Possibly short when a disappointing fourth in last month’s Turnback the Alarm H. (G3), Miss Sky Warrior has an opportunity to rebound in Friday’s $250,000 Comely (G3) for three-year-old fillies at Aqueduct.
Not only is Miss Sky Warrior three-for-three at the Big A following wins in the Tempted (G3), Demoiselle (G2), and Gazelle (G2), but could get an ideal trip sitting right off of Run and Go, a speedy Todd Pletcher trainee stretching out for the first time.
Eighth over a sloppy track in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) following the Gazelle, Miss Sky Warrior retreated to fourth in the October 28 Turnback the Alarm after setting the pace. It was her first outing since the May 5 Churchill Downs fixture.
“Everybody was disappointed after her last race, including Javier [Castellano],” said Al London of Arlene’s Sun Star Stable. “She has a very long stride and goes very fast, but it looks like she’s going a lot slower. She can be deceiving that way.
“She went the first half of the race in 45 [seconds] and change and that was too fast for any horse going that distance. Being fresh like that off a layoff, it even doubled her problem. She’s not a nut job, she just goes quick. That’s her style and she likes to run.”
Actress, who broke her maiden winning the Black-Eyed Susan (G2) at Pimlico in May, was subsequently third to It Tiz Well in the Delaware Oaks (G3), but ran fourth and sixth, respectively, in the Alabama (G1) and Cotillion (G1). She’ll race with blinkers on for the first time in the Comely.
Allowance winner Parade makes her stakes debut for Phipps Stable and trainer Shug McGaughey. The daughter of Tapit was a distant third in a second-level allowance at a mile earlier this month, but captured her lone attempt around two turns in a Saratoga maiden.
In addition to Run and Go, Pletcher also saddles the late-blooming Tapella, a two-time winner at the Belmont fall meet also making her stakes debut.
The supporting feature on the Black Friday card is the $150,000 Gio Ponti for three-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles on the outer turf. Leading contenders in the wagering figure to include Funtastic, Dalarna, Hieroglyphics, and Secretary At War.
