Aqueduct: Groupie Doll getting well-deserved rest after nose loss in Cigar Mile

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - No regrets.

That was the sentiment expressed Sunday by Buff Bradley, trainer of the filly Groupie Doll, who was beaten a nose by Stay Thirsty in Saturday’s Grade 1, $350,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct.

“We just got outrun,” Bradley said Sunday afternoon by phone from Lexington, Ky., where he and his filly arrived home following a 12-hour van ride from Aqueduct. “I think she ran her race - she ran a helluva good race - the time was really good. Everything worked out for her except that last little bob. It’s disappointing, but at the same time we’re very proud of her.”

Bradley ran Groupie Doll back three weeks after she won the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Santa Anita because he felt the filly was ready to run. She had her five-race win streak snapped in the Cigar Mile.

“When they’re ready to run you don’t leave them in the barn like that," Bradley said. "She was just doing too well. The distance is fine for her. We ran her four times at a mile, she won twice and the two times she got beat were by the boys.

“We don’t have any regrets,” Bradley added. “I’m walking back to the barn and I’m expecting to hear an earful, but everybody was really, really nice. They were saying ‘thanks for bringing her.’ I felt really good about that that.”

Bradley said he loaded Groupie Doll on a van at 5:30 p.m. Saturday night - after Groupie Doll ate up - and arrived at his family’s Indian Ridge Farm at 6 a.m. Sunday.

He said Groupie Doll came out of the race in excellent shape. She will most likely remain at the farm until early January before shipping to the Palm Meadows training center in Florida.

Bradley said Groupie Doll’s first objective of 2013 will likely be the Grade 2, $150,000 Inside Information, a seven-furlong race at Gulfstream Park on March 17.

Bradley said Groupie Doll’s 2013 campaign would be similar to this year's, with the possibility of running in the Ballerina at Saratoga instead of the Presque Isle Masters.

Meanwhile, Stay Thirsty, the Cigar Mile winner in his final career race, came out of the race in good order and was scheduled to van to Ashford Stud in Kentucky on Monday.

Both Stay Thirsty and Groupie Doll earned a 109 Beyer Speed Figure for the performance.