$1.3 million juvenile Saralin makes debut

ARCADIA, Calif. – The 2-year-old filly Saralin has impressed trainer Simon Callaghan enough in recent workouts for her to have her career debut in a maiden special weight race at a mile on Thursday and not in a sprint.

Then again, Saralin has been drawing attention since she appeared in the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale of 2-year-olds in training in March, where she was purchased for $1.3 million. Saralin was the second most expensive horse of the sale and was acquired by Kaleem Shah and the Coolmore partnership.

Saralin is part of a field of six in Thursday’s second race and will be ridden by Flavien Prat.

“She does everything nicely,” Callaghan said Sunday. “We felt for her debut that going long was the right thing. We’ve got quite a few works in her. We think we have her ready.”

Saralin is by Curlin and out of the Argentine-bred mare Sarasota, dam of eight-time stakes winner Salutos Amigos, who excelled in sprints and earned $1,570,906, and Sarah’s Secret, who won the Grade 2 Honeymoon Handicap at 1 1/8 miles on turf for 3-year-old fillies at Hollywood Park in 2011.

Saralin’s main rival is Gingham, who was second by a nose to Matera in a similar race at a mile here Oct. 12 in her third start. Trained by Bob Baffert, Gingham has been second in each of her races. Thursday, she will be ridden for the first time by Joel Rosario.