Off an easy win in her career debut at Churchill Downs on Nov. 20, Stonestreet Stables' La Crete has been installed as the 2-1 morning line against five rivals for Saturday's $150,000 Silverbulletday for 3-year-old fillies to be run over 1 mile 70 yards at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La. The top four finishers will earn Kentucky Oaks qualifying points (10-4-2-1).
By Medaglia d'Oro, La Crete is a half-sister to Clairiere. The winner of last year's Rachel Alexandra (G2) presented by Fasig-Tipton, she has banked over $1.2 million in her career.
“Different filly, out of the great Cavorting,” said trainer Steve Asmussen, who has won the Silverbulletday four times. “She is not as mature at the same age as Clairiere, mentally or physically.”
Unlike her more accomplished sibling who has done most of her work from off the pace, La Crete went straight to the lead in her November 20 maiden breaker at Churchill, and she was never menaced in that 2 ¼ length triumph.
“I was very impressed with her first race,” Asmussen said. “She would have benefitted from having a first-level allowance race, but due to lack of entries that option was not available to her. She's trained nicely at the Fair Grounds.”
From post two, La Crete will get the riding services of Joel Rosario.
Off a maiden win and a fourth in the Tempted Stakes at Belmont, Westerberg Limited, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith's Sweet as Pie invades from her home base at Palm Beach Downs in Florida to contest the Silverbulletday for trainer Todd Pletcher.
“We tried to get her into an allowance race at Gulfstream that didn't go,” Pletcher explained. “We were looking around for opportunities to stretch her out around two turns to continue her development. This race was kind of a short field, but there are some pretty high-quality fillies in there so we will get a gauge of where we are at.”
The daughter of Tapit will break from post four with Florent Geroux aboard as the 5-2 co-second choice.
“She's a little bit lazy in the mornings,” Pletcher said. “We thought she'd run decently first time out, but she actually ran a little better than we thought she would. The Tempted was an okay race for us, but horses who ran in there have turned out to do pretty well, including Nest, who won the Demoiselle. The two turns should serve us well. I do like that physically she's doing what you like to see this time of year. A little bigger and stronger. She seems to be taking her training well and we think she has another move forward in her.”
Columbine Stables' Fannie and Freddie swings back off a recent second behind the undefeated North County in the Untapable Stakes for trainer Al Stall, Jr. The daughter of Malibu Moon won her two-turn debut in the start prior, and she looked home free in the stretch of her stakes debut, only to be run down late.
“That was a really weird weekend for us,” Stall recalled. “We had a few horses turning for home who looked like they were just galloping along and they kind of got run over. We were scratching our head thinking maybe it was just a lack of experience. I don't go that fast with my 2-year-olds, so this time of year we are playing a little bit of catch-up.”
Seventh and ninth sprinting at Saratoga then Keeneland in the first two starts of her career, Fannie and Freddie has really stepped forward since being stretched out.
“She's always been a nice-looking filly, but she's been a little tough in the mental department.” Stall admitted. “She gives me a little trouble saddling. We've been schooling her and she'll go to the paddock again this week. She always breezed like she's somebody, and it seems like the two turns may have been the trick for her.”
With Colby Hernandez back aboard, Fanny and Freddie will break from the rail as the 5-2 co-second choice.
“She'll just come out of there and play it off the break until the quarter-pole, see where she is at from there,” Stall said when asked about the preferred trip. “She can be a little nimble about things, but we really like the way she's doing. Colby (jockey Hernandez) doesn't say a whole lot, but the most positive comment he gave me the whole weekend was after her breeze.”
Nelson McMakin and Aaron Kennedy's Bernabreezy makes her stakes debut in career start number three off an eye-popping local maiden win over 1 1/16 miles for trainer Matt Shirer.
“She's doing awesome,” Shirer said. “There's not a whole lot of pace in that race, so she may have to be a little closer, but I don't want to take anything away from the way she finishes. That last race, she finished really well down the lane. That's kind of how she trains in the mornings. She picks out a target in front of her and goes out and catches those other horses. I think she'll run a big race for us.
In both of her career starts, the daughter of Bernardini has spotted the field lengths with poor breaks.
“We've done a little bit of work with her at the gate,” Shirer said. “She will go stand in there a couple days before the race. She's come out quick from there in the mornings before, it just seems like for some reason in her two races she hesitated a little bit. I'm not too worried about it.”
For the 36-year-old Shirer, the winner of 112 career races (22 percent), Bernabreezy represents an opportunity to compete on the big stage with a young, promising horse that he has developed.
“It's exciting but we've got a lot of races to go before she puts herself in that conversation,” Shirer said. “It's exciting to see what she's capable of. I'm pretty high on her, and I'm usually pretty realistic about the horses I have in the barn and what they are capable of and this filly is as good as I've ever had. Even thinking back to some of the fillies I've worked with as an assistant to (Ken) McPeek, I can't think of a whole lot of them that gallop out the way she does in her breezes. As the races get a little bit longer, she should continue to improve.”
The remainder of the field with post position, jockey/trainer and morning line odds is as follows: Built Wright Stables' Miss Chamita (post three, John McKee/Norm Cash, 15-1 ML), a $50,000 claim who has one win from nine career starts and Don't' Tell My Wife Stables and Keith Desormeaux's supplementary entry Candy Raid (post six, Jose Riquelme/Keith Desormeaux, 15-1 ML). — Kristufek
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