THREE-YEAR-OLD FILLY DIARY
JULY 13, 2005
by Hunter T. Houlihan
Sophomore fillies have begun to
out-shine their male counterparts as Triple Crown runners like Afleet Alex
(Saint Afleet) have taken a break from their busy Spring schedules to prepare
for the late-Summer classics like the Travers S. (G1) and Haskell Invitational
H. (G1). SPLENDID BLENDED (Unbridled’s Song) moved to the top of her
division when taking the Vanity H. (G1) over older fillies and mares on July 3; CESARIO (Jpn) (Special Week) upset the blossoming turf star MELHOR AINDA
(Pulpit) the same day in the prestigious American Oaks Invitational (G1) and
ACEY DEUCEY (Abaginone), the second-longest shot on the board in the storied
Prioress S. (G1) at Belmont last weekend, out-sprinted a talented field to
surprise by a half-length. Let’s get to it.
Recent Milady Breeders’ Cup H. (G2)
winner and heavy post-time favorite Andujar (Quiet American) went right to the
lead in the Vanity, but Splendid Blended and jockey Jerry Bailey were never more
than a length back of the four-year-old throughout the nine-furlong contest. The
chestnut took the lead inside the eighth pole and successfully held off the late
run of three-time Grade 1 winner Island Fashion (Petionville) by a head. The
Neil Drysdale trainee, who ran with the heart of a much older competitor, has
now won a Grade 1 at two and three. By defeating older horses, she rates as
the leading three-year-old filly — for now. More on that later.
The Bobby Frankel-trained Melhor
Ainda was sent off as the heavy 6-5 favorite in the American Oaks, with Japanese
Oaks (Jpn-G1) winner Cesario
and Three Degrees (Ire) (Singspiel [Ire]) both hovering around 9-2. For a
12-horse field, the Frankel trainee was perhaps a vulnerable favorite, but the
betting public seemed to think that no filly on the track could match her
closing kick. Of course that didn’t matter when the Japanese-bred Cesario and
pilot Yuichi Fukunaga drew clear by 2 1/2 lengths after a mile in 1:35 1/5 while comfortably cruising along. Melhor Ainda and John Velazquez moved from seventh
to second in the final quarter mile and while the filly appears quite talented,
she appeared to be standing still compared to the four-length winner. We’ll be
looking for Cesario in her next start.
Acey Deucey left the gates of the
Prioress at 13-1 against a field that included Grade 1 winner Sense of Style
(Thunder Gulch), lightning-fast sprinter Maddalena (Good and Tough), Miss
Preakness S. (G3) victress Burnish (Menifee) and the Todd Pletcher-trained
post-time favorite Talented (Fusaichi Pegasus). With Sense of Style and
Maddalena coupled, a Nick Zito-trained Grade 3 winner and a curious Pletcher-conditioned
favorite, anyone with $2 in their pockets could not have been thinking Acey
Deucey. But after shooting out of the gate under Diane Nelson, the bay filly was
taken back, racing in fifth. She split rivals turning for home, was
angled out for the stretch drive, and caught the front-running Maddalena by a
half-length at the wire.
Chalk it up to a great ride, excellent patience and
training by John Morrison, and her $28.60 win mutuel resulted from her being
overlooked by the public. Acey
Deucey remains a talented filly in this author’s opinion, as stated in the March 26
and April 20 editions.
This Saturday could produce a new
divisional leader as eight sophomores square off in the $500,000 Delaware Oaks
(G2). Acorn S. (G1) winner ROUND POND (Awesome Again) and Ashland S. (G1) queen
SIS CITY (Slew City Slew) have both been entered for the 1 1/16-mile contest.
Also, the second leg of the Triple
Tiara, the July 23 Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) at Belmont Park, will be decided before the next installment of the three-year-old filly
diary. With the depth of the three-year-old filly division compared to the colts
in 2005, the CCA could prove to be more exciting than any other 10-furlong contest for
three-year-olds.