Spicer | Horse Racing Free Tips

Making her U.S. debut as the 3-1 second-elect, Dolce Zel (Fr) (Zelzal {Fr}) fell into a golden trip from a perfect draw and pounced late to narrowly defeat stablemate Spicer (Quality Road) in Saturday's GIII Florida Oaks. It was a second straight Florida Oaks winner saddled by trainer Chad Brown and keyed a one-two finish for the second time in the day's graded events.

Away without incident from the three hole, the bay filly–adding Lasix for her first stateside appearance–secured a cozy spot at the fence as Spicer prompted soft fractions from the outside. Traveling with a fistful of horse as they raced into the final three furlongs, Irad Ortiz, Jr. eased Dolce Zel off the inside and into the two path at the quarter pole and slipstreamed Spicer off the home corner. Pulled out three deep to deliver her challenge in earnest with three-sixteenths of a mile to race, Dolce Zel collared Spicer under whipless encouragement and was punched out to score by a slim margin, albeit in reasonably comfortable fashion. On Alert (Medaglia d'Oro) caboosed the field after angling over at the break, came with a no-straw-in-her-path run around the second turn and finished with good energy for third.

Previously trained by Alessandro and Giuseppe Botti, Dolce Zel was 14th of 15 behind the Peter Brant-owned Spanish Baroque (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) in 1400-meter maiden in soft ground at Dieppe on the north coast of France July 26 and made just one subsequent appearance, a 3/4-length upset on a sounder surface at ParisLongchamp Oct. 14.

Pedigree Notes:

Dolce Zel is the second graded winner and third stakes winner from the first crop of her sire, a son of Sea The Stars (Ire) who resides at the stallion arm of Al Shaqab Racing, Haras de Bouquetot in France. The stallion's daughter Ouraika (Fr) took out this year's GIII Sweet Life S. at Santa Anita.

Trained by Jean-Claude Rouget for Sheikh Fahad's operation, Zelzal posted his biggest career victory in the G1 Prix Jean Prat in 2016 and made a single appearance in this country, finishing sixth, beaten less than two lengths, behind champion World Approval (Northern Afleet) in the 2017 GI Breeders' Cup Mile at Del Mar.

A half-sister to SW & MGSP Pure Zen, Dolce Zel is out of a winning daughter of 1999 Bassinet S. heroine Lady Gin, herself the dam of SW Queen Amira (GB) (Forestry). Dolce Attesa is the dam of a now 2-year-old filly by the promising Shalaa (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) that was knocked down to Alessandro Botti and Meridian International for €47,000 from the Grandcamp consignment at the Arqana October Yearling Sale in Deauville.

Saturday, Tampa Bay Downs
FLORIDA OAKS-GIII, $151,000, Tampa Bay Downs, 3-12, 3yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:44.18, gd.
1–DOLCE ZEL (FR), 118, f, 3, by Zelzal (Fr)
                1st Dam: Dolce Attesa (GB), by Dr Fong
                2nd Dam: Lady Gin, by Saint Ballado
                3rd Dam: Romantic Dinner, by Who's for Dinner
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-Michael
Dubb, Madaket Stables LLC & Robert V LaPenta; B-Scuderia
Micolo Di Nicola Galli & C SNC (FR); T-Chad C Brown; J-Irad
Ortiz Jr. $90,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, $105,655. *1/2 to
Pure Zen (Fr) (Zoffany {Ire}), SW & MGSP-Fr, $112,606. Werk
Nick Rating: C. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Spicer, 118, f, 3, Quality Road–Moulin de Mougin, by Curlin.
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($300,000 Ylg '20
KEESEP). O-Jeff Drown & Don Rachel; B-Ran Jan Racing Inc
(KY); T-Chad C Brown. $30,000.
3–On Alert, 118, f, 3, Medaglia d'Oro–Darling's Darling, by
Bernardini. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
($500,000 Ylg '20 FTKSEL). O-Courtlandt Farms (Donald Adam);
B-Debby M Oxley (KY); T-Claude R McGaughey III. $15,000.
Margins: HD, 1HF, 1 1/4. Odds: 3.00, 2.20, 12.70.
Also Ran: Mrs. Barbara, Sweet Dutchess, Alittleloveandluck, Roughly a Diamond, Princess Elin, Ambitieuse.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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With a near 100% chance of precipitation in greater Tampa, Saturday's GIII Florida Oaks is at the mercy of Mother Nature, but whether the race remains on the grass or is transferred to the main track, the Mike Dini-owned and -trained Alittleloveandluck (Arrogate) stands an excellent shot of getting her picture taken post-race.

The gray tried open company in her first three appearances, rounding out the triple in a one-mile Parx maiden in October before besting her fellow Florida-breds by a nose in a sythetic-track test at Gulfstream Nov. 12. Up late to take the grassy Ginger Brew S. Jan. 1–in which she had next-out GIII Sweetest Chant S. heroine Opalina (Optimizer) back in third–Alittleloveandluck was second–albeit well-beaten–behind the promising Nest (Curlin) in the Feb. 12 Suncoast S. over the local main track.

Domain Expertise (Kitten's Joy) gave trainer Chad Brown a second Florida Oaks last year and the conditioner has a pair of entrants to try to put them back-to-back. Spicer (Quality Road), a debut third at Belmont Oct. 9, was a convincing 3 3/4-length maiden winner–with Ambitieuse (Medaglia d'Oro) third–at Aqueduct Nov. 19 and adds Lasix for this potential return to action. Brown also saddles French import Dolce Zel (Fr) (Zelzal {Fr}), well-beaten in her Dieppe debut last July, but a latest 24-1 winner of a ParisLongchamp maiden for Alessandro and Giuseppe Botti Oct. 14. The bay would almost certainly come out of the race if removed from the turf.

Ambitieuse progressed from her debut third to graduate when tried over the Gulfstream Tapeta Dec. 29 and finished full of run when going down by three-parts of a length in the Sweetest Chant. Bred on the same cross that has produced MGISW Elate and a similar one to multiple champion Songbird, Ambitieuse is also a candidate to contest a main-track Oaks.

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