Aljalela drops from stakes ranks
MIAMI – Trainer Todd Pletcher appears to have the one to beat in Friday’s fifth race, an optional $40,000 claiming race on turf, with the 3-year-old filly Aljalela, who comes off a third-place finish in the Cellars Shiraz Stakes.
Aljalela, a daughter of Unbridled’s Song owned by Al Shaqab Racing, has dropped her last two starts after opening her career with a pair of turf victories. She might have to catch the older In My Time, who also gets some class relief after racing in stakes in her last three starts.
The most intriguing member of the field is the Grade 1-placed Joint Return, who tries turf for the second time. She’ll attempt to snap a 10-race winless streak that dates back to her victory in the Our Mims at Delaware Park during the spring of 2014.
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