in Race 7, besting Hendy Woods to win the one-mile inner turf contest for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up who had not won a graded stakes in 2021. Trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Jose Ortiz, Regal Glory won for the third time in four starts.

Winchell Thoroughbreds homebred Wicked Halo [No. 7, $11.40] posted a front-running score in the $200,000 Grade 2 Adirondack for juvenile fillies sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs in Race 8. Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Wicked Halo outkicked Interstatedaydream as Ortiz won his second consecutive stakes.

In the ninth race, Con Lima [No. 5, $8.10] won the $700,000 Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational to win the second leg of NYRA's Turf Triple series for owners Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Joseph F. Graffeo, Eric Nikolaus Del Toro, and Troy Johnson. Ridden by Flavien Prat and trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Con Lima built on her runner-up effort in the first leg of the Turf Triple series in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational to win going 1 3/16 miles over the Mellon turf course.

Michael Imperio's Danzigwiththestars [No. 2, $23.80] triggered the carryover with his win in the 10th-race finale, winning the one-mile inner turf allowance contest under jockey Luis Saez for trainer Domenick Schettino.

Wednesday's Pick 6 kicks off in Race 5 at 3:21 p.m. Eastern and includes the $120,000 Mahony for 3-year-olds in Race 9. First post on the 10-race card is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the 40-day summer 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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Trainer Rudy Rodriguez entered the daughter of Awesome Patriot in the prestigious race on Whitney Day following a 6 1/2-length victory against allowance company going six furlongs in July at Belmont. Stretched out on Saturday, Bella Sofia tracked Illumination's early fractions before closing strong under jockey Luis Saez, resulting in a career-best 101 Beyer Speed Figure after improving to 3-1-0 in four starts.

“The thing that impressed me was that she let Luis do whatever he wanted to do,” Rodriguez said. “The way she broke, I thought she was going to go to the lead. But Luis let the horse go in front of her, and to see her relax and be very kind, that was impressive. When Luis asked her, she was there.”

Bella Sofia was unraced as a juvenile but showed her potential in an impressive debut in which she topped a six-horse field by 11 1/4 lengths going six furlongs on Belmont's Big Sandy on May 6.

Graduating to stakes company next out in the six-furlong Jersey Girl the day after the Belmont Stakes on June 6, Bella Sofia ran a competitive second, one length behind winner Australasia, before registering that blowout win last month.

Rodriguez said Bella Sofia, who was bred in Kentucky by Two Tone Farms, was worth the wait as she has never registered a speed figure below 90.

“Everything was happy and quiet with her today,” Rodriguez said. “She looks a little tired, but she's all good.

“Sometimes, you need to wait,” he added. “She had some little issues and bumps in the road when was she a baby, but she's behind all that now. She looks very happy right now.”

Purchased for $20,000 at the 2020 Ocala Breeders' 2-Year-Old Sale, Bella Sofia has already amassed earnings of $405,100. Rodriguez said he has not picked out her next target yet.

The victory marked the first graded stakes win for Rodriguez in four years, with the previous occurrence also taking place at Saratoga when Lady Ivanka captured the 2017 Grade 1 Spinaway. In total, Rodriguez has tallied seven Grade 1 wins, with four of those coming in 2014.

Rodriguez will have an opportunity for additional graded stakes success as Doctor Jeff remains likely to go in Saturday's $200,000 Grade 2 Saratoga Special presented by Miller Lite. The 6 1/2-furlong main track sprint for 2-year-olds will mark Doctor Jeff's second career start following a 2 1/4-length debut win on July 10 at Belmont in a race that was moved off the turf.

The Street Boss colt, a $90,000 purchase at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, posted a bullet five-furlong breeze Sunday over the Saratoga main track, clocked in :59.61 seconds as the fastest in a group of 22. It was his third consecutive work at the track since shipping from Belmont in July.

Jockey Joel Rosario, aboard for that debut win, was aboard for the work and will have the return call next week.

“He breezed great this morning and we're very happy with the way he's been training over here,” Rodriguez said. “We're still looking at the Special. We're just living the dream right now.”

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At the start, Illumination and John Velazquez got out of the gate fastest, Luis Saez settling Bella Sofia in to her outside in second and Souper Sensational on the rail in third. Illumination was a half-length in front through the first quarter in :22.84 and then the first half in :45.70, with Souper Sensational on the rail briefly challenging Bella Sofia's position in second on the far turn. Saez and Bella Sofia maintained their position just off Illumination's shoulder as they approached the stretch.

With the Saratoga straight ahead of them, Velazquez moved Illumination onto the rail as Saez and Bella Sofia made a big run on their outside. Easily taking over the lead, Bella Sofia drew away from the field, crossing the wire 4 1/4 lengths in the front of Souper Sensational in second and Search Results in third. The final time for the seven-furlong G1 Test was 1:21.54.

Always Carina, Obligatory, Illumination, Zaajel, and Make Mischief rounded out the field. Find this race's chart here.

Bella Sofia paid $10.40, $5.70, and $4.00. Souper Sensational paid $10.20 and $5.00. Search Results paid $2.60 to show.

“I know we asked a lot. We're just happy to have her in the barn. The day she broke her maiden, she put everybody away impressively. She was training good.” Trainer Rodriguez said after the Test. “You know when you draw the outside, you pretty much just let the jockey figure out what they want to do. She broke better than anybody. I thought she was going to be out front when she broke that good. She was nice and comfortable and she was running very well for him and when he asked her, she was there for him.”

“She broke perfectly. We were looking for that spot right there to sit and make a run into the stretch. She did it so well and so beautifully. She came through the stretch pretty smoothly. I knew the one horse [Illumination] had some speed, so the plan was to break from there, relax and make one move with her. She's a pretty nice filly,” Saez said after his win on Bella Sofia.

Bred in Kentucky by Two Tone Farms, Bella Sofia is a 3-year-old filly by Awesome Patriot out of the Consolidator mare Love Contract. Trained by Rudy Rodriguez, she is owned by Michael Imperio, Vincent Scuderi, Sofia Soares, Gabrielle Farm, Mazel Stable Partners LLC, and Matthew Mercurio. With her win in the Test, Bella Sofia improves to three wins in four lifetime starts, all in 2021, for career earnings of $405,100.

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